Donald Trump may be up in the national polls, but his presidential hopes mean trouble for his Old Post Office hotel. Activists marched on the construction site yesterday, and now Ward 6 councilmember Charles Allen wants District regulators to investigate whether the massive Trump sign outside the site breaks any permitting rules or doubles as a campaign sign.

“When the signs went up, Mr. Trump was not an official presidential candidate,” Allen says. “Now that he is, I think it warrants taking a look at.”

In his letter to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Allen points out similarities between the hotel sign and Trump’s presidential campaign logo. For example, the hotel sign features Trump’s name in white text on a navy background—so does this podium sign from his campaign announcement. The hotel sign promises “TRUMP” in 2016; just like the 2016 election year Trump will be participating in.

Allen, who insists he’d be doing this even if the sign had a less inflammatory presidential hopeful’s name (say, “FIORINA”), says he heard complaints about the sign from constituents even before Trump announced his run for president.

“They find it to be too large, too garish,” Allen says

DCRA spokesman Matt Orlins tells LL the agency will look into the sign concerns.

“We will, as requested, examine the questions presented in Councilmember Allen’s letter,” Orlins writes in an email.

Photo by Morgan Baskin