Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bennet, the members of have issued letters to major tech executives, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, questioning their recent donations to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund.
The congressional inquiry, dated January 17, 2025, raises concerns about potential attempts to influence the incoming administration.
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Altman responded on social media, stating the contribution was personal rather than corporate, expressing confusion about questions directed at his company’s decision-making process.
“Funny, they never sent me one of these for contributing to Democrats,” he posted on X.
The senators’ letter highlights that several tech leaders, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Uber executives, each contributed similar amounts. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi made an additional personal contribution of $1 million.
The congressional inquiry emphasises ongoing federal investigations into these companies, including an FTC investigation of OpenAI for consumer harm and an SEC probe into alleged investor misleading. Other companies face various regulatory challenges, such as Google’s antitrust issues and Meta’s privacy concerns.
Warren and Bennet’s letter suggests these donations might be attempts to “avoid scrutiny, limit regulation, and buy favour” with the Trump administration. The senators have requested detailed explanations about the timing and circumstances of these contributions by January 31, 2025.
The donations notably exceed previous contributions to President Biden’s 2021 inauguration, where companies like Microsoft contributed $500,000 and Amazon gave $276,509. Some companies, including Meta and OpenAI, made no contributions to Biden’s inaugural fund.
The senators are seeking responses about the companies’ rationale behind these contributions, expressing concern about potential corporate influence on the incoming administration.
