Freedom 250, the public-private partnership funding Trump’s Fourth of July events (as well as other events), allows corporations to give millions of dollars to yet another one of Trump’s pet projects. Many of the companies sponsoring Freedom 250 have business before the government or significant government contracts, including United Airlines, Palantir, Deloitte and Lockheed Martin. Many of these sponsorships raise ethics questions.

 January AI

January AI, a Freedom 250 sponsor, recently became one of the first apps available in the Medicare App Library. The company, which was added to the website’s sponsor list days before the app library announcement, will now have its app available in a “a trusted, centralized directory where people with Medicare can discover and access vetted digital health care options.” This could help direct new users to the app, through an official US government channel.

Potential foreign funding by SAP

Freedom 250 has said it will not accept foreign funding and denied accepting any, despite the CEO himself making a pitch at Davos to foreign leaders and companies, and reports of U.S. embassies soliciting contributions for the events. However, a recent sponsor to Freedom 250, SAP, is headquartered in Germany, raising questions about the organization’s adherence to that restriction. SAP does business with the U.S. government, and is facing a potential ban from government contracts. The controversy around SAP raises additional questions about what the company may be seeking with its sponsorship. 

United Airlines

While floating a merger to create the largest airline in the world, United Airlines quietly became a sponsor of Freedom 250. The company was added to a list of sponsors on the Freedom 250 website between April 11 and April 14, according to archived versions of the site. On the 13th, news broke of United’s desire to combine with American Airlines, creating the largest airline in the world, which would take a significant amount of regulatory approval from the Trump administration. Although United has since abandoned plans for the merger, that may not be all it’s seeking from the Trump administration. Read CREW’s full investigation.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On May 11, Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), sent President Trump a letter asking him to undo a 90% cap on gambling loss deductions that was included in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” UFC is not only a sponsor of Freedom 250, but is putting on a UFC Freedom 250 MMA event at the White House on June 14 which Trump himself has heavily promoted on Truth Social and elsewhere. UFC’s prominent alliance with Trump around the upcoming event raises questions of whether it will receive more favorable treatment as a result.

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