G7 summit will be held at Trump's Doral resort in Florida, White House says

President Trump intends to host next year's G7 conference at his Doral International Resort in Miami in June, the White House confirmed Thursday, a controversial decision certain to raise conflict of interest questions given the financial benefit to Trump's business.

Trump first floated the idea of the Doral in August at the G7 meeting in Biarritz, France, telling reporters that his property was far better than others his administration had considered, given its proximity to a major airport and the abundance of accommodations and meeting space on site.

"Each country can have their own villa, or their own bungalow," he said.

The idea immediately generated controversy. Trump is already fighting two lawsuits suggesting that he is violating the Constitution's emoluments clause, which prohibits U.S. office-holders from personally profiting from foreign governments.

In the cases, which were brought by more than 200 Democratic lawmakers last year, plaintiffs have pointed to Trump's Washington, D.C., hotel, where a number of heads of state and foreign delegations have stayed during official visits, as well as other properties around the world. They allege that the president is illegally benefiting financially from his position because so many foreign leaders, eager to curry favor politically, are essentially putting money into his personal coffers.

Thursday's announcement about the G-7 comes at an especially tempestuous time for the president, who is facing a fast-moving House impeachment inquiry that could imperil his firewall of GOP support, and a bipartisan backlash over his withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria and the ensuing Turkish invasion that has led to heavy Kurdish casualties.