Trump White House Ballroom Contract Allowed Anonymous Donors, Limited Oversight
Documents released to the Washington Post after a court order show that the fundraising contract for President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom permits anonymous donations and lacks conflict-of-interest review for the White House and the broader executive branch. The agreement, signed in early October by the White House, the National Park Service, and the Trust for the National Mall, governs what Trump has described as a roughly $400 million project; demolition of the East Wing began less than two weeks after the contract was finalized. Public Citizen sued to obtain the contract, and a federal judge ordered its disclosure after the administration did not respond to a public records request; the administration says it has raised about $300 million but has not released a full donor list. Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal have pushed for greater transparency and introduced legislation to ban anonymous donations for projects on White House grounds, while litigation continues after a judge ordered construction halted pending congressional authorization, though an appeals court has allowed work to proceed during the case.
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This story was covered in Auction Fever, Museum Power Plays