Over a dozen Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday demanded further details about “discrepancies” surrounding donations to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee.
In a letter to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, the lawmakers expressed concern that the dollar amount several companies reported giving to the inaugural committee did not match what the committee originally reported to the Federal Election Commission.
Major corporations such as General Motors, Amazon, and Microsoft made donations that were “significantly higher than what was reflected in the Committee’s filings,” the Democrats wrote. The 17 lawmakers who signed onto the letter, reported by NOTUS, included several prominent Trump critics, including Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY).
While they noted that the inaugural committee has since amended its filings to reflect the accurate numbers, the Democrats expressed concern about potential corruption and politicization of the committee after top donors were nominated for positions in the new administration. They are pressing the committee for answers on the timeline it took to revise for accurate totals, the internal procedures it has in place to make sure figures are accurately reported to the FEC, and whether it has been in communications with the FEC over the discrepancies due to concerns about “possible violations of campaign finance law.”
“We appreciate that the Committee has since filed amended contribution reports resolving the discrepancies related to General Motors, USAA, Amazon, and Microsoft,” they wrote. “Nonetheless, the initial underreporting and subsequent delayed revisions raise ongoing concerns.”
The “extraordinary” amount of donations the inaugural committee raised ahead of Trump’s second term, the lawmakers said, underscores the “risk of influence peddling and preferential access through inaugural committees.”
“These committees operate under far less stringent transparency rules than political campaigns, and inaugural donations may be used for a wide variety of activities with limited oversight,” they wrote. “It is essential that Congress have a full and accurate understanding of the Committee’s practices and financial records.”
TRUMP SAYS HE RAISED $1.5 BILLION SINCE WINNING 2024 ELECTION
Trump shattered fundraising records with donations raised for his 2025 inaugural committee, with final totals putting him at nearly $250 million raised overall.
Previous inaugural committees fell far short of that figure, with former President Joe Biden’s inaugural fund raising $62 million and former President Barack Obama raising $43 million in 2013 and around $55 million in 2009.
