Majority of corporate Trump ballroom donors represented by 3 lobbying firms, watchdog says

Source: CBS News

Updated on: November 19, 2025 / 8:36 AM EST


The majority of the corporations known to have donated to the fund for President Trump's new White House ballroom are represented by three lobbying firms, according to a new report from government accountability watchdog Public Citizen. Lobbyists from those three firms — Miller Strategies, Ballard Partners and Michael Best Strategies — mingled last month with the president and executives from America's top technology and cryptocurrency companies over tomato salad and Beef Wellington.

The event took place in the White House East Room, a space that will one day adjoin the new $300 million ballroom, and was arranged to recognize donors who privately funded construction that's now underway. Guests included representatives from more than two dozen nationally recognized firms, like tobacco giant Altria, Comcast, Microsoft and T-Mobile.

Several companies retained more than one of the lobbying firms in 2025, paying hundreds of thousands annually for advocacy before Congress and the Trump administration.

CBS News also found that a fourth firm, Akin, provided lobbying or legal services to at least nine of the donor companies, according to 2025 federal lobbying disclosures, and one of its lobbyists also attended the East Room dinner. Lobbyists were instrumental in connecting their corporate clients with ballroom fundraisers, multiple sources told CBS News.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/corporate-trump-ballroom-donors-represented-by-3-lobbying-firms/