{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://benniethompson.house.gov/media/press-releases/thompson-demands-tech-giants-mega-corporations-crypto-companies-answer", "Thompson Demands Tech Giants, Mega Corporations, Crypto Companies Answer for Contribution and Involvement in Trump\u2019s Demolition of White House East Wing", "2025-10-24", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "House", "MS", "Bennie G. Thompson", "T000193", "benniethompson.house.gov", "benniethompson", "https://benniethompson.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, sent a letter to each of the major corporations the White House released that donated $350 million to tragically demolish the historic East Wing of the White House and construct an obscene and gaudy gold ballroom for President Trump in its place. In the letters, Congressman Thompson demands answers from the corporations on their involvement in \u2013 and contribution to \u2013 this travesty being forced on the American people.\n\n\u201cToday, there is a gaping hole in the side of the White House, and no one in the White House has been honest with Americans about the construction plans or the costs,\u201d wrote Congressman Thompson.\n\nSince the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was clearly not followed in the planning for the ballroom or the demolition of the East Wing, Congressman Thompson demands the corporations provide, by November 7th, extensive details on: how they came to contribute to this project, if they were solicited for the contribution, how much they contributed, if they were offered any benefit or recognition of any kind in exchange, and if they were advised on any potential conflicts of interest or ethical issues.\n\nThe companies must also provide a list of all existing contracts they have with the Federal government \u2013 or are competing for \u2013 along with a list of all regulatory actions or adjudications in which they have an interest currently pending before any Federal entity.\n\nFinally \u2013 since demolition and construction plans have been kept secret from most Americans \u2013 the corporations must answer whether they were able to review any construction, or demolition plans at any point.\n\n\u201cThe White House is a treasured symbol of our democracy, and the President has begun to demolish part of it with funds your company contributed. You owe Americans an explanation,\u201d Congressman Thompson added.\n\nThe demand letters were sent to: Altria Group, Amazon, Apple, Booz Allen Hamilton, Caterpillar, Coinbase, Comcast, Hard Rock International, Google, HP, Lockheed Martin, Meta, Micron, Microsoft, NextEra Energy, Palantir Technologies, Ripple (pending), Reynolds American (pending), T-Mobile, Tether America, Union Pacific Railroad.\n\n\u201cEven Congress was not consulted, and there appears to be no oversight over the demolition and construction process. The ballroom construction plans have been roundly criticized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Society of Architectural Historians, and the American Institute of Architects, and the demolition has been condemned by large swaths of the public.\u201d", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://benniethompson.house.gov/media/press-releases/thompson-demands-tech-giants-mega-corporations-crypto-companies-answer"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9611861314624548, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}