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President Trump Has Already Raised Millions For His 2020 Run

President Trump can accept donations because he already launched his 2020 bid.
Posted at 6:51 PM, Feb 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-01 18:51:00-05

Donald Trump's presidential election efforts raised about $11 million in December — and yes, that's December 2016. The president may already be looking toward 2020.

Unlike past presidents, Trump declined to roll his election efforts into his party's committee after he won. Instead, he decided to keep a small campaign operation going in Trump Tower.

President Trump also filed for re-election with the Federal Election Commission on Inauguration Day. The five previous presidents waited more than two years to file their bids for re-election.

His early filing allows businesses to donate money to his presidential campaign while he's in office. There are no laws on how sitting presidents should announce their re-election bid.

The filing made it clear this isn't a formal declaration of Trump's candidacy, but just making sure he's complying with the rules if he decides to run again.