Amazon, GM, Microsoft reported bigger donations to Trump's inauguration than his committee disclosed

Amazon, General Motors, and Microsoft reported bigger donations to President Trump's inauguration this year than his committee disclosed.

Trump's inauguration raised nearly $250 million, about four times the amount that President Biden raised for his inauguration, NOTUS reported.

Currently, presidential inaugural committee contributions are unlimited. Inaugural committees are also not required to publicly disclose how they spend their money.

On Wednesday, General Motors told Congress that it gave Trump's 2025 inaugural committee $1 million in cash and $538,000 worth of in-kind contributions in the form of “vehicles.” The committee only reported the $1 million contribution from GM to the Federal Election Commission.

“GM’s disclosures are accurate,” company spokesperson Elizabeth Winter told NOTUS. “I’d refer you to the committee regarding its disclosures.”

Amazon disclosed to Congress two payments totaling close to $2 million that it made to the Trump inaugural committee. However, the committee told the FEC that it received just $1 million from Amazon. The company declined to comment to NOTUS.

Microsoft told Congress that it gave $1 million total in two separate installments to the Trump inaugural committee. The committee reported to the FEC that it received $750,000 total from Microsoft. The company declined to comment to NOTUS.

Insurance company USAA said that it gave the Trump inaugural committee $100,000 in cash from its corporate treasury. However, the committee told the FEC it received $100,000 from USAA’s political action committee. The PAC is funded by individual employees of the company, not the corporation. USAA did not respond to NOTUS's requests for comment.

The Trump inaugural committee filed an amended contribution report with the FEC after the NOTUS article was published. The amount of money the committee says it received from General Motors was increased, and the USAA contribution was updated to say that it came from the company's corporate treasury, not the PAC. The Amazon and Microsoft donation listings were not changed.

“The Committee submits this statement to clarify certain entries,” Trump’s inaugural committee wrote in an explanatory memo to the FEC, which is in a state of de facto shutdown because it doesn’t have the minimum number of commissioners required to conduct high-level business.

Prior to the amended contribution report, a source familiar with the committee's finances told NOTUS that it was reviewing the documents. The source said, “This wasn’t a failure to report but a failure by corporations to send proper documentation.”