Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) letters to President Donald Trump and the Secret Service, March 6, 2017.
National Security Archive
Senators demand Trump keep Obama‑era visitor logs public, warning that secrecy at Mar‑a‑Lago threatens transparency and campaign promises.
Source: Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) letters to President Donald Trump and the Secret Service, March 6, 2017. Date: Mar 6, 2017 Collection: Trump Hides Mar-a-Lago Visitor Records Sep 15, 2017
Editorial Analysis
Original analysis by the DriftSeas editorial desk. The complete primary-source document, transcribed from the National Security Archive scan, appears in full below.
A Senate Push for Open‑Door Governance
In early March 2017 a bipartisan group of eight Democratic senators sent two parallel letters—one to President Donald Trump, the other to the Deputy Director of the U.S. Secret Service—demanding a continuation of the Obama‑era practice of publishing White House visitor logs. The correspondence arrived just over a month into the new administration, a period when the president’s schedule was already dominated by trips to his Mar‑a‑Lago resort, a private club that doubles as a de‑facto “Winter White House.”
The senators invoked the “Workers and Visitors Entry System” (WAVES) and its associated Access Control Records (ACR), the electronic mechanisms that capture every name, organization and purpose of a visitor to the West Wing. Under President Obama those records were routinely released after a 90‑ to 120‑day lag, creating a transparent ledger of who was seeking influence. By referencing the exact date—April 20, 2017—by which the first Trump‑era logs could appear, the senators framed the issue as a deadline rather than a vague request, signaling that any deviation would be interpreted as a breach of campaign promises to “drain the swamp.”
The Context of Transparency Battles
The letters sit at the intersection of two larger contests that defined the early Trump presidency: the fight over the president’s unconventional use of private property for official business, and the broader clash between the administration’s secret‑keeping instincts and congressional demands for openness. During the transition, Trump held meetings at Trump Tower and the Bedminster golf club, inviting donors and supporters to “come around” while vetting staff. Once inaugurated, he made four trips to Mar‑a‑Lago, where members of the exclusive club could observe briefings and sign‑on ceremonies.
Congressional concerns were not limited to optics. The senators cited a February 3 letter to the president asking for public disclosure of Mar‑a‑Lago membership and visitor lists, and a February 13 inquiry about billionaire Carl Icahn’s role as a “special advisor.” Both requests went unanswered, deepening fears that private interests could wield unchecked influence. The March 6 letters therefore served as a procedural reminder—“we expect an answer by March 15”—and as a political warning that any retreat from transparency would be portrayed as another betrayal of anti‑establishment rhetoric.
What the Letter Reveals About Power Dynamics
Beyond the explicit request for logs, the language of the letters reads like a diagnostic of the administration’s emerging security posture. By addressing the Secret Service directly, the senators highlighted the intertwining of visitor‑tracking technology with physical protection protocols. Their appeal to extend WAVES and ACR to Mar‑a‑Lago implies that the Secret Service, which already manages access to the White House, could be enlisted to enforce the same standards at private venues where the president conducts official business.
The document also reveals the Senate’s strategic use of bipartisan credibility. All eight signatories are Democrats, yet they framed the issue in terms of “the American people” and “fair access,” avoiding partisan vilification. This approach suggests an attempt to force a procedural response rather than a partisan showdown, banking on the administration’s early need for legitimacy.
Legacy and Ongoing Relevance
The March 6 letters foreshadowed a series of later battles over transparency that would dominate the Trump years: the refusal to release visitor logs, the controversy over the “Presidential Records Act” exemptions, and the eventual court‑ordered release of some Mar‑a‑Lago visitor information after intense litigation. The senators’ insistence on a March 15 deadline set a precedent for congressional oversight letters that demanded specific response dates, a tactic later used in inquiries about the Ukraine call recordings and the handling of classified documents.
In hindsight, the letters underscore how procedural tools—visitor logs, access‑control systems, and formal correspondence—can become flashpoints in a broader contest over who gets to see and shape the levers of power. They also illustrate the early warning signs of an administration that would repeatedly test the limits of established norms. For scholars of executive‑legislative relations, the March 6 correspondence is a concise snapshot of the moment when the Senate moved from polite inquiry to a firm demand for accountability, a shift that would echo throughout the tumultuous four‑year term.
United States Senate WASHINGTON, DC 20510
March 6, 2017
President Donald Trump The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Trump:
It is now over one month into your Administration and you have yet to announce whether you will continue a policy of transparency with respect to individuals who visit the White House complex. The Obama Administration made White House visitor logs available on a regular basis. These logs provided the American public an unprecedented look at who was lobbying his Administration without compromising the President's ability to execute the functions of his office on a day-to-day basis. Under this policy, the logs were released 90 to 120 days after they were created. If you continue this policy, we should expect to see visitor logs from your White House as soon as April 20, 2017.
If you decide to stop or weaken this policy, it will be seen as yet another instance of you retreating from your campaign commitments to "drain the swamp." Some of us have already written to you raising concerns about transparency at your "Winter White House" at Mar-a-Lago. In a letter dated February 3, 2017, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Tom Udall asked you to make the Mar-a-Lago membership and visitor lists public, and take steps to ensure no person would be have illegal or unsecured access to you when you are working there. Your Administration never responded to that letter, despite you having already made four trips to Mar-a-Lago since your inauguration. Subsequent events during these visits do not inspire confidence that you take transparency or security during these visits seriously.
Another group of Senators has asked your White House Counsel for more information about the role Wall Street billionaire Carl Icahn is playing as your "special advisor" for cutting regulations. In a letter dated February 13, 2017, those Senators asked whether Mr. Icahn had provided any financial disclosures to your Administration, whether he would have special access to government information or policy-makers, and whether any he would be prohibited from providing advice in areas where he has obvious financial conflicts of interest. One way to provide assurances that your Administration is listening to the voices of all Americans, not just friends and donors who have a financial self-interest to influence government policy, is to let everyone know who is meeting with you and your staff. Your counsel never responded to that letter.
Regrettably, the cloak of secrecy seems to be falling over more and more parts of your Administration. Efforts to confirm several of your more controversial cabinet nominees, and your nominee to the Supreme Court, have been spearheaded by so-called "dark money" groups that have raised millions of dollars from undisclosed sources to spend on getting these nominees confirmed. As a result, the American people have no idea whether companies that stand to
benefit from changes to federal policy are making a down-payment for those changes by secretly supporting your nominees. Continuing President Obama's transparency policies would help dispel concerns that the wealthy and the well-connected have unfair access to your White House.
Accordingly, we ask that you advise us of the following:
- Have you decided to continue the policy of releasing White House visitor logs to the public? If so, are you making any changes to that policy and why?
- Will you be extending the Workers and Visitors Entry System (WAVES) and Access Control Records (ACR), which form the basis form visitor disclosures, to other locations that you visit regularly and to which the public has access, like Mar-a-Lago?
We see no reason why you would be unable to continue policies of your predecessor. And we urge you to extend those policies to address your decision to regularly conduct official business at private properties that also provide access to certain members of the public. We request the courtesy of an answer to these questions no later than March 15, 2017.
Sincerely,
[Signature: Sheldon Whitehouse] Sheldon Whitehouse United States Senator
[Signature: Ron Wyden] Ron Wyden United States Senator
[Signature: Jack Reed] Jack Reed United States Senator
[Signature: Thomas R. Carper] Thomas R. Carper United States Senator
[Signature: Tom Udall] Tom Udall United States Senator
[Signature: Kirsten Gillibrand] Kirsten E. Gillibrand United States Senator
[Signature: Richard Blumenthal] Richard Blumenthal United States Senator
[Signature: Chris Van Hollen] Chris Van Hollen United States Senator
United States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
March 6, 2017
William J. Callahan
Deputy Director
U.S. Secret Service
245 Murray Drive, SW, Building T5
Washington, DC 20223
Dear Deputy Director Callahan:
We write for information on the continuation and potential extension of the policy of providing public access to visitor logs for the White House complex, and to request you commit to similar measures for Mar-a-Lago and other locations where the President regularly conducts official business. This policy, adopted to cover records starting in September 2009, is responsible for making public the names of nearly six million visitors to the White House. As of the date of this letter, the Trump Administration has not indicated whether it will continue this policy.
It would be a significant setback to efforts to give the public insight into who influences the White House if this policy were to be discontinued or limited. Indeed, given the unique aspects of how President Trump has decided to conduct official business, we believe he needs to do even more just to meet the benchmark of transparency set by President Obama. President Trump has already taken four trips to his so-called “Winter White House” at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, during which he conducted official business in full view of Mar-a-Lago members and their guests. During his transition, then President-elect Trump worked at the Trump Tower and the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, two locations that are also open to certain members of the public. Recently released audio of one post-election visit to Bedminster captured then President-elect Trump inviting members to “come around” as he interviewed people to serve in his Administration.
President Trump’s conduct of official business at private property to which some members of the public have access appears to be unprecedented in recent times. While we appreciate that every President has the right to some privacy when not in the White House, this President has invited members of the public, who in many cases have paid significant amounts of money for access to him, to watch official business be conducted and has in some cases sought their advice during these breaks from Washington. To help us understand what steps this Administration is doing to maintain transparency and ensure proper vetting of individuals with access to the President and his staff, we request answers to the following questions:
* What determination, if any, has been made to continue making White House visitor logs from the Workers and Visitors Entry System (WAVES) and the Access Control Records system (ACR) available to the public?
* If there is a plan to continue to make these records available, will the policy differ from President Obama’s? If so, how and why?
- Are the WAVES and the ACR systems being used for Mar-a-Lago? If not, what other steps are being taken to conduct background checks people who will be present during President Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago?
- Is the Secret Service considering extending these systems, or any other security screenings, for Trump Tower, Bedminster, or other Trump properties at which the President may spend time conducting official businesses? If not, why not?
- If security screening systems are being put in place outside the White House, who will be responsible for collecting and maintaining these records, what information will be collected, and where and in what format it will be stored? Will information from those systems be made available to the public? If so, will that information be disclosed under the same conditions as White House visitor logs in the Obama Administration?
We request the courtesy of an answer to these questions no later than March 15, 2017.
Sincerely,
Sheldon Whitehouse United States Senator
Ron Wyden United States Senator
Jack Reed United States Senator
Thomas R. Carper United States Senator
Tom Udall United States Senator
Kirsten E. Gillibrand United States Senator
Richard Blumenthal United States Senator
Chris Van Hollen United States Senator
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