Much of Donald Trump's political era is unprecedented, but at least one element is familiar: an inauguration with record-setting fundraising and deep-pocketed donors.
Trump raised a record $107 million from corporations and wealthy individuals in 2017 and has reportedly hauled in an estimated $170 million for Monday's festivities. And while donors often argue they're merely doing their civic duty, a report suggests what they might get in return for some very expensive patriotism.
More than half of the 63 federal contractors that donated to Trump's first inauguration won multimillion-dollar government bids in 2017; six of those had received none in 2016. Other donors employed executives who became Trump's political appointees, and still others "earned an unprecedented level of access to the new administration," according to the report from OpenSecrets, the watchdog arm of the Center for Responsive Politics.
Even if no hard deals are made with the president-elect, donors might figure it's better to be safe than sorry.
“It's no secret that if Trump holds a grudge, it's going to be very public,” Brendan Glavin, director of insights at OpenSecrets, told Salon. “Nobody wants to start out on his bad side.”
Cashing in on contacts
Government contractors, who are barred from contributing to candidates' campaigns, are allowed to donate to inaugurations. They gave a collective $16.3 million to Trump's 2017 inaugural fund from their corporate pocketbooks as well as through anonymous LLCs, the report said.
A handful of companies in the private prison industry saw a shift in their government business after. CoreCivic, which owns and operates private prisons across the U.S., won 935% more federal contracts in 2017 than it did in 2016, according to the report. Union Supply Group, which runs prison commissary services, was awarded 18% more federal contracts in 2017 compared to 2016.
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Private prison businesses also benefited from Trump’s then-attorney general, Jeff Sessions, revoking a policy that aimed to phase them out, the report noted. The Obama-era policy was the result of a federal report that found CoreCivic’s management practices were partially responsible for a 2012 prison riot in Mississippi that left one prison guard dead.
Another inauguration donor, Robert Murray, chief executive of the now-bankrupt coal mining company Murray Energy, gave $300,000. He later sent a memo to Vice President Mike Pence titled "Action Plan for the Administration of President Donald J. Trump." It listed 16 specific policy requests for the new administration.
"Nearly a year later, the White House and federal agencies have completed or are on track to fulfill most of the 16 detailed requests," The New York Times reported in early 2018. Among Murray’s requests were slashing the Environmental Protection Agency’s staff "at least in half" and ending regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, ozone and mine safety, The Times reported.
Dow Chemical, which gave $1 million to Trump’s first inauguration, had its controversial $130 billion merger with DuPont approved in 2017 after being delayed for years over antitrust concerns.
Trump appointed a former executive from the American Chemistry Council — a trade organization that represents chemical companies like Dow — to a top position in the EPA’s toxic chemicals division.
The EPA later rejected a recommended ban on a Dow pesticide that “studies suggest has adverse effects on humans,” the OpenSecrets report found.
Few regulations on inaugurations
Inaugurations represent a less regulated opportunity to curry favor with a president. There’s no limit on how much individuals or companies can give unless a president sets one. Nor are there restrictions on how the money is ultimately spent.
"Now people know what to expect, and that is driving them to participate. They say, ‘OK, this will mean something, and this will help us start off on a good foot with the new administration'"
Inaugural committees must disclose the names of donors who give $200 or more, but aren’t required to produce records showing how the funds were spent.
Some would-be Trump donors sat on the sidelines in 2017 because they "didn't necessarily know what to expect from the first Trump administration," said Glavin of OpenSecrets.
But donors are likely hoping to get something in exchange for their gift, even if that’s simply staying on Trump's good side.
"This is the second time around," Glavin said. "Now people know what to expect, and that is driving them to participate. They say, ‘OK, this will mean something, and this will help us start off on a good foot with the new administration.'"
Some Democrats are pushing for more transparency from inaugural committees. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nevada, has reintroduced legislation that would require them to disclose the purpose of each expenditure and donate unspent funds to a charity. Committees would be prohibited from converting donations to personal use or letting donors contribute on behalf of someone else, per CNBC.
“The inauguration of a president from any party should not be used as an opportunity for personal enrichment or cronyism,” said Cortez Masto, who has introduced the bill in every Congress since 2017.
Limits, or not so much?
To varying degrees, presidents have embraced the longstanding tradition of inauguration donations. Several have put limits in the past on gifts from corporations, lobbyists or individuals.
Eight years ago, Trump set no dollar limit and banned contributions from lobbyists. He accepted massive checks from individuals, including $5 million from Republican megadonor and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
Trump placed no restrictions on the sources or amounts of donations to his 2025 inaugural committee, according to ethics watchdog Public Citizen. Corporations like Ford, Toyota, Intuit, AT&T and General Motors have contributed, despite previous vows to rethink donations following the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Some of the world’s biggest tech companies are also on the donor list: Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Meta have each pledged at least $1 million. Bank of America and Goldman Sachs planned donations. OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Apple's Tim Cook said they would give $1 million each. Cryptocurrency firms seeking a clear governing framework and a friendlier watchdog are also in the mix.
Joe Biden limited individual donors to $500,000 and corporations to $1 million and banned donations from lobbyists and the fossil fuel industry. He raised $62 million, with large contributions from Pfizer Inc., the maker of one of the COVID-19 vaccines, as well as from AT&T, Bank of America, Boeing, Uber, Lockheed Martin, Qualcomm and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, a major labor union.
Barack Obama banned corporate gifts as he raised $53 million for his 2009 inauguration but accepted them four years later, when he raised $10 million less. That led to large donations from Southern Company, which lobbied his office to loosen environmental regulations, and from AT&T, which asked for more tax credits and lobbied unsuccessfully for a merger with rival T-Mobile, according to The Center for Public Integrity. Another big donor, Microsoft, wanted stronger online piracy and intellectual property regulations.
George W. Bush's $40 million inauguration in 2001 “received disproportionate backing from drug and oil companies,” The Guardian reported. Oil companies' donations reflected “excitement at the prospect” of Bush opening up Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling. Bush pushed to expand drilling there but was unsuccessful.
Drug companies wanted looser regulations on the cost of patented prescription drugs, as well as a more aggressive fight against generic drugs produced abroad, per The Guardian. In 2003, Bush announced new rules making it easier for U.S. companies to roll out generic prescription drugs.
Bill Clinton collected $33 million in 1993, according to The Washington Post. Insurance companies, including Aetna, MetLife and Blue Cross Blue Shield “were particularly well represented” among the donors. Clinton, who campaigned on health care reform, proposed a rule as president that would have required employers to cover health care insurance for all workers.
Occidental Petroleum, which had been ordered to pay roughly $935 million for allegedly violating federal price-control laws, loaned Clinton's inaugural committee $100,000. Federal regulators reversed the order during his first term, and an Occidental attorney who handled the case was appointed to a senior Justice Department position.
John Huang, an executive at Indonesian banking giant Lippo, issued a joint loan of $100,000 to Clinton’s inauguration fund, alongside another Lippo executive. Huang was later appointed to a position in the Commerce Department, per The Associated Press.
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