Big tech is paying for Trump’s White House ballroom

While the US government remains in limbo during the period closeThe White House grounds were crowded this week. Construction workers have begun demolishing the East Wing of the White House, which will be replaced with… – A banquet hall with an area of ​​90,000 square feet It is estimated to accommodate up to 1,000 guests.

Taxpayers are not funding President Donald Trump’s $250 million project. Instead, he is using private donations to build his lavish addition to the White House.

The White House issued a List of project funders on Thursday, which includes some of the most influential US technology companies, such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft, as well as defense companies such as Palantir and Lockheed Martin and telecommunications providers such as Comcast and T-Mobile. The cryptocurrency industry is also represented among donors in the White House halls, with money coming from Coinbase, Ripple, Tether America and the Winklevoss twins.

It is not clear how much each donor contributed to the project. However, at least 20 million dollars From Google is part of a recent lawsuit colony On YouTube comment for Trump after the riots on January 6, 2021. TechCrunch asked Google whether the settlement money represents the full extent of the company’s contributions, but has not yet received an answer.

Silicon Valley’s relationship with Trump has changed significantly. While much of the technology industry Starting Resist When Trump first became president in 2016, he courted Trump during his second term. Meta, for example, He did not donate to Trump’s first inauguration fund, but contributed $1 million to the president’s second inauguration; Amazon donated $58,000 the first time, but made a larger donation of $1 million this time.

These donations reflect a greater alignment between Trump and the tech industry.

The industry could be more willing to cooperate with the current Trump administration as several major technology companies face antitrust lawsuits. The Trump administration has been less aggressive in antitrust enforcement than former President Joe Biden’s FTC was under the previous FTC chairman. Lina Khan.

Trump also took more Aggressive approach He has contributed more to the development of artificial intelligence than his predecessor, which is a financial boon for companies developing that technology. In his AI action plan, unveiled in July, Trump and his administration set a goal of cutting red tape and using government funds to support the construction of data centers.