The White House has withheld the identities of some individuals and companies that have donated towards President Donald Trump’s $300 million ballroom, according to a report.
The blitz of the historic East Wing to make way for Trump’s pet project has been justified by the administration in part because it is not funded by the taxpayer.
A list of donors released by the White House omitted more than three dozen contributions and names of individuals and companies who are backing the project, according to The New York Times.
A pledge form from Trump’s team has been circulating to seek donations for the ballroom and gave donors the option of withholding their identities, according to the outlet, which obtained a copy of the form.
Two healthcare companies “seeking to protect or expand Medicare reimbursement for their products” are among the donors not disclosed by the White House, according to the newspaper.
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Kidney care company Vantive would not disclose the amount it donated to the ballroom but confirmed to the Times that its CEO, Chris Toth, attended a dinner for donors. Extremity Care, which has previously donated to Trump’s super PAC, donated $2.5 million to the ballroom fund, according to the newspaper.
Other previously undisclosed donors reportedly include financial giant BlackRock, which in May acquired a stake in the company that operates ports near the Panama Canal — a move which was supported by Trump. BlackRock declined to comment when approached by The Independent.
Billionaire TikTok investor Jeff Yass was also not disclosed on the list, according to the Times, and could benefit from a deal backed by Trump that would keep the social media platform running in the U.S.
The Independent contacted Extremity Care and Yass via his trading firm, Susquehanna International Group, for comment.
Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia was also omitted from the list but revealed last week it was among donors backing the ballroom. The company could benefit from a Trump trade deal with China.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
A White House official told the Times that it disclosed the names of donors “who wish to be named publicly,” adding that they “also have the option to remain anonymous and we will honor that if that’s what they choose.”
According to the pledge form obtained by the Times, the project is referred to as “The President Donald J. Trump Ballroom.”
Trump previously said it was “fake news” that he was calling the ballroom after himself and that he didn’t have “any plan” to do so.
At a recent gala dinner for ballroom donors, Trump gave a speech where he said the financial backers would be among the first to see the ballroom, that is, “if I still like you at that time, which I’m sure I will,” he reportedly said.
Names publicly disclosed included Big Tech giants Amazon, Apple, Google, HP and Microsoft, along with cryptocurrency businesses Coinbase and Ripple, the Winklevoss Twins, Comcast, Lockheed Martin and Palantir Technologies.
T-Mobile, Union Pacific Railroad, oil baron Harold Hamm, the family of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and members of the Glazer family, which owns Manchester United and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, are also contributing, according to a list of donors previously released by the White House.
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