Donald Trump’s chief fundraiser has been accused of running a web of “shady schemes” that allows billionaire donors to secretly bankroll the president’s pet projects while he steers lucrative contracts to political allies.
The explosive allegations came during a Democratic-led hearing examining Trump’s controversial effort to remake the nation’s capital—from a new White House ballroom and the revamped Reflecting Pool, to the Triumphal Arch to be built near Washington’s most sacred cemetery.
While much of the hearing focused on the president himself, Jon Golinger, a former attorney who now works with the progressive consumer group Public Citizen, used his testimony to eviscerate longtime lobbyist Meredith O’Rourke, the president’s “fundraiser in chief.”
“Here she is, laughing all the way to the bank; laughing at pulling one over on the American people,” he said, holding up an enlarged photograph of O’Rourke attending a White House dinner with ballroom donors last year.
“Central to these schemes has been cloaking fundraising for all these pet projects with the veneer of legitimacy and secrecy by funneling the money through tax-exempt charitable organization,” Golinger added.
“The template for these projects is the same: hijack a legitimate group, funnel money from donors who want or have gotten something from the government, and allow them to be both tax exempt and secret. Then steer the money to Donald Trump’s piggy bank so he can dole the contracts out to friends, no-bid contracts in many or most cases, and spend wild sums to build monuments to waste, greed, and corruption.”
Golinger’s testimony was delivered under oath during a joint forum by House and Senate Democrats titled “Monumental Waste: How Donald Trump Is Spending Millions Destroying American Landmarks.”
In response, White House spokesman Davis Ingle told the Daily Beast: “Democrats are opposed to anything that President Trump does because they are America Last losers.
“No other president has done more to beautify our Nation’s interior than President Trump. From restoring our treasured landmarks, which had suffered years of abuse and vandalism, to cleaning our parks and the Reflecting Pool, President Trump’s bold vision ensured that America rang in its 250th birthday celebration with glory and pride.”
One of those proposed landmarks Golinger highlighted was the National Garden of American Heroes, a plan for hundreds of statues honoring historical figures to be installed on federal land at West Potomac Park near the National Mall.
He said a new entity called the National Garden of American Heroes Foundation was created specifically to raise money for the sculpture park, an idea from Trump’s first term in response to the removal of Confederate monuments.
Fundraising documents prepared for prospective donors also show the foundation is intended to finance a dramatic expansion of the East Potomac Park Golf Course.
The proposal that has drawn criticism from preservationists and environmental groups because it would reshape one of the city’s historic public golf courses and parkland.
“The pledge agreement lists Ms. O’Rourke and her associate as the contacts, and states that they will seek to retain the anonymity of anonymous donors,” Golinger said.
“What all these sketchy schemes have in common is this: corporate and billionaire donors who want something from the government benefit. Meredith O’Rourke and her lobbyist friends who help her raise the money benefit. The charities funneling the money benefit. Donald Trump benefits. The American people lose.”
O’Rourke is one of Trump’s closest political fundraisers and lobbyists, serving as the national finance director for his 2024 campaign before taking on a leading role raising money for several of the president’s marquee second-term construction projects as well as Freedom 250 events such as the Great American State Fair.
But her prominent role has made her a target for ethics watchdogs and congressional Democrats.
So too has Trump’s tendency to award no-bid contracts for his vanity projects, which end up costing taxpayers more.
This was the case for the now-infamous Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which was meant to cost about $1.5 billion but has now ballooned to more than $15 million after a no-bid contract was awarded to Atlantic Industrial Coatings, a company that previously worked on a pool at one of Trump’s golf courses.
A few hundred feet away, another no-bid contract to paint the historic Arts of War and Arts of Peace statues also resulted in the project being over time and over budget.
Public Citizen is a progressive American consumer rights advocacy group and think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded by activist Ralph Nader in 1971.
Last month, the group produced an explosive report showing that 14 of the 27 known corporate donors to Trump’s $400 million ballroom secured over $50 billion in new or expanded federal contracts within just six months of making their contributions.
The report, first published by the Washington Post, showed the biggest beneficiary was defense giant Lockheed Martin, followed by Booz Allen Hamilton and Palantir.
