Profiting From the Presidency

Corporate Ballroom Money

Trump Directed $22 Million From His Lawsuit Settlement With YouTube to His White House Ballroom

Select a Section to Explore

Chapter 1 — A Dinner for the Donors

Chapter 2 — The Agreement Keeps Donors Out of View

Chapter 3 — Public Money and a Demolished Wing

Chapter 4 — The Defense and the Charge

1 · A Dinner for the Donors

1 · A Dinner for the Donors — select a subtopic

1.1 — Trump Celebrated the Donors Inside the White House

1.2 — The $22 Million Came From Settling His Own Lawsuit

1.3 — The Donors Had Business Before His Government

1 · A Dinner for the Donors

1.1 · A Dinner for the Donors

Trump Celebrated the Donors Inside the White House

Trump hosted the donors to his White House ballroom at a dinner and told them the evening was to celebrate them. He had directed $22 million from the settlement of his own lawsuit against YouTube to the same fund. Americans cannot see every donor or every amount.

Remarks During a Ballroom Dinner, Compilation of Presidential Documents, DCPD No. 202501018

And that's why we're here: to celebrate you, because you've gave—given tremendous amounts of money to see a ballroom built for the first time at the White House.

Donald J. Trump, President of the United States · October 15, 2025

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Sources

[1]'Remarks During a Ballroom Dinner,' Compilation of Presidential Documents, DCPD No. 202501018 (Office of the Federal Register)

[2]Notice of Settlement and Stipulation of Dismissal Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), Document 178, Donald J. Trump et al. v. YouTube, LLC et al., No. 4:21-cv-08009-YGR (N.D. Cal., filed Sept. 29, 2025)

[3]Ten letters from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Ranking Member, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

[4]Letter from Catherine Townsend, President and Chief Executive Officer, Trust for the National Mall, to Sen. Elizabeth Warren

[5]White House Ballroom Funding Agreement, as released under the Freedom of Information Act and published by Public Citizen, 14 pp.

[6]The White House, Briefings & Statements, 'The White House Announces White House Ballroom Construction to Begin'

1.2 · A Dinner for the Donors

The $22 Million Came From Settling His Own Lawsuit

Alphabet, YouTube's parent, agreed to pay $22 million to settle Trump's private claims, and his signed disclosure records the money as paid to the Trust for the National Mall. Meta and X had settled lawsuits of his earlier that year. His disclosure records $24.5 million in Meta proceeds paid to his library Foundation.

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Sources

[4]Letter from Catherine Townsend, President and Chief Executive Officer, Trust for the National Mall, to Sen. Elizabeth Warren

[7]Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278e), filer Donald J. Trump, annual report for calendar year 2025, 847 pp., received by the Office of Government Ethics June 29, 2026

[8]Letter from K. Winn Allen, P.C. (Kirkland & Ellis LLP) to the Honorable William Alsup, ECF No. 197, Trump, et al. v. Meta Platforms, Inc., et al., No. 3:21-CV-09044 (N.D. Cal.), 1 p.

[9]Amended Class Action Complaint, ECF No. 16, Trump et al. v. Facebook, Inc. and Mark Zuckerberg, Civil Action No. 1:21-cv-22440-KMW-CMM (S.D. Fla., filed July 27, 2021), transferred and re-docketed as No. 3:21-cv-09044 (N.D. Cal.)

[10]Substitute Amended Complaint for Injunctive and Other Equitable Relief, ECF No. 82 (public redacted version), FTC v. Facebook, Inc., No. 1:20-cv-03590-JEB (D.D.C., filed Sept. 8, 2021)

[11]Docket sheet, Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 1:20-cv-03590 (D.D.C.), CourtListener (capture filtered to filings between Jan. 1 and Mar. 1, 2025)

[12]Letter from Brian Rice, Vice President, Public Policy, Meta Platforms, Inc., to Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Melanie Stansbury

[13]Letter from Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Melanie Stansbury to Madison Faupel, Treasurer, Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation, July 15, 2026, pp. 1-6

[14]Memorandum Opinion, FTC v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 20-3590 (JEB) (D.D.C. Dec. 2, 2025) (Boasberg, C.J.)

[15]Federal Trade Commission, FTC Appeals Ruling in Meta Monopolization Case, January 20, 2026

[16]Order re Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 165, Trump v. Twitter Inc., No. 21-cv-08378-JD (N.D. Cal., filed May 6, 2022) (Donato, J.)

[17]Judgment, ECF No. 168, Trump v. Twitter Inc., No. 21-cv-08378-JD (N.D. Cal., filed June 7, 2022), 1 p.

[18]Letter from Wifredo Fernández, Head of Americas Global Government Affairs, X Corp., to Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Melanie Stansbury

[19]Stipulated Motion to Voluntarily Dismiss Appeal, DktEntry 146, Donald Trump v. Twitter, Inc., No. 22-15961 (9th Cir., filed Feb. 7, 2025)

[20]Docket sheet, Donald Trump v. Twitter, Inc., No. 22-15961 (9th Cir.), CourtListener — including entry 147, the order of Circuit Judges Bybee, Bennett and Desai entered Feb. 10, 2025

1.3 · A Dinner for the Donors

The Donors Had Business Before His Government

Amazon told Congress it discussed potential giving amounts and the planned donor dinner with the ballroom's fundraisers, then attended. Amazon, Lockheed Martin and Union Pacific each had business before federal agencies. Public Citizen counted new or increased government contracts for 14 of 27 identified corporate donors.

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Sources

[12]Letter from Brian Rice, Vice President, Public Policy, Meta Platforms, Inc., to Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Melanie Stansbury

[21]Letter from Brian Huseman, Vice President, Public Policy, Amazon, to Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Dave Min, December 16, 2025

[22]The Guardian, report on the documentary's theatrical opening

[23]Federal Trade Commission, press release, 'FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power'

[24]General Services Administration, news release, 'GSA Announces OneGov Agreement with Amazon Web Services'

[25]Federal Trade Commission, press release announcing its consumer-protection order against Amazon

[26]Thirty-seven individually addressed letters from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Ranking Member, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, published as one 112-page bundle by the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

[27]Lockheed Martin, news release, 'Lockheed Martin Awarded $233 Million Contract'

[28]Surface Transportation Board, release PR-25-38, Docket No. FD 36873

[29]Letter from Meta Platforms, Inc. to Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a Representative, on its ballroom donation

[30]Public Citizen, Jon Golinger, Eileen O'Grady and Rick Claypool, Ballroom Billions, June 4, 2026, pp. 1-3

2 · The Agreement Keeps Donors Out of View

2 · The Agreement Keeps Donors Out of View — select a subtopic

2.1 — The White House Finds the Donors

2.2 — The Conflict Review Stops Short of the Whole Government

2.3 — Names Without Amounts

2 · The Agreement Keeps Donors Out of View

2.1 · The Agreement Keeps Donors Out of View

The White House Finds the Donors

The Trust for the National Mall said it manages the ballroom donations and was not soliciting them. The funding agreement assigns donor identification and referrals to the White House's Executive Residence, including whether a donor wants anonymity. Public Citizen reported that the administration disclosed the agreement in April 2026, after the group sued.

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Sources

[4]Letter from Catherine Townsend, President and Chief Executive Officer, Trust for the National Mall, to Sen. Elizabeth Warren

[5]White House Ballroom Funding Agreement, as released under the Freedom of Information Act and published by Public Citizen, 14 pp.

[31]Public Citizen, release on the April 22, 2026 disclosure of the ballroom funding agreement

2.2 · The Agreement Keeps Donors Out of View

The Conflict Review Stops Short of the Whole Government

The agreement includes donor screening and prohibits foreign donations. Its specified litigation and business-relationship checks focus on the Park Service and Interior Department, while companies on the donor roster had business before other federal agencies.

Director's Order #21, Donations and Philanthropic Partnerships, § 5.2.2(b)

There is neither an actual nor an implied commitment to take an action favorable to the donor in exchange for the donation.

National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior · December 28, 2016

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Sources

[5]White House Ballroom Funding Agreement, as released under the Freedom of Information Act and published by Public Citizen, 14 pp.

[23]Federal Trade Commission, press release, 'FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power'

[24]General Services Administration, news release, 'GSA Announces OneGov Agreement with Amazon Web Services'

[28]Surface Transportation Board, release PR-25-38, Docket No. FD 36873

[32]Memorandum Opinion on summary judgment, FTC v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 20-3590 (JEB) (D.D.C. Nov. 13, 2024) (Boasberg, C.J.), 92 pp.

[33]National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Director's Order #21, 'Donations and Philanthropic Partnerships,' § 5.2.2(b)–(c)

[34]The Constitution of the United States, art. I, § 9, cl. 8; art. II, § 1, cl. 7; art. II, § 4 — National Archives transcription

2.3 · The Agreement Keeps Donors Out of View

Names Without Amounts

The White House released donor names without contribution amounts. The agreement protects donors who want anonymity, including during audits, and the Trust declined to give Congress donor names. Trump said in May 2026 that close to $400 million had been put up.

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Sources

[3]Ten letters from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Ranking Member, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

[4]Letter from Catherine Townsend, President and Chief Executive Officer, Trust for the National Mall, to Sen. Elizabeth Warren

[5]White House Ballroom Funding Agreement, as released under the Freedom of Information Act and published by Public Citizen, 14 pp.

[35]FactCheck.org, Who’s Paying for the White House Ballroom?, May 14, 2026, updated June 10, 2026

[36]'Remarks on the Construction of the White House Ballroom and an Exchange With Reporters,' Compilation of Presidential Documents, DCPD No. 202600347 (Office of the Federal Register)

[37]Letter from Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Van Hollen, Edward J. Markey and Ron Wyden to the Trust for the National Mall, January 13, 2026

[38]Representative Jared Huffman, Huffman, Dexter Press National Park Service, Trust for the National Mall on Who Is Buying into Trump's Ballroom, August 21, 2026

3 · Public Money and a Demolished Wing

3 · Public Money and a Demolished Wing — select a subtopic

3.1 — Trump Said Taxpayers Would Not Pay, Then Secret Service Money Was Made Available

3.2 — The Old East Wing Is Gone, and the Court Let Construction Continue

3 · Public Money and a Demolished Wing

3.1 · Public Money and a Demolished Wing

Trump Said Taxpayers Would Not Pay, Then Secret Service Money Was Made Available

Trump said donors were making a gift to the country and taxpayers would not pay for the ballroom. OMB later made existing Secret Service funding available for White House security; senators said the administration had confirmed plans to use Secret Service money for the ballroom. The White House maintained that Trump and donors were financing the ballroom.

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Sources

[35]FactCheck.org, Who’s Paying for the White House Ballroom?, May 14, 2026, updated June 10, 2026

[36]'Remarks on the Construction of the White House Ballroom and an Exchange With Reporters,' Compilation of Presidential Documents, DCPD No. 202600347 (Office of the Federal Register)

[39]Senate Judiciary Committee reconciliation legislative text, section 5, United States Secret Service security adjustments and upgrades, May 2026

[40]Roll Call, Secret Service disbursements raise questions on ballroom funding, June 16, 2026

[41]Senators Patty Murray and Christopher S. Murphy, Letter to Acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown, June 22, 2026, pp. 1-2

[42]Associated Press, Democrats say money from Trump's tax cuts bill is paying for White House ballroom project, June 18, 2026, carried by WTOP

3.2 · Public Money and a Demolished Wing

The Old East Wing Is Gone, and the Court Let Construction Continue

The Supreme Court allowed construction to continue while leaving the project's legality undecided. The old East Wing had been demolished by December 2025, and the Park Service expected completion in summer 2028.

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Sources

[43]Supreme Court, National Park Service v. National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, No. 26A203, August 31, 2026, per curiam opinion and Roberts dissent

[44]National Park Service, Finding of No Significant Impact, White House East Wing Modernization and State Ballroom Environmental Assessment, approved August 28, 2025

[45]Supreme Court docket No. 26A203, captured October 10, 2026

4 · The Defense and the Charge

4 · The Defense and the Charge — select a subtopic

4.1 — The Defense, and What It Does Not Answer

4.2 — The Charge Is the President's Use of His Office

4 · The Defense and the Charge

4.1 · The Defense and the Charge

The Defense, and What It Does Not Answer

Companies can settle real lawsuits and fund useful public projects. Those legitimate purposes leave an accountability problem when presidential donors receive his personal recognition while their identities and amounts stay partly hidden.

Read the full chapter — all the detail, fully footnoted →

Sources

[1]'Remarks During a Ballroom Dinner,' Compilation of Presidential Documents, DCPD No. 202501018 (Office of the Federal Register)

[5]White House Ballroom Funding Agreement, as released under the Freedom of Information Act and published by Public Citizen, 14 pp.

[12]Letter from Brian Rice, Vice President, Public Policy, Meta Platforms, Inc., to Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Melanie Stansbury

[18]Letter from Wifredo Fernández, Head of Americas Global Government Affairs, X Corp., to Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Melanie Stansbury

[21]Letter from Brian Huseman, Vice President, Public Policy, Amazon, to Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Dave Min, December 16, 2025

[29]Letter from Meta Platforms, Inc. to Sen. Elizabeth Warren and a Representative, on its ballroom donation

[34]The Constitution of the United States, art. I, § 9, cl. 8; art. II, § 1, cl. 7; art. II, § 4 — National Archives transcription

[35]FactCheck.org, Who’s Paying for the White House Ballroom?, May 14, 2026, updated June 10, 2026

[46]18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(2) — Bribery of public officials and witnesses (Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives, preliminary edition)

[47]McDonnell v. United States, 579 U.S. 550 (2016) — slip opinion, syllabus and opinion of the Court

[48]United States v. Sun-Diamond Growers of California, 526 U.S. 398, 399 (1999) — syllabus (Library of Congress copy of the official United States Reports)

[49]Snyder v. United States, 603 U.S. 1 (2024) — slip opinion, syllabus

[50]Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310, 360 (2010) — opinion of the Court (Library of Congress copy of the official United States Reports)

[51]McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, 572 U.S. 185, 192 (2014) — opinion of Roberts, C.J. (Library of Congress copy of the official United States Reports)

[52]18 U.S.C. § 202 — Definitions (Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives, preliminary edition)

4.2 · The Defense and the Charge

The Charge Is the President's Use of His Office

Trump directed settlement money toward his ballroom and described his own dealings with donors and contractors. The charge is presidential fundraising and secrecy that undermined the public's ability to examine those relationships.

Read the full chapter — all the detail, fully footnoted →

Sources

[1]'Remarks During a Ballroom Dinner,' Compilation of Presidential Documents, DCPD No. 202501018 (Office of the Federal Register)

[3]Ten letters from Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Ranking Member, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

[5]White House Ballroom Funding Agreement, as released under the Freedom of Information Act and published by Public Citizen, 14 pp.

[6]The White House, Briefings & Statements, 'The White House Announces White House Ballroom Construction to Begin'

[34]The Constitution of the United States, art. I, § 9, cl. 8; art. II, § 1, cl. 7; art. II, § 4 — National Archives transcription

[43]Supreme Court, National Park Service v. National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, No. 26A203, August 31, 2026, per curiam opinion and Roberts dissent

[44]National Park Service, Finding of No Significant Impact, White House East Wing Modernization and State Ballroom Environmental Assessment, approved August 28, 2025

[53]The Federalist No. 65 (Alexander Hamilton), Library of Congress