By Justin Sink, Bloomberg
A majority of the corporate donors who have been named as donors to President Donald Trump’s ballroom construction project have received government contracts in recent years, according to a report released Monday by a watchdog group.
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Sixteen of the 24 donors have received federal contracts with the cumulative sum totaling $279 billion over the past five years, according to the study by Public Citizen. The majority of those awards have gone to defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp., which has been awarded $191 billion in federal contracts during that period, according to the group founded by liberal activist Ralph Nader.
Many of the organizations — including Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. — have faced federal enforcement actions, had their businesses impacted by tariff policy or seen existing enforcement actions suspended by the Trump administration. Several of the companies have mergers pending before the government, including Comcast Corp., which is weighing a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., and Union Pacific, which is seeking to merge with Norfolk Southern.
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“These giant corporations aren’t funding the Trump ballroom debacle out of a sense of civic pride,” said Public Citizen Co-President Robert Weissman in a statement. “They have massive interests before the federal government and they undoubtedly hope to curry favor with, and receive favorable treatment from, the Trump administration.”
Trump’s ballroom efforts, which have involved the total demolition of the White House’s East Wing, have drawn concern from Democrats on both preservation and ethical grounds and even became fodder for a “Saturday Night Live” sketch over the weekend.
Earlier: Trump’s 90,000-Square-Foot Ballroom Plan Puzzles the Experts
A group of Senate Democrats last week called for “a complete accounting of all donations to the White House ballroom construction project, including the conditions under which contributions were made” in a letter to the White House.
The letter, prepared by Senator Adam Schiff of California, said Trump’s project risked “blatant corruption as these companies and their stakeholders seek to position themselves in the government’s good graces.”
Trump has defended his plans for the 90,000-square foot ballroom, saying the event space was necessary because previous state dinners were held in an outdoor tent and that the $300 million estimated cost would be covered by his “friends.”
Other donors include major crypto firms like Coinbase Inc., Ripple Labs Inc. and Tether Holdings Ltd., as well as longtime Trump donors including billionaires Steve Schwarzman and Miriam Adelson, according to the White House. The donations are routed to the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit partner of the National Park Service that helps restore and preserve historic landmarks and isn’t required to disclose its donors.
Trump dismissed complaints about the process last month while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office.
“I haven’t been transparent? I’ve shown this to everybody that would listen,” Trump said.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also criticized questions about the donations.
“The same critics who are wrongly claiming there are conflicts of interest would complain if taxpayers were footing the bill,” Leavitt said.
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