Colorado’s most valuable company is among donors for Trump’s White House ballroom

Palantir Technologies the controversial Denver-based input analysis firm is among nearly donors funding President Donald Trump s new White House ballroom the construction of which led to the demolition of the building s East Wing this week The White House disclosed a list of contributors Thursday In addition to Palantir the roster included crypto companies and enterpreneurs innovation companies like Meta Apple and Amazon major businesses like HP Caterpillar and T-Mobile and prominent Republican donors It s unclear how much Palantir which has a region cap of nearly billion contributed to the project The company did not return an email seeking comment Friday morning and the White House did not identify how much had been given by each donor The company was also included on a guest list for a dinner that Trump previously held for nearly supporters of the ballroom according to the Wall Street Journal The donations have helped pave the way for Trump s demolition of the White House East Wing and his plans to replace it with a new -square-foot ballroom The ballroom project has yet to receive approvals from the National Capital Planning Commission and the Commission of Fine Arts although White House staff secretary Will Scharf who was also tapped by Trump to lead the planning commission announced approval is not needed The commission vets the construction of federal buildings At the donor dinner earlier this month Trump disclosed there are no zoning requirements for him as the president of the United States and he can do whatever he wants with the construction Palantir s valuation and prominence have exploded in fresh years as it has increasingly offered its services of merging analyzing and utilizing massive datasets to executive agencies Palantir is now worth more than the combined value of every other Colorado-based company tracked by The Denver Post Related Articles Polis urges food bank donations seeks million in state assistance as shutdown freezes SNAP benefits A judge recounted Gov Jared Polis not to comply with an ICE subpoena Polis attorneys say he still wants to Stuck in Aurora ICE facility more detainees are agreeing to leave the U S voluntarily Colorado judge says ICE likely violates federal law by denying immigrants bail hearings Colorado lawmakers Vail retreat deepens intraparty rift among Democrats Palantir s donation to Trump brings the company even closer to the administration The company has received more than million in federal cabinet contracts since Trump took office including controversial contracts with U S Immigration and Customs Enforcement Most of in recent times the company signed an million contract with the U S Department of Veterans Affairs at the end of September along with roughly million in contemporary contracts for the U S State Department according to federal contracting records The company has also undertaken high-profile work for the U S Department of Defense and outside of the U S for the Israeli military an association that drew criticism from a United Nations official Palantir s billionaire CEO Alex Karp has long supported both Republican and Democratic causes including specific Colorado Democrats But his donations this year have increasingly tilted conservative He s spent on a handful of groups supporting Republican Senate candidates in states like Texas Louisiana and Maine according to federal campaign finance records He donated million to a Trump super PAC shortly after Trump won a return to the White House last year The New York Times and the Associated Press contributed to this review Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter The Spot