U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the American Cornerstone Institute's Fourth Annual Founders Dinner at George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate in Mount Vernon, V.A., U.S., September 20, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
President Donald Trump is hosting corporate friends at the White House for a lavish dinner to express gratitude for their financial support in constructing his expansive ballroom. Those concerned about government ethics have questions.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that over three dozen companies and individuals will attend the White House dinner on Wednesday night, having contributed to Trump's $250 million structure. The new building is 90,000 square feet — about double that of the original. That structure was initially built without the East and West Wings.
The companies include Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Alphabet’s Google, Amazon and Palantir Technologies, the Journal reported.
Individuals include "oil billionaire Harold Hamm, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss."
Critics and ethics experts blasted the move.
“Every company that is invited to that dinner that either doesn’t show or doesn’t give knows now they will be out of favor with the Trump administration,” Claire Finkelstein, a University of Pennsylvania law professor and faculty director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law, told the Journal.
"Any company that donates to this BS ballroom should be immediately broken up via aggressive anti-trust action at the next available opportunity, and that’s basically the floor for punishment," complained legal analyst Benjamin B. Kabak.
"What are these billionaires and giant corporations getting in exchange for donating to Donald Trump's $200 million ballroom?" asked Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). "Do they think we're dumb enough to believe they're giving their money away for free?"
"This comes on the 15th day of the government shutdown," lamented the Democratic Party's FactPost.
The event will be streamed live.