Democratic lawmakers are pushing new limits on private donations for President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom, arguing the funding arrangement raises serious bribery and corruption concerns.
Trump announced in October that work had begun on the new ballroom, a project that required demolishing the historic East Wing of the White House. The construction is slated to be paid for entirely with private money and is now projected to cost about $300 million, up from the initial $200 million estimate shared in July when the project was first revealed.
Democrats say they worry that wealthy individuals and corporations are not simply contributing out of civic spirit, but are instead seeking to secure access or favorable treatment from the administration. In response, they have introduced legislation aimed at tightening the rules around such donations.
The White House released a list of donors in October, but lawmakers including Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Adam Schiff of California say that is not enough. They argue that some donors remain undisclosed or have been allowed to remain anonymous, and that stronger oversight is needed to fully understand who is financing the project and why.
Among the contributors are several major corporations, including Google, Apple, Meta Platforms, Amazon, Microsoft and Lockheed Martin. That roster of donors, Democrats contend, highlights the risk of a “pay-to-play” environment in which companies with significant business before the federal government might see large contributions as a way to win goodwill with Trump and his team.
Lawmakers have zeroed in on Google as one example. The company agreed in September to a $22 million settlement with Trump over his lawsuit accusing YouTube of censoring him by banning him from the platform after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Google, which owns YouTube, is also the target of a Justice Department antitrust case. Democrats say those pending issues could give the tech giant a strong incentive to seek favor with the Trump administration through generous donations.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
“Billionaires and giant corporations with business in front of this administration are lining up to dump millions into Trump’s new ballroom — and Trump is showing them where to sign on the dotted line,” Warren said in a Tuesday statement. “Americans shouldn’t have to wonder whether President Trump is building a ballroom to facilitate a pay-to-play scheme for political favors. My new bill will put an end to what looks like bribery in plain sight.”
Warren and Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, are leading the legislative effort. Other Democrats, including Schiff and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, have signed on as co-sponsors.
Under the proposal, donations from individuals or organizations that pose a conflict of interest would be barred outright. The measure would also prohibit the president, vice president, their families and their staff from directly soliciting such contributions.
Once donations are made, they would need to be reviewed and cleared by the National Park Service director and the head of the Office of Government Ethics. After that, the legislation would prohibit displaying donors’ names in recognition of their gifts and would impose a two-year cooling-off period during which donors could not lobby the federal government.
The bill would further ban the use of leftover donated funds for any personal benefit to the president, vice president, their families or staff. It also requires donors to disclose any meetings with federal officials that take place within a year of their donation and forbids anonymous contributions altogether.
“President Trump has put a ‘for sale’ sign on the White House—soliciting hundreds of millions of dollars from special interests to fund his $300 million vanity project,” Blumenthal said Tuesday. “Our measure is a direct response to Trump’s ballroom boondoggle. With commonsense reforms to how the federal government can use private donations, our legislation prevents President Trump and future presidents from using construction projects as vehicles for corruption and personal vanity.”
The White House has brushed off the Democratic effort and criticized the proposed restrictions.
“President Trump is making the White House beautiful and giving it the glory it deserves,” spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday. “Only people with a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome would find a problem with that.”
During his second term, Trump has ordered several changes to the White House grounds and interiors, including adding gold accents to the Oval Office and upgrading the Rose Garden, in addition to the controversial new ballroom project.
