Trump’s Indian-American Advisor Vivek Ramaswamy Criticizes Roosevelt Hotel Lease in Controversial Statement

New York: A controversial statement has emerged from Vivek Ramaswamy, an Indian-American advisor to newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump, regarding the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, which is owned by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).
Ramaswamy, who is a co-chair of a newly established body aimed at improving government performance, took to Twitter to criticize the Pakistani government’s lease of the Roosevelt Hotel. He claimed that the costs of housing illegal immigrants in the government-owned hotel are being borne by New York taxpayers.
He further argued that U.S. taxpayers are essentially funding the care of undocumented immigrants in the United States by paying a foreign (Pakistani) government for the use of its property.
It’s worth noting that Ramaswamy has not yet taken an official oath of office.
The Roosevelt Hotel, which has been under the ownership of Pakistan International Airlines, was closed in 2020 due to the financial crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the New York City administration entered into a three-year lease agreement with the hotel, worth $220 million. The hotel, with its 1,025 rooms, has since been repurposed as a center for housing refugees, offering them services such as vaccinations and other facilities.