Mar-a-Lago Will Not Host Cleveland Clinic's 2018 Fundraiser

CLEVELAND, OH — The Cleveland Clinic will no longer make use of President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort to host its annual fundraising gala, the company announced in a statement on Thursday. The announcement comes on the heels of the disbanding of a presidential advisory council that Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove served on.

"After careful consideration, Cleveland Clinic has decided that it will not hold a Florida fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago in 2018," the hospital system said in a statement to Politico. "We thank the staff of Mar-a-Lago for their service over the years."

The Clinic appears to be bowing to external pressure to distance itself from Trump, who supported the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The Associated Press reported that the company decided to reverse course and pull the event from the resort after "consideration" of several issues. The company did not elaborate on what those issues are.

The exile from Mar-a-Lago is an abrupt about face for the company. Just one week ago, on Aug. 11, the Cleveland Clinic publicly refused to move the event from the resort, despite mounting criticism. The annual fundraising gala routinely raises between $700,000 and $1 million for the hospital system, ABC reported.

On Wednesday, President Trump officially disbanded two advisory councils, Strategy & Policy Forum and Manufacturing groups. Many of the councils members, CEOs and business leaders, had already publicly left the groups.

The resignations from the council started with Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier who announced Monday he would depart the council. By Tuesday, seven members of the president's manufacturing council had resigned, Business Insider reported. A spokesperson for the Cleveland Clinic told cleveland.com that Cosgrove would remain on the council, despite the controversy. What was left of the councils were disbanded on Wednesday.

Photo from Cleveland Clinic