Mulvaney said officials considered about a dozen different locations for the meeting, which will be held June 10-12.
"Doral was far and away the best physical facility for this meeting," Mulvaney said, adding that a site selection official told him, "It's almost like they built this facility to host this type of event."
Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said he was "skeptical" about holding the G7 summit at Trump's Florida resort and aware of possible criticism: "I was so surprised when the advance team called back and said this is the perfect physical location to do this" pic.twitter.com/lEejxcaFW7
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) October 17, 2019
The site was chosen despite ongoing investigations into whether Trump has used his office for personal gain. Mulvaney said Thursday that he was unconcerned by the appearance of a conflict of interest. He told reporters Doral was chosen partially because the site was dramatically cheaper than others officials considered.
"There's no issue here on him profiting from this in any way, shape or form," Mulvaney said.
White House announces that the 2020 G7 Summit will be held at President Trump's Doral resort in Miami https://t.co/XwMJlJMLLP
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) October 17, 2019
Trump has touted his resort, saying it's close to the airport, has plenty of hotel rooms and offers separate buildings for every delegation.
When the United States has hosted the summit before, it has been held in Puerto Rico; Williamsburg, Virginia; Houston; Denver; Sea Island, Georgia; and Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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