Democrats are facing friendly fire after trying to turn President Donald Trump’s ballroom into a significant midterm issue.
The problem? Some Senate Democrats have accepted donations from companies that have helped to fund the same ballroom they are complaining about.
“Two candidates favored by the Democratic establishment in Michigan and Minnesota — Reps. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and Angie Craig (D-Minn.) — have each accepted well more than $120,000 in contributions from the employees and political action committees (PACs) of corporations that have funded Trump’s 90,000-square-foot ballroom,” The Hill reported on Monday. “But other Democrats running for the Senate have also taken money from donors who work for companies that funded Trump’s ballroom, including Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire and state Rep. Josh Turek in Iowa — though not nearly as much as Stevens and Craig.”
Stevens campaign reportedly “accepted $48,000 in contributions during the first quarter of 2026 from donors employed by companies that funded Trump’s ballroom project or from lobbyists who represent companies that supported the ballroom, according to campaign finance records.”
Even controversial Senate candidate Graham Platner, who is under fire over his so-called “Nazi tattoo,” has taken “a few thousand dollars from donors working for companies that have funded the ballroom and leadership PACs that have taken PAC money from those companies.”
But the apparent conflict of interest hasn’t stopped Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer from posting about how he and his colleagues will “fight the Ballroom Republicans and their out-of-touch reconciliation bill that funds Trump’s vanity projects while neglecting rising health care costs and gas prices faced by millions of Americans.”
Look:
Senate Democrats will fight the Ballroom Republicans and their out-of-touch reconciliation bill that funds Trump’s vanity projects with taxpayer money while neglecting rising health care costs and gas prices faced by millions of Americans.
We will use every tool available. https://t.co/LjhXS0LrFM
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) May 11, 2026
Meanwhile, Stevens is being called out by Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a progressive candidate who is also competing for the Senate seat.
“Haley Stevens’s campaign is powered by corporate PACs, MAGA donors and the Washington, D.C., establishment. It’s no surprise the same candidate who voted to thank Trump’s ICE agents is also taking money from the corporate PACs of companies building Trump’s ballroom,” said Jackson Boaz, a spokesperson for McMorrow.
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, also battling with Stevens, highlighted how different he is from a candidate who would take money from those funding the ballroom.
“It’s not surprising when folks who’ve built careers on the support of corporate PACs and lobbyists continue to take money from the same donors bankrolling Trump’s agenda,” said El-Sayed campaign spokesperson Sophie Pollack. “It just tells you that if they’re elected, they’ll do exactly the same thing as all the other corporate politicians. Abdul’s never taken that money because he never wants to engage in that kind of politics.”
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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