Trump spent $3.9 million in the first quarter.
Trump has opted - unlike presidents before him - to begin
actively fundraising in the early part of his first term. He
could use some of the money which he has already raised to help
Republicans in the upcoming midterm election in November.
In addition to raising money for his own campaign, Trump has
also collected funds for joint efforts with the Republican
National Committee, which uses that money to help congressional
candidates.
His re-election campaign finished 2017 with $22 million in cash.
During the first quarter of the year, Trump spent about $834,000
on legal expenses - down from the $1.1 million he spent in each
of the previous two quarters, according to disclosures filed
with Federal Election Commission.
Trump's campaign has used millions of his campaign cash in the
past year to pay legal fees - including some fees associated
with responding to the Russia investigation being conducted by
Special Counsel Robert Mueller. His campaign spent over $3
million in 2017 in legal fees.
In addition to legal fees, he has also used that money to keep a
small campaign staff, to fund campaign rallies and to pay for
digital advertising focused on his supporters.
Trump filed for re-election the day he took office, an unusual
move for an incumbent president. Traditionally, incumbent
presidents have waited until after their second year in office
to begin their re-election campaign. Trump will stand for
re-election in November 2020.
(Reporting by Ginger Gibson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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