As key decisions over White House ballroom loom, ethics watchdog calls for more transparency into its donors

The National Capital Planning Commission is set to vote this week on President Donald Trump’s plans for a massive White House ballroom, and a federal judge is expected to decide any day on whether to pause the project during ongoing litigation.

As those decisions loom, an ethics watchdog group is among those asking a different question: Who are the corporate donors paying for it, how much have they given and why?

“We should know who is spending money there, seeking to influence our government?” said Donald Sherman, the president and CEO of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). “It is a part of their lobbying strategy. It’s a part of their influence-seeking strategy. The public should be able to know who is paying tens of thousands, if not millions of dollars, to influence the Commander-in-Chief while we are a nation at war.”

Plans for the new wing released by the White House call for a 1,000 seat ballroom, a suite of offices for the first lady and a commercial kitchen. Many renderings show it will be as tall as the White House and even larger than the White House residence. On Sunday, the president said the military is also building a “massive complex” underneath the ballroom.

“For 150 years, they’ve wanted to build a ballroom at the White House, and other presidents have wanted it,” the president said in a gaggle with reporters on Air Force 1 Sunday, later adding, “I think it’ll be the finest ballroom of its kind anywhere in the world.”

The president says it will be paid for by himself and private entities without taxpayer dollars. Last fall, the White House released of 37 corporate donors, some billionaires and some major companies, it said gave money to the project. Comcast, the parent company of NBC Universal, is among them. The I-Team reached out to Comcast with questions about its donation but has not heard back.

The list, however, didn’t specify how much each had given, nor is it clear if and how many other donors have given funds to the project but requested anonymity.

Last fall, the president said more than $350 million has been raised for the project, which the White House estimates will cost around $400 million.

But Sherman argues those donations aren’t charity but business. That’s why he says many of those corporate donors should disclose their donations on lobbying disclosure reports, which are intended to promote transparency and are required of registrants under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.

CREW found only one of the reported donors — Vantive, a kidney care company — disclosed giving $2.5 million to the project in its 2025 year-end filing. News4 reached out to Vantive about its decision to disclose the donation in lobbying forms. A spokeswoman for the company declined comment.

“To the extent that some of the companies that are donating to the ballroom are government contractors, they have investments in the billions. They have a multi-billion dollar stake in the actions that the president and the administration take year over year,” Sherman said. “For them, it’s a very simple and easy economic choice that, when the president creates an opportunity for them to influence their government or just maintain favor with the government, they’re going to take it.”

The White House hasn’t publicly promised anything to the donors, but many were invited to a glitzy White House dinner last fall as a thank you.

“So many of you have been really, really generous,” the president said in his remarks at the October 2025 dinner, according to a video posted on the White House’s YouTube page. “A couple of you are sitting here saying ‘Sir would $25 million dollars be appropriate?’ I said I’ll take it. It doesn’t take too many ‘25s’ to get it done.”

The News4 I-Team reached out to the corporate donors on the list released by the White House but only one, defense contractor Lockheed Martin, responded.

“Lockheed Martin is grateful for the opportunity to help bring the President’s vision to reality and make this addition to the People’s House, a powerful symbol of the American ideals we work to defend every day,” a spokesperson said.

The money is being collected by a charity called the Trust for the National Mall, which has handled prior White House projects, including the controversial makeover of the Rose Garden during Trump’s first term and an update to the garden in the second.

The Trust declined an on-camera interview but, in a statement, a spokesperson said, “As the nonprofit partner of the National Park Service, the Trust has a long history of restoration projects and volunteer and educational programming and critical impact on the National Mall and on the White House Grounds. We have worked with every Administration since our founding in 2007.”

The Trust says it’s not responsible for the ballroom project but is merely collecting the money. A Justice Department attorney said in court it’s the “executive residence” — meaning the White House — directing the project.

That’s why Sherman says it’s all the more important to know details about who is providing money to the project.

“We need to understand: Who has a seat at the table? How much that seat costs? And what are the outcomes as a result of it?”

The I-Team asked the White House much Trump has donated to the project, for the latest list of donors and their donation amounts and total amount collected so far.

In an emailed response, a spokesman did not address News4’s questions but said, “President Trump is working 24/7 to Make America Great Again, including his historic beautification of the White House, at no taxpayer expense. These long-needed upgrades will benefit generations of future presidents and American visitors to the People’s House.”