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Miami Residents File Federal Suit to Block Trump Library Land Deal as Unconstitutional Gift

The case tests a rarely litigated constitutional ban on state gifts to a sitting president.

Overview

  • Plaintiffs backed by the Constitutional Accountability Center filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday in the Southern District of Florida seeking to halt or unwind the land transfer.
  • The suit says Florida’s January conveyance of a 2.63‑acre downtown Miami parcel to the Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation violates the Domestic Emoluments Clause, which bars states from giving a sitting president benefits beyond salary.
  • Trump and Eric Trump promoted plans showing a skyscraper with features like a hotel and offices, and the complaint cites those statements to argue the project is designed to generate personal profit.
  • The property next to Miami’s Freedom Tower was appraised at about $67 million, while experts cited in reports say the market value could reach into the hundreds of millions.
  • The case follows an earlier state‑court injunction that paused the deal before a new Miami Dade College board vote lifted it, and the White House praised the project as grand while not addressing the emoluments claim.