President Trump filed for reelection almost immediately upon assuming office, and new filings reflect the aggressive approach: The president's campaign and two affiliated fundraising committees pulled in about $20 million in the first quarter, reports Politico. That's an unusually high amount for a sitting president this early in the campaign, with Bloomberg calling it "unprecedented." The haul puts Trump's campaign account at $28 million with more than two years to go before Election Day. One other unusual facet of the campaign's money operation: Roughly $1 in every $5 spent is going toward legal fees, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Specifically, the Trump campaign spent $3.9 million in the first three months of 2018, and more than $834,000 of that went to attorneys. The biggest chunk of that, $348,000, went to Jones Day, the firm representing Trump in the investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign by Robert Mueller and congressional committees. But legal fees weren't the only big expense: About $650,000 went toward campaign gear such as hats and mugs. All told, the $20.2 million raised by the three committees is up significantly from the $12.5 million raised in the previous quarter. Politico notes that the uptick came after tax reform passed in Congress. (More President Trump stories.)
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