Tech Giants Donate $400 Million to Trump Ballroom, Then Shape AI Policy They Benefit From

Apple, Google, Amazon, Palantir, Lockheed Martin, and Microsoft contributed to a $400 million private fund for Trump's White House East Wing ballroom, then helped shape AI executive orders eliminating permitting barriers for data centers and reducing regulatory oversight. OpenSecrets documented that every major donor held billions in federal contracts and participated in AI policy development, a pay-to-play arrangement ethics lawyers from the George W. Bush administration flagged as an Anti-Deficiency Act violation. In March 2026, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ordered construction to halt, ruling no statute authorizes privately funded White House construction without congressional authorization.