After six weeks in office, President Trump has yet to publicly disclose the names of donors who funded his transition planning, despite a previous commitment to do so.
Transitioning into power and appointing thousands of federal positions can be an extensive process, often costing tens of millions of dollars. Previous presidents, including Trump in 2017, have utilized a combination of private donations and federal funding for this purpose.
Traditionally, presidents have made the identities of donors and their contributions public within 30 days of their inauguration, as stipulated in agreements signed with outgoing administrations. These agreements provided transition teams with millions in federal resources and services, in return for adhering to strict fundraising rules, including transparency in donor disclosure.
Trump’s 2024 transition team opted not to sign such an agreement, claiming in late November that it aimed to "save taxpayers' hard-earned money" by financing its operations privately. Nonetheless, the team promised to disclose donors to the public and stated it would not accept foreign donations. It did not clarify whether it would impose a $5,000 limit on individual contributions, as previous administrations had done.
To date, no information regarding the funding of the transition has been released, and no timeline for such disclosures has been provided by the transition team or administration officials.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, did not respond to inquiries for comment. The transition's leadership includes Howard Lutnick, now the commerce secretary, and Linda McMahon, confirmed as the education secretary. Neither Lutnick nor McMahon provided comments when approached.
A spokesperson from the General Services Administration noted that the Trump-Vance Transition Team is not obligated to disclose donations, as it declined to accept the services and funding outlined in the agency's memorandum of understanding offered last fall.
Experts on government accountability emphasized that the lack of public donor disclosure makes it challenging to ascertain whether any individuals or corporations have attempted to exert influence behind closed doors with the new administration. Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, remarked on the critical nature of transparency in preventing the undue influence of private interests on public power, asserting, “They made a promise. They owe it to the public to fulfill that.”
In comparison, Trump’s previous transition following the 2016 election included about 120 employees, utilized government office space and email servers, and received $2.4 million in federal funding. In return, it reported that over 3,000 donors contributed a total of $6.5 million to the effort, with individual contributions capped at $5,000, as per the G.S.A. agreement.
Details regarding the financing of the current Trump transition remain scarce. Operating primarily from private offices in West Palm Beach, Florida, and avoiding government servers, the transition has reportedly involved billionaire Elon Musk, who spent at least $288 million to support Trump’s election and currently leads the Department of Government Efficiency, along with various executives from the technology sector.
Formally named Trump Vance 2025 Transition Inc., the transition is registered in Florida as a “dark money” nonprofit, which does not have to reveal its donors to the Internal Revenue Service. Although the funds cannot be used for the personal gain of the transition's officers, they can be utilized to support political candidates or compensate Trump’s businesses for services rendered.
Moreover, Trump’s fundraising efforts post-election are not restricted to the transition, as his inaugural committee—a separate entity—accumulated over $170 million in private donations by early January, setting a record.
The inaugural committee is legally required to report donations to the Federal Election Commission. While the committee has yet to submit a report, several prominent contributors have disclosed their donations, many of which come from entities with government contracts or ongoing legal matters with federal agencies.
Notable donors include technology firms Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsoft, each contributing $1 million, alongside Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange that faced a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2023, which recently announced the voluntary dismissal of the case. Coinbase, another cryptocurrency exchange that donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, also had a suit dismissed last week.