Kamal Ghorui
The White House has now released the names of 21 American companies that are donating millions for the construction of a new 90,000-square-foot ballroom on its grounds, a project whose estimated cost has doubled to $400 million since July. As reported by Assosciated Press, this announcement from White House comes amid the heightened urgency following a security incident which happened last weekend at the Correspondents’ Dinner. US President Donald Trump has insisted that the ballroom will not be funded by taxpayers, though public funds are being used for underground security infrastructure. In a post shared on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE. This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House. The ridiculous Ballroom lawsuit, brought by a woman walking her dog, who has absolutely No Standing to bring such a suit, must be dropped, immediately. Nothing should be allowed to interfere with with its construction, which is on budget and substantially ahead of schedule!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”The Justice Department has also cited the incident in urging the National Trust for Historic Preservation to drop its lawsuit against the project, arguing the ballroom will enable presidents to host large gatherings without leaving the White House perimeter.
List of 21 American companies donating millions to Trump administration’s new ballroom
The list, reviewed by Fortune, includes some of the nation’s largest tech firms, defense contractors, and energy companies. Among the 21 highlighted donors:* Meta Platforms — pledged billions in U.S. investments by 2028.* Apple — announced $100 billion in domestic manufacturing plans.* Amazon — maintains major Pentagon contracts.* Google (Alphabet) — contributed $22 million from a settlement toward the ballroom.* Lockheed Martin — reportedly donating over $10 million.* Microsoft — involved in federal cybersecurity partnerships.* Comcast — parent of NBCUniversal, a frequent Trump critic.* Altria — tobacco giant backing reduced FDA oversight.* Coinbase — crypto exchange supporting pro-crypto regulation.* Palantir Technologies — major federal surveillance contractor.* T-Mobile — network partner for Trump-branded cell service.* Ripple — blockchain payments firm aligned with digital-asset policy.* Hard Rock International — casino brand with Trump Organization ties.* Tether America — stablecoin issuer backing digital-dollar alternatives.* Union Pacific Railroad — pursuing merger ambitions.* Micron Technology — pledged $200 billion in U.S. chip investments.* Caterpillar — emblematic of “Made in America” manufacturing.* Booz Allen Hamilton — defense and cybersecurity contractor.* HP — long-time donor with military contracts.* NextEra Energy — renewable energy utility balancing coal policy criticism.* Reynolds American — tobacco conglomerate with past Trump fundraising ties.Donations are being made to the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit, and are tax-deductible. While Trump has said he will contribute personally, his name does not appear on the donor list.
