Benjamin Leon Jr. hustled to a White House security checkpoint Wednesday night. He was running late for a dinner recognizing financial backers of President Trump’s new ballroom construction project.
Secret Service officers waved Leon and his wife through.
Once inside, Leon, a wealthy Florida businessman and Mr. Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Spain, joined an exclusive guest list of about 130 that included Nvidia’s Ned Finkle, Extremity Care’s Oliver Burckhardt, Boxabl’s Paolo Tiramani and Galiano Tiramani and Coinbase’s Kara Calvert.
Representatives from companies that gave major contributions to the ballroom were on the list, including OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman and Apple executive Nick Ammann, sources told CBS News.
Some guests arrived in black SUVs with a security team. After a meal of tomato salad, Beef Wellington, and butterscotch ice cream with a pear jam-filled meringue, donors “mobbed” Mr. Trump, seeking a quick conversation or a cellphone photo, attendees told CBS News after the event.
Several, including Leon, declined to share how much they’d donated, and the White House won’t say either.
But Mr. Trump says his $250 million ballroom is fully financed — and that leftover money could be directed toward his next architectural endeavor: an arch opposite the Lincoln Memorial.
Mr. Trump has taken literally the task of building his legacy, ordering up construction projects that are likely to long outlast his presidency. He’s already overhauled the Rose Garden (twice) and recently redid a room off the West Wing.
Democrats would like some guardrails around the ballroom — even if they’re powerless to stop its construction.
California Rep. Mark Takano, a Democrat, is introducing two ballroom-inspired bills Friday. One would ban donor names from being displayed on White House structures or grounds unless the House speaker, minority leader and White House approve it.
CBS News reported in September that ballroom fundraisers had discussed etching donors’ names in stone or brick in the structure.
“This is the White House — it’s an emblem of our nation,” Takano told CBS News. “It’s not like a NASCAR tournament, where all the sponsors are going to get their name emblazoned someplace.”
Takano’s other bill would prohibit federally funded construction at the White House during a government shutdown. The ballroom is being privately financed, so it’s not clear that such a law would halt any construction.
Neither of Takano’s measures are likely to pass, but he argues they send a message.
The ballroom is distracting Mr. Trump from “his abilities to actually pay attention to the 21 million Americans that need health care,” Takano said.
Mr. Trump told dinner guests the ballroom is a respite from heavier matters. “For me, it’s like – I love it in between China, Russia and everything else that we deal with.”
Construction crews are at work on the ballroom, with heavy machinery rumbling around the White House’s east side. A John Deere excavator could be seen swinging its arm.
Aside from financial donations, companies have also made in-kind contributions. Carrier is donating a “world-class, energy-efficient HVAC system, bringing comfort to distinguished guests and dignitaries in this historic setting for years to come,” according to a company statement.
An unnamed firm committed $37 million in steel, Mr. Trump said.
The ballroom, with bulletproof glass windows, will hold 999 people, up from an initial estimate of 650 in July, Mr. Trump said. The footprint has “definitely expanded,” and its exact square footage is “not yet settled,” according to a source familiar with the layout.
It was originally 90,000 square feet. That figure is likely to increase.
The White House shared an abbreviated list of those invited to the dinner, but declined to disclose how much each person or company has given.
CBS News obtained a full list of dinner guests.
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee confirmed earlier this month a probe of the ballroom’s financing had commenced. “We need to know who is involved. Are foreign governments paying for any of this?” Rep. Robert Garcia told Meidastouch Network.
The investigation is in a preliminary phase. In addition to exploring foreign donations, committee Democrats plan to scrutinize construction contracts, settlement money directed to the cause and whether donations lead to favors from government officials.
Ballroom donations are being collected by the Trust for the National Mall, a charitable non-profit organization that partners with the National Park Service and fundraises for projects on the Mall and at the White House.
A spokesperson for the Trust told CBS News that any funds raised are ultimately controlled by the White House and National Park Service. So far, it has received no foreign donations for the ballroom, the spokesperson said.
According to a pledge form obtained by CBS News, the Trust takes a 2.5% cut on each donation, a routine administrative fee in the fundraising world. The Trust stands to collect more than $6 million in fees on $250 million raised. The Trust spokesperson declined to offer specifics on the fee arrangement.
The Trust recently took in $22 million from a settlement agreement between YouTube, which is owned by Google, and Trump. The civil lawsuit stemmed from YouTube deplatforming Trump in the wake of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
At the dinner Wednesday, Mr. Trump held up three mock-ups of his next project, an arch on the Virginia side of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, across from the Lincoln Memorial.
In 1902, the National Park Service considered building a triumphal arch on that site to honor President and Union General Ulysses S. Grant, but the arch was never built. Perhaps this time will be different.
“Small, medium and large,” Mr. Trump said, gesturing to the miniature models, which resembled Paris’ Arc de Triomphe. “I happen to think the large looks by far the best.”
Here’s the full list of invitees to Mr. Trump’s dinner:
More than 100 were invited to President Trump’s dinner Wednesday night, which was meant to thank financial donors who are funding the new White House ballroom. Those invited, including some who couldn’t attend, according to CBS sources, were:
