It was only a matter of time before the donor list for Trump's $300 million White House ballroom started to look like a seating chart for the world's creepiest dinner party. Now, Senate Democrats, led by California's Adam Schiff, want to know exactly who paid for the "Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Ballroom," a monument to power, ego, and an unholy marriage of tech money and moral decay.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) and colleagues on Tuesday demanded that the White House provide a "complete accounting" of how it is paying for the ballroom, including any terms for donors. Trump said Friday that he had raised more than $350 million to pay for the project, and the White House has said that at least three dozen companies and private individuals have helped fund it.
"The opaque nature of this scheme reinforces concern that President Trump is again selling presidential access to individuals or entities, including foreign nationals and corporate actors, with vested interests in federal action," Schiff wrote to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in a letter shared with The Washington Post. Schiff, a frequent critic of the president, also sent his request to the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan watchdog that conducts oversight of the executive branch.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) separately sent letters Tuesday to contractors involved in the White House construction project, including McCrery Architects, Clark Construction and engineering firm AECOM, questioning the "rapidly changing and secretive terms" of Trump's planned ballroom. The letters were also shared with The Post.
Washington Post
The so-called "privately funded" project has drawn checks from defense contractors, Silicon Valley giants, and enough crypto bros to crash a blockchain. Oversight boards were dissolved, preservationists shoved aside, and federal ethics lawyers are quietly praying for early retirement. The ballroom's gilded arches may be the least offensive thing about it. Along with the destruction of the historic East Wing of the White House, we have also lost two landmark gardens and the integrity of "The People's House."
Previously:
• 'Enigmas never age' — Was Trump's alleged note to Epstein hiding an anagram for 'gamines?'
• Documents reveal decades-long Trump-Epstein relationship despite denials
• Trump files $10 billion lawsuit against Wall Street Journal over alleged Epstein birthday card
