Wyden, Colleagues: Trump’s Ballroom is a Political Fundraiser for Big Corporations to Earn Backroom Favors

Wyden, Colleagues: Trump's Ballroom is a Political Fundraiser for Big Corporations to Earn Backroom Favors

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today joined colleagues in decrying the Trump administration for giving major corporate donors undue government influence in exchange for funding his White House ballroom project.

Wyden and four other senators raised questions about politicized fundraising, influence peddling, and donor access to Donald Trump, amid his effort to pay for and build his $300 million ballroom at the White House. The letter comes after Trump demolished the entire East Wing of the White House to make room for his billionaire-funded ballroom.

"We are concerned about the risk of quid-pro-quo arrangements in which large corporations get backroom favors from the White House and President Trump gets his multi-million-dollar ballroom - all while American families face rising prices during a government shutdown," the lawmakers wrote in their letter to National Park Service Comptroller Jessica Bowron, and Trust for the National Mall Chief Executive Officer Catherine Townsend. "The circumstances surrounding President Trump's ballroom raise questions about whether the Trust's philanthropic structure is being abused to facilitate special interest access to the Trump administration and influence-peddling by giant corporations."

The Trust for the National Mall was established as a nonpartisan, nonprofit partner of the National Park Service. But Trump's personal involvement in fundraising for the project, and the number of corporate donors with business before the Trump administration raise questions about whether the Trust is facilitating these donors' corrupt access to and favor-seeking from the administration.

Giant corporate donors have lined up to fund Trump's new ballroom, with all contributions reportedly being overseen by the Trust. Many of those corporations have business interests before the Trump administration, leading to serious ethics concerns. Last month, YouTube settled a lawsuit brought by the Trump administration by agreeing to provide $22 million to the Trust for the ballroom project. Google is facing a lawsuit by Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ), and would benefit if DOJ decides not to continue its legal fight with Google. Similar potential conflicts exist with other large corporations that Trump reportedly courted for donations at last week's glitzy ballroom donor dinner.

The senators requested details about the exact agreements in place regarding the building of the ballroom, the source and amount of donations, whether the donations are charitable deductions, and more.

The letter was led by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. In addition to Wyden, the letter was signed by Senators Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Edward J. Markey, D-Mass.

The text of the letter is here.