The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a case that challenged a lower court ruling that allowed some members of Congress to sue a government agency for records related to the Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C.
The case was brought by 215 Democratic lawmakers who alleged that former President Donald Trump violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause by profiting from foreign and domestic governments that patronized his hotel while he was in office.
The emoluments clause prohibits federal officials from accepting any gifts, benefits or payments from foreign or domestic governments without congressional consent.
The lawmakers sued the General Services Administration (GSA), which oversees federal property, for failing to respond to their requests for documents about the hotel’s lease, revenues and expenses.
In 2019, a federal appeals court ruled that the lawmakers had standing to sue the GSA, reversing a district court’s decision that dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.
However, after Trump left office in January 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the parties to file briefs on whether the case was moot.
On Monday, the justices issued a brief order vacating the appeals court’s judgment and remanding the case to the lower courts with instructions to dismiss it as moot.
The order did not explain the reasoning behind the decision, but it suggested that the court agreed with the Biden administration’s argument that the case was no longer relevant because Trump was no longer president and could not benefit from any future payments to his hotel.
The order also noted that Justice Stephen Breyer did not participate in the consideration or decision of the case, without giving a reason.
The dismissal of the case means that the lower court ruling that recognized the lawmakers’ standing to sue is no longer valid, and that the GSA does not have to produce any records related to the hotel.
The case was one of several lawsuits that accused Trump of violating the emoluments clause during his presidency. Two other cases, brought by state attorneys general and private businesses, were also dismissed by the Supreme Court earlier this year.
