While floating a merger to create the largest airline in history, United Airlines quietly became a sponsor of Freedom 250, the public-private partnership launched by the Trump administration that allows corporations to give millions of dollars to fund Trump’s Fourth of July events in DC, among other things. United previously gave $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, which raised more than double the amount of any other inaugural fund, although it is unclear how that money has been spent.

United Airlines 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.

Their desire would not be a surprise to the Trump administration, as the idea was floated to Trump himself in February by the CEO of United. This was right before the beginning of the war in Iran, which threatens to greatly raise the price of jet fuel for an extended period of time, threatening both carriers’ bottom lines and their ability to have a full slate of transcontinental flights this summer.

There are currently four major airlines in the United States. To go down to three, with one of them becoming the dominant player, would raise all kinds of antitrust issues and require major negotiations with the Trump administration. Ultimately, United abandoned the American merger talk after Trump signaled his opposition to it and preference for a major airline to take on the failing Spirit. But that doesn’t mean that United has abandoned its hope to influence the Trump administration.

Budget airlines are lobbying the Trump administration for fuel help–although notably major airlines like United are reported to not have joined that effort, despite having to make cutbacks due to the fuel crisis. United plans to make up those cuts with price hikes, in a way smaller airlines may not be able to. Smaller airlines failing could give an opening to United, which is planning a major expansion, and having more gates available would allow them the opportunity to do so.

If United were giving to Freedom 250 in an attempt to influence the Trump administration and grease the wheels on regulatory approval, it would be far from the first major corporation with interests tightly connected to Trump administration policy to appear to financially back one of Trump’s major initiatives. Nor would it be the first to do it quietly.

President Trump’s other signature project in DC, his destruction of the historic East Wing of the White House in order to build a massive ballroom, is also funded by major corporate donors in an attempt to get around the congressional appropriations process. An analysis by CREW found that many of the corporate donors to the ballroom fund failed to disclose it on their lobbying reports.

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