Most Trump ballroom donors have federal contracts, including Apple, Meta and Microsoft, watchdog Says

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 cabinet contracts in latest years according to a account disclosed Monday by a watchdog group RELATED The Bay Area donors that are helping pay for million White House ballroom Related Articles Companies doing construction on White House take down websites amid backlash East Wing ballroom donations by corporate owners create awkward moments for news outlets Here s a look at the history of renovations of the White House The Bay Area donors that are helping pay for million White House ballroom Photos See how White House looks after East Wing utterly demolished Sixteen of the donors have received federal contracts with the cumulative sum totaling billion over the past five years according to the research by Population Citizen The majority of those awards have gone to defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp which has been awarded billion in federal contracts during that period according to the group founded by liberal activist Ralph Nader Plenty of of the organizations including Apple Inc Meta Platforms Inc and Microsoft Corp have faced federal enforcement actions had their businesses impacted by tariff guidelines or seen existing enforcement actions suspended by the Trump administration Several of the companies have mergers pending before the leadership including Comcast Corp which is weighing a bid for Warner Bros Discovery Inc and Union Pacific which is seeking to merge with Norfolk Southern RELATED Here s a look at the history of renovations of the White House These giant corporations aren t funding the Trump ballroom debacle out of a sense of civic pride mentioned Masses Citizen Co-President Robert Weissman in a report They have massive interests before the federal executive and they undoubtedly hope to curry favor with and receive favorable remedy 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 -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 declared Trump s project risked blatant corruption as these companies and their stakeholders seek to position themselves in the establishment s good graces East wing ballroom renderings Trump has defended his plans for the -square foot ballroom saying the event space was necessary because previous state dinners were held in an outdoor tent and that the 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 Institution 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 revealed 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 mentioned More stories like this are available on bloomberg com Bloomberg L P