'This is nuts': Vivek Ramaswamy blasts NYC's $220mn migrant housing deal with Pakistan-owned hotel
Vivek Ramaswamy
In 2023, New York City entered into a controversial $220 million lease agreement to rent the Roosevelt Hotel, a historic property in Manhattan owned by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), a state-run entity of Pakistan. The hotel, with its 1,200 rooms, was leased to house undocumented migrants for three years, sparking criticism from various quarters.
Author John LeFevre, shared a report on X saying, “The deal was part of a $1.1 billion IMF bailout package to help Pakistan avoid defaulting on their international debt. Prior to this sweetheart deal, the hotel had been closed since 2020, having long struggled with occupancy and in dire need of renovation.”
Republican politician Vivek Ramaswamy expressed outrage over the deal, calling it “nuts.” In a post on X, he wrote, “A taxpayer-funded hotel for illegal migrants is owned by the Pakistani government, which means NYC taxpayers are effectively paying a foreign government to house illegals in our own country. This is nuts.”
President-elect Donald Trump has tasked Vivek Ramaswamy and Tesla CEO Elon Musk with improving government efficiency and cutting unnecessary expenditures through the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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The Roosevelt Hotel, named after former US President Theodore Roosevelt, had been closed since 2020 due to the pandemic and low occupancy. It reopened in 2023 under the lease agreement with New York City. According to reports, this arrangement was tied to Pakistan’s efforts to secure a $1.1 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stave off an economic default.
The lease agreement was expected to generate $220 million for Pakistan, with Minister of Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique confirming that the revenue would aid the country’s financial recovery. “A contract was signed for 1,250 rooms. The hotel will be returned to the government of Pakistan once the three-year term lease expires,” Rafique said during a press conference in 2023.
(With inputs from agencies)
