Democrats press White House over ballroom donations
Source: Roll Call
Posted October 27, 2025 at 11:35am
Democratic lawmakers are demanding more information about donations from several of America’s largest tech companies to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, which included the destruction of the East Wing. In the wake of the release of the donor list on Oct. 23, they raised potential conflicts of interest over corporate donations from Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and others to a project personally important to Trump. Many of the companies benefit from government contracts or face important legal or regulatory decisions in the future.
Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., said the donation list, including through the settlement of at least one lawsuit brought by the president, “appears very much like a shakedown.” He also highlighted the presence of executives of several of the tech companies at the presidential inauguration in January after their donations to Trump’s inaugural committee. Hoyer added that there is particular motivation for tech companies to curry favor with the president given pending investigations or legal cases. “I don’t think they’re doing it all of a sudden because they fell in love with giving away their money,” he said.
A group of Democratic House appropriators, including Hoyer, sent a letter dated Oct. 23 to the Office of Management and Budget, the National Capital Planning Commission and the National Park Service demanding a list of donors to the project and how much each gave, as well as whether any foreign entities or individuals donated. Rep. Glenn F. Ivey, D-Md., signed on to that letter in his role as a member of the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee.
He suggested examining which of the tech companies involved have government contracts or who are currently pursuing them, as well as open investigations or litigation. “It’s a pretty long list, which is why, you know, normally you wouldn’t allow this type of funding, especially of this magnitude in a federal project like this involving, you know, the White House or the presidency,” he said. Ivey bemoaned the failure to fund the project through the appropriations process.
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2025/10/27/democrats-press-white-house-over-ballroom-donations/
Link to PRESS RELEASE - Hoyer, Pocan, Bishop, Ivey Demand Accountability for Trump's Demolition of White House East Wing
Link to LETTER (inquiry) (PDF) - https://hoyer.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/hoyer.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/final-letter-wh-ballroom-fsgg-1.pdf
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