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Trump Has Reeled in More Than $200 Million Since Election Day

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Trump Has Reeled in More Than 0 Million Since Election Day

Since his victory in November, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s allies have raised well over $200 million for a constellation of groups that will fund his inauguration, his political operation and eventually his presidential library, according to four people involved in the fund-raising.

It is a staggering sum that underscores efforts by donors and corporate interests to curry favor with Mr. Trump ahead of a second presidential term after a number of business leaders denounced him following the violence by his supporters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Mr. Trump has promised to gut the “deep state” and made various promises to industry supporters. Among the pledged donors for the inaugural events are Pfizer, OpenAI, Amazon and Meta, along with cryptocurrency firms.

The total haul for the committee financing his inaugural festivities — at least $150 million raised, with more expected — will eclipse the record-setting $107 million raised for his 2017 inauguration, according to three people briefed on the matter who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to share internal financial information.

Other committees benefiting from the fund-raising blitz include a super PAC called Make America Great Again Inc. and its associated nonprofit group, which is expected to be used by Mr. Trump’s team to back his agenda and candidates who support it, while opposing dissenters.

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Mr. Trump has boasted about the haul, telling people during the Christmas holiday season that he had raised more than $200 million since the election. Mr. Trump’s team has repeatedly noted how many people have wanted to find ways to donate to him since his election win.

The Trump transition and inaugural committee did not return emails seeking comment about the fund-raising haul.

David Tamasi, a lobbyist who has raised money for Mr. Trump, dismissed a suggestion that corporate interests were giving to avoid Mr. Trump’s wrath, though he acknowledged that some donors may be trying to atone for having previously maintained distance from the president-elect.

“It is a time-honored D.C. tradition that corporations are enthusiastically embracing this cycle in all manners, largely because they were on the sidelines during previous Trump cycles,” he said. “They no longer have to hedge their political bets.”

Inaugural committees can accept unlimited contributions from individuals and corporations, but not foreign nationals. Major corporations that try to avoid partisan politics have long donated to inaugural funds to signal a willingness to work with new administrations and support for the democratic transfer of power, regardless of the incoming president’s party.

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But there is cross-pollination among top fund-raisers for Mr. Trump’s inauguration and his political efforts, including several partners at lobbying firms that represent major corporate interests. Raising money for the inauguration can help lobbyists secure access for clients, and cachet for themselves with the incoming administration.

Among the four finance chairs for Mr. Trump’s inaugural committee are the lobbyist Jeff Miller and Reince Priebus, a former chief of staff in the Trump White House who is not a lobbyist but is chairman of the board of advisers of the lobbying firm Michael Best Strategies. Their firms represent companies with much at stake in the forthcoming administration, some of which plan to donate to the inauguration.

Mr. Miller’s firm, Miller Strategies, represents Pfizer and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, each of which has pledged donations. Their executives met after the election at Mar-a-Lago with Mr. Trump and his choice for health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., amid concerns about how the drug industry might be affected by Mr. Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic.

Since the election, Mr. Miller’s firm has registered to lobby for the ride-share tech company Uber, which has donated $1 million, as has, separately, its chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi. The firm also represents the tech company OpenAI, whose chief executive, Sam Altman, plans to give $1 million. Michael Best Strategies has represented the cryptocurrency firm Ripple for nearly four years. It has pledged $5 million in its own cryptocurrency, XRP — among the largest known donations to the inaugural committee.

After the election, Ripple retained the lobbyist Brian Ballard, a top Trump fund-raiser.

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Another Ballard client, Robinhood, a leading cryptocurrency trading platform, has donated $2 million.

“We look forward to working with President Trump and the incoming administration to drive positive change in the markets, be an active voice for customers and pursue our mission to democratize finance for all,” Mary Elizabeth Taylor, Robinhood’s vice president of global government and external affairs, said in a statement.

Other companies associated with cryptocurrency are expected to be major contributors as well, reflecting optimism that Mr. Trump will deliver on his campaign trail promises to dial back federal scrutiny that figures in the industry say have stifled its growth.

Amazon, a Ballard client that found itself crosswise with the first Trump administration, said it planned to donate $1 million in cash.

Donations of at least $1 million grant access to the top package of perks related to several days of festivities in the run-up to the inauguration on Jan. 20, including what are touted as “intimate” dinners with Mr. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, though often with many attendees, as well as black-tie balls after the swearing-in.

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Other entities, ranging from companies like Meta to previous Trump critics like the billionaire Ken Griffin, have made $1 million donations to the inaugural.

Contributions to inaugural committees, which are required to be publicly disclosed to the Federal Election Commission months after the inauguration, are one of the last major opportunities to financially support a second-term president.

Mr. Tamasi and Oswaldo Palomo, who are partners in the lobbying firm Chartwell Strategy Group, raised more than $3 million for the inaugural. Their firm represents companies that could be affected by Mr. Trump’s proposed tariffs, including the South Korean automaker Hyundai and a U.S. subsidiary of the South Korean conglomerate SK Group.

The deadline for donating to the inaugural to be eligible for the perks of the weekend is Jan. 10, according to documents distributed to potential donors.

If the inaugural committee’s fund-raising exceeds the amount budgeted for the festivities, the expectation among fund-raisers is that the excess would be transferred to the committee collecting money toward a presidential library for Mr. Trump after he leaves office, according to two people involved in the effort.

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The Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Fund Inc. was incorporated in Florida on Dec. 20, six days after it was revealed that ABC News had agreed to donate $15 million to Mr. Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum to settle a defamation claim he had brought against the network.

The fund was incorporated by a lawyer in Florida, Jacob Roth, who has previously created Trump groups, including the inaugural committee, according to state corporate records. The purpose of the entity, according to the Florida articles of incorporation, is “to preserve and steward the legacy of President Donald J. Trump and his presidency.”

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Manhunt under way for attacker after two students killed at US university

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Manhunt under way for attacker after two students killed at US university

More than 400 law enforcement personnel have been deployed as police search for the suspect in a shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island in which two students were killed and nine wounded, US officials said.

The Ivy League university in Providence remained in lockdown early on Sunday, several hours after a suspect with a firearm entered a building where students were taking exams on Saturday. Streets around the campus were packed with emergency vehicles hours after the shooting, and security was heightened around the city as law enforcement agencies continued their manhunt.

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The suspect remained at large, officials said, as police worked with agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to search streets and buildings around the campus to find the individual.

Saturday’s shooting is the second major incident of gun violence on a university campus this week.

Providence deputy police chief Timothy O’Hara said the suspect had not been identified.

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Officials said they would release a video of the suspect, a male possibly in his 30s and dressed in black, who O’Hara said may have been wearing a mask. He said officials had retrieved shell casings from the scene of the shooting, but that police were not prepared to release more details of the attack.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley has confirmed that two students were killed and nine people were injured in the attack.

At a news conference, Smiley said university leaders became aware of the shooting at about 4:05pm local time (21:05 GMT), when emergency responders received a 911 call.

Smiley declined to identify the shooting victims, citing the ongoing investigation. However, he sought to reassure the community, despite a shelter-in-place order for the Brown campus and the surrounding neighbourhood.

“We have no reason to believe there are any additional threats at this time,” he said.

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The university’s president, Christina Paxton, explained she had been on a flight to Washington, DC, when she learned of the shooting. She immediately returned to Providence to attend a night-time news conference.

“This is a day that we hoped never would come to our community. It is deeply devastating for all of us,” Paxton said in a written statement.

At the news conference, Paxton said she was told the victims were students.

First responders with the Providence Fire Department manoeuvre an empty stretcher near the Barus & Holley building, home to the engineering and physics departments and the site of a mass shooting at Brown University [Bing Guan/AFP]

Suspect remains at large

At approximately 4:22pm local time (21:22 GMT), the university issued its first emergency update, warning that there was an armed man near the Barus and Holley engineering and physics building.

“Lock doors, silence phones and stay hidden until further notice,” the university said in its update.

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“Remember: RUN, if you are in the affected location, evacuate safely if you can; HIDE, if evacuation is not possible, take cover; FIGHT, as a last resort, take action to protect yourself.”

Upon arriving at the scene, law enforcement swept the building, according to Providence police’s O’Hara.

“They did a systematic search of the building. However, no suspect was located at that time,” O’Hara said.

The university had to withdraw an early announcement that a suspect had been apprehended, writing, “Police do not have a suspect in custody and continue to search for suspect(s).”

US President Donald Trump published a similar retraction on his online platform, Truth Social, after erroneously posting at about 5:44pm (22:44 GMT) that a suspect had been detained.

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Mayor Smiley said there were 400 law enforcement officers in the area to search for the suspect.

He also encouraged witnesses to come forward with any information about the shooting.

The seventh-oldest university in the US, Brown is considered part of the prestigious Ivy League, a cluster of private research colleges in the northeast. Its student body numbers 11,005, according to its website.

On December 9, Kentucky State University in the southern city of Frankfort also experienced gunfire on campus, killing one student and leaving a second critically injured.

The suspect in that case was identified as Jacob Lee Bard, the parent of a student at the school.

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Video: At Least Two Killed in Shooting at Brown University

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Video: At Least Two Killed in Shooting at Brown University

new video loaded: At Least Two Killed in Shooting at Brown University

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At Least Two Killed in Shooting at Brown University

Students remained locked in their dorms and classrooms as the police searched for the shooter, who was described as a man wearing black. At least two people are dead, and eight are in critical condition.

At 4:00 in the afternoon, we received a call. 4:05 was when the initial call came in to Brown University of a report of an active shooter. I can confirm that there are two individuals who have died this afternoon, and there are another eight in critical status. We do not have a shooter in custody at this time. There is a shelter in place in effect for the greater Brown University area. If you live on or near Brown’s campus, we are encouraging you to stay home and stay inside. This is a sad state of our country right now where you have to plan for these things. And hopefully the community takes some comfort to know that their Providence leadership has planned for this occurrence, including very recently.

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Students remained locked in their dorms and classrooms as the police searched for the shooter, who was described as a man wearing black. At least two people are dead, and eight are in critical condition.

By McKinnon de Kuyper

December 13, 2025

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Multiple people shot near Brown University, police say

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Multiple people shot near Brown University, police say

In this image from video, law enforcement officials gather outside the Brown University campus in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025.

Kimberlee Kruesi/AP


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Kimberlee Kruesi/AP

Multiple people have been shot near Brown University in Providence, R.I., on Saturday, police said.

The Providence Police Department said it is actively investigating the situation and is encouraging the public to shelter in place until further notice.

There is no suspect in custody, the university said on X, adding that it’s coordinating with multiple law enforcement agencies to search for a suspect.

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The university  issued an alert Saturday afternoon that the shooter was spotted near the Barus and Holley building, which houses the School of Engineering and Physics Department.

“Continue to shelter in place. Remain away from Barus & Holley area. Police do not have a suspect in custody and continue to search for suspect(s). Brown coordinating with multiple law enforcement agencies on site,” the university said.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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