MAGA 250! $103M in Federal Contracts Flow to Trumpified “Freedom 250” Events

Key Findings

Donald Trump and his allies have seized control of the bipartisan 250th anniversary celebration and substituted it with a Trumpified series of events, at the public’s expense. Our analysis of federal contracts and corporate sponsorship deals related to the 250th anniversary reveals that:

• The Trump administration has awarded nearly $103 million in federal contracts and grants for the 250th anniversary celebrations to a network of politicized entities under the control of Trump administration officials and political allies. 
• The recipients include entities controlled or influenced by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, as well as Chris LaCivita (Trump’s former campaign manager) and Meredith O’Rourke, Trump’s former presidential campaign finance director.
• These grants represent the vast majority (about 80%) of the nearly $126 million in federal contracts awarded since October 2025 to fund this summer’s 250th-anniversary celebrations, which have devolved into a celebration of Trump himself.
• Private funding has also flooded the anniversary celebration, often from corporations with regulatory issues before the Trump administration. As of June 11, 20 corporate sponsors are funding the Trump administration’s preferred anniversary organization, Freedom 250, compared with the 62 sponsoring the original, bipartisan celebration, dubbed America 250 (12 companies sponsor both).

(Photo collage by Andy Zielinski with White House image by G. Edward Johnson)

Introduction 

A decade ago, Congress created a bipartisan commission, the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, to oversee the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. The commission then created a nonprofit organization called America 250 to be its official partner organization, helping to plan events, memorials, celebrations, and other commemorations reflecting on the history of the United States. 

Upon Trump’s second election, Trump allies spent months trying to take over the America 250 organization by installing loyalists and partisan operatives to its board. Following scrutiny from the organization’s bipartisan leadership (and a strict limit on the President’s power to remove existing members from the board), Trump’s efforts to take over the organization faltered. The Trump-appointed leader, former Fox News producer Ariel Abergel, was fired by America 250 amid allegations that he improperly attempted to pressure board members to resign and engaged in other infractions. (Abergel attributed his firing to his efforts to issue a statement and post on social media about the killing of conservative broadcaster Charlie Kirk.)

The failed putsch at America 250 revealed Trump and his allies’ disdain for a nonpartisan vision for the semiquincentennial celebrations. Rather than choosing to collaborate with America 250 the Trumpian coalition instead founded a new, opaque organization known as Freedom 250 to facilitate a MAGAfied celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Freedom 250 has since quickly displaced America 250 as the Trump Administration’s preferred partner in the 250th anniversary celebrations, a preference made clear by actions like linking to Freedom 250 (but not America 250) at the bottom of the White House’s landing page. At least one federal agency sent out directives to staff instructing that “Freedom 250 should be the lead identity in most cases,” while noting that America 250 should still be used for co-branded events.

In the last six months, Freedom 250 has also courted a slate of 20 corporate sponsorships (as of June 11) , including a number seemingly drawn from its nonpartisan competitor, although the America 250 organization continues to boast significantly more, with 62 sponsors as of early June. There is some overlap between the two organizations, as 12 companies sponsor both America 250 and Freedom 250. The Wall Street Journal reported that the competition between the two highly similar organizations “confused corporate executives, many of whom were unaware of the parallel organization raising money for Trump’s own celebration.”

Freedom 250 was incorporated in October 2025 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Park Foundation (NPF), the congressionally-chartered non-profit partner of the National Park Service. The project was announced by Trump himself, but not until December 18, 2025, when the White House released a video celebrating a “new public-private partnership.” In the same video, Trump lamented “men playing in women’s sports” and promised a “triumphal arch,” while bemoaning the lack of such a structure in D.C. 

It remains unclear who directed the creation of Freedom 250 under the National Park Foundation’s banner. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum sits as the ex officio director of NPF as required by the organization’s 1967 congressional charter. Burgum, however, insisted in Congressional testimony in May 2026 that he did not direct the establishment of the Freedom 250 organization; “I’m not aware of the final decision maker on Freedom250,” Burgum said. Appearing on CNN, Burgum said the “Freedom 250 organization is run out of the White House.”

Even so, Burgum has spent the last year stacking the NPF board with Trump loyalists — including longtime Trump fundraiser Meredith O’Rourke, and Trump’s 2024 campaign co-manager, Chris LaCivita. O’Rourke is also raising money for several other Trump-tied vanity ventures, including Trump’s corporate-funded East Wing ballroom project.

This Trumpified version of the semiquincentennial seems first and foremost to lionize Trump and glorify his political base while shirking the opportunity to understand and respect the shared, complicated history of our country. 

Table 1: Notable Federal Contracts for 250th Anniversary Events

Vendor	Agency	Contract Obligation	Description	Trump Political Tie	Tie
National Park Foundation	Department of the Interior	$68,333,563	Semiquincentennial events	Yes	Freedom 250 Parent
National Park Foundation	Institute of Museum and Library Services	$10,142,920	Freedom Trucks. Grant transferred from America 250, INC.	Yes	Freedom 250 Parent
Rectors and Visitors of the University of Virginia	National Endowment for the Humanities	$10,000,000	Founding era and early Republic object curation and research	No	N/A
Hearst Media Production	Department of State	$5,590,000	250 Anniversary TV Series	Unclear	Content Unknown
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library	Department of the Interior	$5,000,000	Roosevelt Presidential Library	Yes	F250 Signature Event
Sail250 New York Inc.	Department of the Interior	$5,000,000	International Naval Review & Sail 4th 250 Sail 4th 250	Yes	F250 Signature Event
Event Strategies Inc.	Department of Homeland Security	$4,420,018	Security screenings World Cup & A250	Yes	Event Strategies Trump-tied firm
Miami Environmental & Energy Solutions	Department of Education	$3,740,596	Secretary of Ed A250 Tour	Yes	Trump Cabinet
Museum of the American Revolution	National Endowment for the Humanities	$2,243,223	250th anniversary programming	No	N/A
Event Strategies Inc.	Department of Defense	$2,139,410	America 250 Events	Yes	Event Strategies Trump-tied firm
Aptive Resources	General Services Administration	$2,555,954	Freedom 250 Production Sourcing	Yes	Other F250-affiliated banners and decorations have been made political
Ack Marine & General Contracting, LLC	Department of the Interior	$1,897,900	A250 Repairs Pier 1 Boston	No	N/A
Humanities Texas	National Endowment for the Humanities	$969,889	Texas 250th Celebrations	No	N/A
Craft in America, Inc	National Endowment for the Humanities	$700,000	National Semiquincentennial Showcase: Crafts	No	N/A
LCOR Alexandria	Department of Commerce	$567,715	“American Innovation for Freedom 250”	Unclear	Content Unknown
Alabama Humanities Alliance	National Endowment for the Humanities	$520,631	Alabama 250th Celebrations	No	N/A
Crossroads of the American Revolution Association Inc	Department of the Interior	$500,000	Planning for NJ’s semiquincentennial	No	N/A
National Experienced Workplace Solutions, Inc.	Department of the Interior	$354,866	Assist in staffing complex A250 events on NPS lands	No	N/A
Persimmon Grove LLC	Department of the Interior	$353,124	“NCR-NAMA: A250 REPAIR FOUNTAINS”	Yes	Part of Trump’s DC “Beautification” Efforts
Event Strategies Inc.	General Services Administration	$309,850	Freedom 250 Design	Yes	Event Strategies Trump-tied firm
Vu Technologies Corp.	Department of Commerce	$304,400	American Innovation for Freedom 250 Great American State Fair	Yes	For F250 Signature Event
Event Strategies Inc.	Department of Commerce	$262,246	FREEDOM 250 EXTERIOR DESIGN	Yes	Event Strategies Trump-tied firm
Total:		$125,906,305
Total Politicized:		$102,562,081

Notes: Spending was characterized as “political” if it involved events listed as “signature” Freedom 250 events on the Freedom 250 website or involving Trump allies or cabinet officials. Foreign contracts were excluded. Includes events since October 25, 2025, when Freedom 250 was launched as a separate organization from America 250.

A Summer of Religion, Trump and (Maybe) Vanilla Ice

In recent weeks, confusion surrounding the 250th anniversary became front-page news. A series of musical acts from rapper Young MC of “Bust a Move” fame to country star Martina McBride to Bret Michaels of Poison decided to quit the lineup for a late June concert scheduled to kick off the “Great American State Fair” on the National Mall.

In exiting the program, several artists said they were misled about the event and had believed the event would be apolitical. “I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event, but that turned out to be misleading,” McBride wrote in an Instagram post. Poison’s Bret Michaels wrote that: “Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of.”

In response, a Freedom 250 spokeswoman claimed that the event “is inherently nonpolitical. It is a celebration of our country.” Appearing on CNN, Burgum defended the event and tried to blame musicians for the embarrassing dropouts, saying that “I can’t wade into the politics of musicians because … some musicians want to play for everybody and some musicians seem to have segmented their audiences the same way … politicians have.”

Burgum also said that “Freedom 250 and the celebration of the 250 is a nonpartisan event” and touted improvements to long-neglected fountains in Washington, D.C. as evidence of the event’s purported lack of partisanship. However, Burgum also said that Freedom 250 is “run out of the White House.”

Trump, however, quickly undercut those claims himself by announcing a rally featuring Lee Greenwood, a musician long associated with Trump whose “God Bless the USA” anthem is regularly featured at Trump rallies. Trump posted on social media that: in celebration of our Country’s 250 Year History, we will be bringing you, LIVE, the Greatest Rally, EVER! It will be special at every level — A Rally to end all Rallies! We don’t want singers with no talent, but big fees to put you to sleep, we’ve told them all to stay home. All we want is you, me, a few speakers, and the Greatest Music ever played, the same Music you have listened to for years!” Still unknown was the status of Vanilla Ice, the early 1990s rapper, who remained interested in performing at the event despite the defections of many other musicians.

The procession of Trumpian 250th anniversary events will continue through the summer. On June 14 (Trump’s birthday), the White House will host a UFC-branded cage match, sponsored by Crypto.com and RAM trucks, on the White House lawn. “The event is expected to blend politics, patriotism, and one of the biggest brands in combat sports in a way Washington has never seen before,” Fox News wrote in a social media post.

Earlier in the spring, several of Trump’s cabinet secretaries spoke at an event called “Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving” on the National Mall. Nearly all of the religious leaders who spoke were conservative evangelical Christians. Most speakers appeared in front of a massive cross transposed onto historical artworks related to the founding, including the lone non-Christian speaker appearing at the event, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, a Trump-supporting rabbi from New York.

“We worked very hard with the faith leaders we trust … to ensure that we hear their concerns and we have the right focus for our community of believers, across the country. So I think if you do see another religion represented, it would probably be in a modest way,” said Brittany Baldwin, executive director of the White House’s 250 Task Force, in a YouTube webinar.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who is deeply tied to the Christian right, offered Rededicate’s official prayer, lamenting “sinister ideologies” and “attacks on our history, on our heroes and the cherished moral and spiritual identity of this great nation.” Franklin Graham took the stage to denounce “transgenderism” and attack same-sex marriage.  Another speaker, Robert Jeffress, asserted, “If being a Christian nationalist means loving Jesus Christ and loving America, count me in!”  Late August will bring an IndyCar race to the streets of Washington, D.C., and other forthcoming events will include a “youth athletic competition” that Trump has dubbed the “Patriot Games,” which is slated for the fall. 

I have informed my agents that I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event. The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event … I hope to perform in D.C. in the near future at an event that is not so politically charged. 

— Young MC (Marvin Young), Instagram post, May 27 2026

Freedom 250’s Private Funding

Corporations including ExxonMobil, Oracle, Lockheed Martin, Palantir, and United Airlines are contributing undisclosed sums with no oversight, even as they face major federal regulatory issues. Freedom 250’s ongoing efforts to raise private money raise a slate of ethics and transparency concerns about whether Trump and his allies are soliciting donations in exchange for access to the administration, including the President, especially since many of the corporations that have joined have major business dealings currently before the administration. Doing so carries some legal and political risk. As the law firm Skadden noted in a public memo to clients, “Donors to non-profits aligned with or otherwise connected to public officials should always ensure before making a donation that there is no quid pro quo or other linkage with influencing a government decision.”

Freedom 250’s sponsors range from major technology and defense contractors to the makers of a highly caffeinated energy drink, with 12 of those appearing on sponsorship lists for America 250 as well. (Some of the overlapping sponsors signed up to sponsor America 250 just last year as the Trump administration attempted to take over the bipartisan organization.)

Freedom 250’s sponsors, which include ExxonMobil, IndyCar, and MasterCard, are contributing undisclosed sums to the Freedom 250 organization. Reporting from the New York Times revealed special perks for donors who give between $500,000 and $2.5 million, such as direct access to the president. Dozens more “partner” organizations are also endorsing the Freedom 250 events, including the Blockchain Association, the National Confectioners Association, PragerU, Hillsdale College, and the American Gem Trade Association.

Many of these companies have active regulatory or contracting interests before the administration, fueling ethical concerns regarding the nature of their potential engagements with high-level government personnel and events outside of the public’s view. These concerns are exacerbated by the fact that the National Park Foundation’s President, Jeff Reinbold, told Congress that the organization would not disclose any donors who request anonymity. 

Table 2: Freedom 250 Sponsors

Chevron Deloitte* Exiger* ExxonMobil IndyCar January AI John Deere*

Lockheed Martin* MasterCard Mosaic Co. Northrop Grumman* Oracle* Palantir* Penske

Phorm Energy* RTX Corp. SAP* Scotts Miracle-Gro* UFC* UnitedHealth Group United Airlines*

Source: Freedom 250 website  (*Indicates sponsorship of both Freedom 250 and America 250)

Table 3: America 250 Sponsors

Alaska Airlines Amazon American Airlines Anheuser-Busch Best Western BNY Boeing BP Chick-fil-A Chifles Chips Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram Brands (Stellantis) Cisco Citi The Coca-Cola Company Coinbase Comcast NBCUniversal Cracker Barrel Cummins CVS Health Deloitte

Domino Sugar Edison Electric Institute Exiger FedEx Florida Crystals General Mills Goldbelly Goldman Sachs Gives Hedera Hilton Intuit Jockey John Deere Johnson & Johnson JPMorganChase JTI Knight Foundation Kraft Heinz L3Harris Leidos Lockheed Martin

New York Stock Exchange NobleReach Foundation Northrop Grumman Oracle Palantir Phorm Energy Procter & Gamble Qualcomm SAP Scotts Miracle-Gro SourceAmerica Southwest Airlines Starbucks T-Mobile Target UFC United Airlines USAA Walmart With Honor Xochitl

Source: America 250 website

There are also mounting concerns about the potential influence of foreign donations on the Freedom 250 ecosystem. Keith Krach, the former software executive hired to run Freedom 250, appeared to solicit such donations in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year, stating that “We’ve got toolkits for countries, states, companies, all of that, it’s all about partnership and what could be funner than marketing America.” However, the New York Times reported in February 2026 that U.S. ambassadors have been aggressively seeking corporate donations, prompting a demand from Congressional Democrats for documents from the State Department.

We’ve got toolkits for countries, states, companies, all of that; it’s all about partnership and what could be funner than marketing America? — Keith Krach, CEO of Freedom 250, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos

The existence of dueling organizing bodies—Freedom 250 and America 250—has naturally led to a feverish competition for private donations and corporate sponsors. What’s more, the organizations are also jockeying for access to the pot of money appropriated by Congress as Freedom 250 seeks to muscle America250 out of the $150 million in federal funds, which were de facto presumed to be slated to America250 to support the semiquincentennial celebrations. In June, NOTUS reported that America250 had received only $25 million of the $100 million it expected from the Trump administration as of April, and less than anticipated from other sources as well.

Freedom 250, for its part, has been directly allocated about $79 million in federal funds, with one $10 million grant dispensed to the National Park Foundation to support a “Freedom Trucks” mobile museum exhibit created in partnership with conservative PragerU and Hillsdale College, a Christian university in Michigan. Another $5 million grant was originally obligated to the organization in December to support “A250 Events,” but increased to $68.3 million in obligated funds in March of 2026.

It remains unclear what events in particular those funds are now intended to support. Other contracts awarded for Freedom 250-affiliated events, or to Trump-tied firms for semiquincentennial celebrations, total nearly $100 million, including a $5 million grant to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Burgum’s home state, an entity whose board of trustees is chaired by the daughter of Trump-donor and oil and gas billionaire Harold Hamm.

Other notable grants include money distributed to the Trump-tied firm, Event Strategies, which helped organize the January 6, 2021 Trump rally. Event Strategies has taken in $7.1 million (Table 1) in multiple grants related to the semiquincentennial since Freedom 250’s October 2025 founding. 

Conclusion

Donald Trump has spent his life obsessively scarring everything in his path with his likeness, his name, and his gaudy, dictatorial taste in faux gilding. From Donald Trump’s hotel chain to the Kennedy Center, he has sought to fashion a world in which his name is suffocatingly unavoidable and enshrined in golden script everywhere you turn. 

This alone is indicative of the egomania that seems to animate Trump most, but none of it has been enough to satisfy his delusional appetite for storied grandeur. Now Trump and the sycophants who staff his second administration are trying once more to fabricate legends of his own greatness, and to erase inconvenient truths about our nation’s shared history, by engaging in a hostile takeover of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Ultimately, the Freedom 250 debacle, and the rings of ethical impropriety which cascade from it, are yet another manifestation of elite impunity. The Trump administration has once more found an avenue to tilt the scales in favor of corporate America — especially the corporations willing to pay him tribute — even as millions struggle to believe in the dream of America on the eve of our 250th birthday.

Appendix: Profiles of Freedom 250 Sponsors

Chevron
Background	Chevron is the third-largest oil and gas company in the world and the second-largest in the U.S. It moved its corporate headquarters to Houston from California in 2024, citing a friendlier regulatory environment. In addition to its massive global oil and gas production, refining and pipeline businesses, Chevron has been entering the AI data center business, reaching a deal with Microsoft to supply gas used to power electric generation for a massive west Texas data center.
Federal Interests	Trump’s military attacks on Venezuela and Iran have led to extensive consultations with Chevron and other oil giants, drawing scrutiny from Congress. With longstanding operations in Venezuela and massive Gulf Coast refinery capacity, Chevron stands to be one of the largest beneficiaries of the Trump-directed military coup in Venezuela. Chevron’s CEO, Mike Wirth, has called on Venezuela to lower taxes and royalties paid by oil companies to attract outside investment. Along with other oil executives, Chevron has met with Trump-supported Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez to negotiate new oil production terms. Trump’s Federal Trade Commission reversed a Biden-era order barring former Hess Corp CEO John Hess from Chevron’s board due to allegations that he communicated with OPEC representatives seeking to hold down production and boost prices. Chevron also stands to benefit from numerous deregulatory actions such as Trump’s sweeping attacks on the Clean Air Act and others.
Connections	Chevron contributed $2 million to Trump’s second inaugural fund, tying it for fourth-largest donor along with Coinbase and Robinhood. Chevron also contributed $525,000 to Trump’s 2017 inaugural fund. Hess, a member of Chevron’s board of directors, also donated $1 million to the Trump-affiliated MAGA INC. PAC in December 2025. His wife, Susie Hess, donated another $1 million at the same time.
Deloitte
Background	The giant accounting and consulting firm was hit hard by contract cancellations during the first year of Trump’s second administration, laying off government consulting contractors after the Trump administration required major consulting firms to cut back their contracting with federal agencies. So far in 2026, $1.2 billion in federal awards or contracts have been obligated to Deloitte.
Federal Interests	Deloitte is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Department of Homeland Security’s vast contracting budget, and is still cashing in on millions in multiyear contracts providing “data modernization support” scheduled through 2027. Deloitte is facing scrutiny from Congress and consumer advocacy groups over allegations of widespread problems with the company’s Medicaid eligibility system. Many states lost millions from robust failures in systems that Deloitte was paid millions to build, and then additional millions to fix.
Connections	Deloitte was a donor to Donald Trump’s first inaugural ball. Deloitte is also now a sponsor of McLaren Racing, including McLaren’s IndyCar team — another Freedom 250 sponsor.
Exiger
Background	Exiger is a supply chain technology company and federal contractor based in McLean, Va. The Trump administration’s focus on scrutinizing Chinese ownership and other foreign ownership risks has proven to be a boon for the company’s software, which is primarily used by corporate clients. Exiger was acquired by the Carlyle Group, the private equity giant, in 2023.
Federal Interests	In 2025, Exiger won contracts from the General Services Administration, Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Army. The company also has a partnership with Palantir, another Freedom 250 sponsor.
Connections	Brandon Daniels, Exiger’s CEO, spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on a panel that included Keith Krach, the head of Freedom 250. Daniels has said that Trump’s tariffs will be a boon for the company. He has bragged about access to federal regulators, saying on a software industry podcast in May 2025 that being based near the nation’s capital is a “huge benefit” for the company. “We have really, really close proximity and really tight integration with the regulators.”
ExxonMobil
Background	ExxonMobil is one of the world’s largest oil companies and has long been at the forefront of Big Oil’s campaign against climate action.
Pending Issues	Exxon has spent the last year lobbying Trump to attack the EU’s sustainability laws, working in concert with the administration to foreclose on cities’ and states’ ability to recoup climate damages from polluters, and spending millions to buy oil leases in Alaska’s North Slope. Exxon has also benefited from numerous deregulatory environmental actions that Trump has enacted since taking office. As of May 2026, Exxon also had 96 unfair labor practice cases before Trump’s National Labor Relations Board. Exxon spent $8.5 million in federal lobbying last year.
Connections	Exxon donated $1 million to Trump’s second inaugural fund. Exxon’s CEO also attended a fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago, wherein Trump asked for $1 billion in donations from the oil and gas industry in exchange for regulatory favors from a future second Trump administration. Exxon’s former CEO, Rex Tillerson, was Secretary of State from 2017-2018. Trump in 2020 appointed Exxon’s current CEO, Darren Woods, to an advisory panel dubbed the “Opening the Country” council.
IndyCar
Background	IndyCar is owned by Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of Penske Corporation, another Freedom 250 sponsor. In January 2026, Trump signed an executive order mandating an IndyCar Grand Prix to be staged on the streets of Washington, D.C., and specifically ordering that “all permits, approvals, and other authorizations” be “issued and granted as expeditiously as possible.” Weeks later, Penske thanked and praised Trump effusively. In May of 2026, IndyCar released official Freedom 250 Grand Prix race merchandise, including a shirt bearing the slogan “ONE NATION, ONE RACE,” which IndyCar quickly removed from its online store, saying “We understand that some ‌individuals found its phrasing concerning and therefore have remedied the situation.”
Federal Interests	N/A
Connections	Roger Penske donated $40,000 to Trump’s reelection fund for the 2020 presidential race. In 2024, Roger Penske had donated at least $1.1 million to the Trump campaign as of August 2024, and in 2026, Trump said: “Roger Penske is a great friend of mine.”
JanuaryAI
Background	JanuaryAI is a consumer-focused health technology firm that uses artificial intelligence to analyze the glucose impacts of foods. It was founded by Noosheen Hashemi, a former executive at Oracle, another Freedom 250 sponsor.
Federal Interests	Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has encouraged Americans to use wearable health technology, specifically glucose monitoring devices, and the Trump administration has moved to help health technology companies like JanuaryAI. The administration withdrew a Biden proposal that would have required AI companies to share details about how AI health tools are developed. In addition, Trump has proposed to lessen restrictions on health data. In 2026, JanuaryAI was included as part of the initial release of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Medicare App Library, which will make it easier for private companies to gain access to Americans’ private health records.
Connections	Hashemi is a former Silicon Valley Democrat who posed with Nancy Pelosi in 2013, but has since become an avid Trump supporter and critic of Democrats. Hashemi proclaimed in April 2026 that she was “more committed than ever to Donald Trump’s America First movement. Not as a slogan, but as a course correction. Because America is still the last place where freedom, ambition, and merit can truly win. And it’s worth defending.” Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is an investor in JanuaryAI and has emerged as a prominent Trump ally over the last year. In 2025, Benioff called for Trump to deploy the National Guard in San Francisco, and has further said that Trump is “doing a great job” as president. In 2026, Trump appointed Benioff’s wife to the Presidio Trust Board, along with many other MAGA allies.
John Deere
Background	John Deere, the agricultural equipment maker, has had a troubled relationship with the second Trump administration. In 2024, Trump specifically threatened John Deere with a 200% tariff should the company move manufacturing operations to Mexico. In September 2025, the New York Times reported that tariffs had “cost the company $300 million so far, with nearly another $300 million expected by the end of the year.” In January of 2026, Trump specifically praised John Deere’s investments in several planned U.S.-based manufacturing sites.
Federal Interests	Before former President Joe Biden left office in January 2025, the Federal Trade Commission, along with the states of Illinois and Minnesota, sued John Deere, alleging that the company’s practices drove up repair costs for farmers and made it harder for farmers to make their own repairs on tractors and other farming equipment. Andrew Ferguson, now FTC Chair, voted against the lawsuit, but the Trump administration has continued the case. Separately, John Deere settled a class action lawsuit about right-to-repair practices in April 2026 for $99 million. The consumer advocacy group U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) called the settlement a “relatively minor financial penalty,” given PIRG’s estimates that repair restrictions from all farm-equipment manufacturers cost farmers about $4.2 billion per year.
Connections	Deere’s corporate political action committee contributed $582,500 in the 2024 election cycle, with 75% going to Republicans
Lockheed Martin
Background	Lockheed Martin is the world’s biggest defense contractor by revenue and receives billions of dollars in federal contracts every year. In 2025 alone, Lockheed disclosed that federal government sales accounted for 72% of the company’s $75 billion in revenue.
Federal Interests	Lockheed’s President Jim Taiclet called the Iran war “a golden opportunity right now based on who’s in government, their experience, their willingness to change the demand that they have for what we do and our partners in our industry do,” on an April 23 earnings call. During Trump’s first administration, Trump criticized Lockheed’s long-delayed F-35 stealth fighter jet program, but still authorized sales to Saudi Arabia. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a CNBC interview that the Trump administration has “thought about” acquiring an equity stake in defense contractors like Lockheed Martin.
Connections	Lockheed has donated more than $10 million to Trump’s ballroom project. Lockheed also donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural ball fund in both 2017 and 2025. Trump also recently disclosed stock trades in defense companies, including Lockheed. Lockheed spent more than $15 million lobbying lawmakers in 2025, and had its biggest quarter ever in the last quarter of 2025.
MasterCard
Background	MasterCard is a payment processing company that shares a functional duopoly with Visa over the global payments processing market.
Federal Interests	MasterCard is currently lobbying hard against Trump’s proposed 10% cap on credit card interest rates. The Hill named three of MasterCard’s lobbyists as “top lobbyists” of 2025. Trump’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has also intervened on the state level, preempting an Illinois law seeking to bar processing fees on taxes and tips, which would impact MasterCard’s business model. MasterCard is also facing antitrust litigation in federal courts, including one in the Southern District of New York.
Connections	MasterCard’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Miebach, traveled with President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to a high-stakes summit in Beijing in May 2026. MasterCard and its executives also gave more than $100,000 to Trump’s 2025 inauguration.
Mosaic Co.
Background	Mosaic Co. is a Tampa, Fla.-based agricultural products company that mines phosphate and potash, which are used to produce agricultural fertilizers. The company’s mining operations are located in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in South America (primarily Brazil and Peru).
Federal Interests	The company is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expand a waste pile in Florida, raising environmental concerns. In November 2025, the company applauded the Interior Department’s decision to add phosphate and potash to the department’s critical minerals list. This designation can make mining projects eligible for federal funding, streamlined permitting, and other policies designed to promote domestic mining. Company CEO Bruce Bodine hailed the decision, saying that “Phosphate and potash production is critical to food security, and food security is national security. “
Connections	The company’s political action committee contributed $59,200 in the 2024 election cycle, with 80% going to Republicans.
Northrop Grumman
Background	Northrop Grumman is a defense contractor that secures billions in federal contracts every year from the U.S. government. Northrop is the fourth largest defense contractor in the world, with 89% of its total revenue coming from defense contracts.
Federal Interests	Northrop, like other defense giants, stands to benefit massively from increases in defense spending related to Trump’s war in Iran and Trump’s proposed massive Pentagon spending buildup. Northrop executives were among those invited to the White House in March 2026 to discuss quadrupling output for various weapons classes.
Connections	Northrop donated $100,000 to Trump’s 2017 inaugural fund. The company contributed about $1.2 million in the 2024 election cycle, splitting its donations nearly evenly between Democrats and Republicans.
Oracle
Background	A multinational technology company that sells database software. Oracle was cofounded, and is currently chaired, by Larry Ellison, a longtime Trump ally. Ellison is the world’s third-richest person and served on the board of Elon Musk’s Tesla from 2018 to 2022. Ellison also owns a controlling stake in Paramount Skydance, the Hollywood studio formed after a nearly $28 billion merger of Paramount and David Ellison (Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison’s son )’s Skydance in August 2025.
Federal Interests	Paramount is currently seeking approval of its takeover of Warner Brothers, which would bring both CBS News and CNN under Ellison family control. The deal, announced in February 2026, requires DOJ approval before it can continue. Oracle was awarded $1.1 billion in federal contracts in 2025, and has so far been awarded $420+ million in federal contracts in 2026. Oracle is also a lead investor in the group of American investors that purchased TikTok from its former Chinese owner, an action directed by Trump.
Connections	Trump and Larry Ellison have a close relationship. Ellison hosted a campaign fundraiser for Trump in 2020 at his estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif, drawing employee protests. David Ellison, now the CEO and Chairman of Paramount Skydance, installed Trump ally Kenneth Weinstein as CBS’ ombudsman and conservative opinion writer Bari Weiss as its editor in 2025. Oracle is a key player in a $500 billion AI data center network known as Stargate, a partnership between OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that Donald Trump announced from the Oval Office in January 2025. Trump has also been actively buying and selling millions in Oracle stock in the first months of 2026, and seems to own around $200,000 in Oracle shares as of May 2026.
Palantir
Background	Founded by far-right tech investor Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale, a close ally of Elon Musk, Palantir specializes in data integration services and AI-powered surveillance and military tech marketed to law enforcement and other government agencies. Thiel supported Trump’s 2016 election and is a mentor and friend to Vice President JD Vance.
Federal Interests	Palantir has expanded its work across the federal government, compiling data on Americans under Trump, including a new $795 million contract with the Department of Defense and a $10 billion contract with the Army. The company has contracts with numerous federal agencies and is central to the Trump administration’s efforts to share data across the government, including controversial efforts to share IRS data with ICE for immigration enforcement. Palantir’s AI tools have been used by DHS to eliminate grants under Trump’s anti-” DEI” and “gender ideology” executive orders. A Palantir and Anthropic AI system helped Trump’s Pentagon automate targeting and target prioritization in its war against Iran. Thiel, Lonsdale, and Palantir CEO Alex Karp all publicly advocated for war with Iran before the conflict began.
Connections	Palantir’s personal ties with the Trump administration are close and extensive. Jacob Helberg, a top State Department official, previously worked as a senior advisor to Karp and made a $1 million donation to help elect Trump. Palantir is also a sponsor of Trump’s ballroom project. In addition to Karp’s $1 million inauguration donation, Palantir pledged to contribute an undisclosed amount toward the demolition and replacement of the East Wing of the White House with Trump’s “Golden Ballroom” and Trump’s 2025 military parade. Karp was also among the many Big Tech executives and billionaires who attended the White House dinner organized to strengthen US ties with Saudi Arabia, including the promise of a $1 trillion investment in the US and its corporations by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Trump bought Palantir stock during his second administration.
Penske Corp.
Background	Trump ally Roger Penske is the founder and Chairman of the trucking and auto dealership company Penske Corporation. During the first Trump administration, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019. In July 2025, the Fox Corporation, controlled by right-wing media baron Murdoch family, bought a one-third stake in Penske Entertainment Corp for around $130 million.
Federal Interests	Penske’s lobbying activity increased markedly in 2025, relating to a slate of issues like electric vehicle legislation, trucking regulations, emissions regulations, and more.
Connections	As of August 2024, Roger Penske had donated at least $1.1 million to the Trump campaign, and in 2026, Trump said: “Roger Penske is a great friend of mine.” He previously donated $40,000 to Trump’s reelection fund for the 2020 Presidential Race. In February 2026, the White House shared a letter written by Penske to Trump, thanking Trump for hosting him at the White House, and thanking him for “all that [he] and [his] administration [has done] to put ‘America First,’ to protect our borders, and return investment to our great country. It’s amazing what [Trump has] accomplished during [his] first year back in Office.”
Phorm Energy
Background	Phorm Energy is an energy drink company marketed by Anheuser-Busch, the Budweiser parent company, and other investors. Anheuser-Busch, which is part of Brussels-based giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, said in an SEC filing that it owns a “majority interest in an energy drink joint venture to manufacture and sell Phorm energy branded energy drinks.” Other partners include Dana White, the longtime close Trump ally and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), another Freedom 250 sponsor and 1st Phorm, a nutrition and supplement company led by Sal Frisella, a former minor league baseball player, and Trump held up to $5 million of stock in AB InBev as of 2024.
Federal Interests	Anheuser-Busch, along with other alcohol-industry giants, has frequently lobbied Congress to move to remove hemp-related drinks from the market. Anheuser has also dedicated extensive lobbying capacity to issues related to “seeking transparency around dietary guidelines review and revision process.” Then, the administration removed the existing suggested limits on alcohol consumption and suggested that alcohol is an important “social lubricant.”
Connections	A top Anheuser-Busch lobbyist, Jeff Miller, held a $10,000 per person fundraiser in 2024 for Donald Trump, which Donald Jr. attended. Miller’s firm collected $820,000 from Anheuser-Busch between 2020 and 2024.
RTX Corp.
Background	RTX, formerly known as Raytheon, is another major defense contractor that has received a remarkable $145 billion from the U.S. federal defense budget between 2020 and 2024.. Historically, has been one of the top five biggest beneficiaries of Pentagon spending. The company announced in 2022 it would move to the Northern Virginia suburbs of D.C.
Federal Interests	Like other major defense contractors RTX stands to benefit massively off staggering $1.5 trillion defense budget proposal and Trump’s war in Iran, where Raytheon’s Tomahawk missiles were reportedly used to bomb an elementary school on the first day of U.S. strikes. RTX, agreed to pay $950 million to resolve a federal investigation of overseas contracting practices, including allegations of bribery in Qatar RTX was also lobbying the Trump administration in 2025 for bigger tax breaks in 2025.
Connections	Raytheon donated $500,000 to the 2025 Trump inauguration fund. In 2026, Trump nominated Erich Hernandez-Baquero, an executive at the company, to lead space acquisition at the U.S. Air Force.
SAP
Background	SAP is a massive German multinational software company and the name of its flagship enterprise software. According to the company, SAP is the world’s largest vendor of enterprise software.
Federal Interests	SAP America is ramping up its lobbying activity, with the first quarter of 2026 representing its most expensive quarter ever, per OpenSecrets data. SAP’s federal contract awards also more than doubled in 2025, receiving a record $40.5 million in obligated funds for the year. That number seems set to increase again, as SAP’s current total awards obligated for 2026 are already nearing $37.4 million, per USASpending.
Connections	SAP’s CEO, Christian Klein, told the German news magazine Der Spiegel that he had been part of a select group of executives in a confidential discussion with Trump. SAP has longstanding connections with Freedom 250 CEO Keith Krach, who founded Ariba, a business software company acquired by SAP. Krach later served as CEO and Chairman of Docusign, which has a longstanding electronic signature partnership with SAP. SAP America, Inc. was highlighted in September of 2025 as part of the Trump Administration’s “Supporting AI Education” efforts. SAP America also gave $100,000 to Trump’s inaugural committee on Jan. 7, 2025.
Scotts Miracle-Gro
Background	Scotts Miracle-Gro sells consumer lawn, garden, and pest control products, as well as the herbicide Roundup in the U.S. market.
Federal Interests	Scotts Miracle-Gro’s CEO, Jim Hagedorn, has lobbied Trump significantly over the past year to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III narcotic. Hagedorn even joined a meeting with Trump at the Oval Office to discuss Trump’s stance on marijuana policy. In December 2025, days after the meeting, Trump signed an order starting the process of rescheduling marijuana. Scott Miracle-Gro’s subsidiary, Hawthorne Gardening Company, provides equipment to cannabis growers. The company has also benefited from Trump’s support of glyphosate-based herbicides, a slap in the face of his MAHA base. Much to MAHA’s ire, Trump’s support has extended to Bayer’s Roundup products, for which Scotts Miracle-Gro is the exclusive marketer and distributor in the U.S. market.
Connections	Nancy Beck is a Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator at the EPA and a former lobbyist whose clients included Scotts Miracle-Gro. Scotts Miracle-Gro also donated $500,000 to the pro-Trump Make America Great Again PAC in 2024 and $50,000 to the pro-Trump PAC, America First Action in 2018.
UFC
Background	Dana White is the President and CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and a longtime friend of Donald Trump. UFC is a subsidiary of TKO Holding Group, which formed out of the 2023 merger of the corporate parents of UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment. TKO’s CEO is Ari Emanuel, Trump’s former agent who remains in Trump’s circle despite being a Kamala Harris supporter. Ari Emanuel is the brother of former Chicago mayor and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender. In August 2025, White stated that the UFC had reached a seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast deal with Paramount and CBS. The UFC is hosting a fight on the White House lawn on Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, which is also Flag Day. It will be streamed exclusively by Paramount+. VIP access tickets to the event are being sold for seven figures. Per the official UFC website, the fight is being sponsored by Crypto.com and Ram Trucks.
Federal Interests	The Wall Street Journal reported that Emanuel was one of several Trump “friends” who urged the president to settle a federal antitrust case against Live Nation, where Emanuel is a former board member. UFC is currently entangled in a series of antitrust lawsuits in federal courts. TKO is also partnering with the Chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority (GEA), Turki Al-Sheikh, in a new boxing venture known as Zuffa Boxing, which has been lobbying against the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act — a bill which establishes antitrust guardrails seeking to protect fighters’ interests in U.S. boxing.
Connections	Dana White donated $1 million to a SuperPAC supporting Trump’s presidential run in 2020. He stumped for Trump in 2016, and spoke at the infamous 2024 Madison Square Garden Trump rally where speakers spewed racist vitriol and conspiracies, including referring to Puerto Rico as an “island of garbage.” Trump purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of stock in TKO Holding Group, the parent company of UFC, in March 2026. White was added to Meta’s board of directors in 2025.
United Airlines
Background	United Airlines became a Freedom 250 sponsor in April 2026. That same month, news broke that United was seeking a megamerger with American Airlines, which would have created the world’s largest airline company, requiring the review and approval of federal regulators. United has since abandoned the proposed merger, which Trump ultimately opposed, but continues to hold significant business before the administration.
Federal Interests	Last year Trump’s Department of Transportation withdrew “a Biden-era proposal that would have required airlines to compensate passengers for excessive delays.” DOT has also tossed out protections for passengers who use wheelchairs.
Connections	United donated $1 million to Donald Trump’s 2025 inaugural fund.
UnitedHealth Group
Background	UnitedHealth is the biggest health insurance provider in the United States, and controls nearly a third of Medicare Advantage plans. Overall, approximately one-third of UnitedHealthcare revenue comes from Medicare payments.UnitedHealth faces allegations of overbilling the federal government for Medicare/Medicaid services, denying care to patients to maximize corporate profits, violating patient privacy, and more.
Federal Interests	In 2025, the DOJ launched a criminal investigation into UnitedHealth’s Medicare business that remains ongoing. It subsequently secured a meeting with senior Justice Department officials, including the AG’s chief of staff, Chad Mizelle. Per the Wall Street Journal, Mizelle and UnitedHealth execs discussed the investigation, which is “unusual for a company facing an early-stage criminal investigation, former prosecutors said.” United is also a significant provider of Medicare Advantage plans, and won big from the Trump Administration in 2026 after CMS said it would boost payments for Medicare Advantage plans by an average of 2.48%, which amounts to an estimated $13 billion annual increase in payments. UnitedHealth’s stock surged by 8% on the news.
Connections	UnitedHealth donated $5 million to the Trump-supporting super PAC MAGA Inc. in 2025, and spent a record amount to hire a slate of Trump-affiliated lobbyists during the second Trump administration. Trump’s portfolio sold between $1 million and $5 million in UnitedHealth shares on February 10, 2026, and accumulated potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars more in between February and March. Scott Gottlieb, Trump’s former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner from 2017-2019, joined UnitedHealth’s board in November 2025.