New Disclosures Reveal $9m In Corporate Donations To Trump's Freedom 250

Chevron, United Airlines and defense contractor RTX contributed a total of $9 million to Freedom 250, the group President Donald Trump created to plan celebrations of the nation’s 250th birthday this year, in the first half of 2026. More than half of that total came from a single donation from Chevron, according to lobbying contribution reports filed Thursday.

Chevron donated $5 million to the organization in May, more than five times what its political action committee spent on other contributions in the same six-month period, according to its disclosure. United donated $2.5 million in March and RTX donated $1.5 million in May, amounts that represent more than half of each company’s total political contributions for this reporting period.

"As a proud American company, Chevron is pleased to support celebrations of 250 years of the country's independence," Chevron spokesperson Bill Turenne said.

United confirmed the accuracy of the filing, but otherwise declined to comment. RTX did not respond to requests for comment.

The filings mark the first time any of the more than 20 corporate sponsors that backed Freedom 250 have disclosed the extent of their contributions. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the organization has raised more than $50 million total, including a $2 million donation from social media company TikTok and $1 million donations from tech company Oracle and oil company ExxonMobil.

The Trump administration began soliciting donations for Freedom 250 early last year after the president created the public-private partnership through an executive order. The organization is separate from America 250, the nonprofit Congress created a decade ago to plan events celebrating the country’s 250th birthday.

Freedom 250 has reportedly pitched would-be donors using a tiered list of incentives, with larger contributors earning branding opportunities and access to private events hosted by the president. Freedom 250 events haven’t been entirely funded by private donations: Congress approved $150 million for 250th anniversary events as part of last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and earlier this month the administration requested an additional $10 million to reimburse the National Park Service for costs associated with Independence Day celebrations held on the National Mall.

The disclosures were filed as part of each company’s mid-year lobbying contribution reports, which document political contributions made by individual lobbyists and corporate PACs. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank reported the single largest contribution during this six-month period: a $50 million donation to the Trump presidential library foundation, a figure POLITICO previously reported.