5 tech giants face a 'quid-pro-quo' grilling about Trump's ballroom
Democratic lawmakers want the CEOs of Nvidia, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon to answer questions about their Trump ballroom donations
US President Donald Trump, left, and Jensen Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., in the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 (Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images).
A group of Democrats in Congress is demanding answers from five powerful tech firms that made sizable donations to President Donald Trump's ballroom renovation project.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Dave Min led lawmakers on Thursday in sending letters to the CEOs of Nvidia, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon, demanding more details about their political donations. The government officials argue that the donations could pave the way for favorable treatment from the U.S. government — and violate the law.
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"These interests create the potential for a quid-pro-quo exchange of a contribution to the ballroom for regulatory or other favors from the federal government," Warren and Min said in the letter signed by nine other Democratic lawmakers. “If your donation was made with the intent to influence government decision-making, it could run afoul of federal bribery law.”
The letters inquire about the timeline of the donations, the extent of the firms' business interests before the U.S. government, whether their contributions were discussed with Trump aides, and if they'll receive any tax benefits as a result.
Spokespeople for Nvidia, Meta, Apple, and Amazon did not immediately return requests for comment from Quartz. Microsoft declined to comment on the letter.
A Nvidia spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal, "As an American company, our support for the United States is paramount, and independent of any business interests."
Trump has torn down the East Wing to build a new ballroom, part of a massive overhaul he's undertaken of the White House complex. He has said the ballroom would be funded by private donations, though critics such as Warren say it allows for open corruption.
Many of the companies facing the grilling have business interests before the federal government. For example, Amazon is attempting to fend off a monopoly lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission that alleges that the company is stifling competition. It settled another case in September that alleged it tricked customers into signing up for Amazon Prime.