GOP lawmakers don’t mind that the full list of donors and amounts given is under wraps.
The White House has released the names of some of the donors to the ballroom. But not all of them. And not the amounts they’ve given. Indeed, in some cases, the White House has decided to just keep the details secret.
One of the important subplots of the last several years concerns the many ways in which Congress has farmed out its responsibilities to the executive. The ballroom-funding episode provides yet another illustration of this theme. Do lawmakers want a more transparent process? Do they even care if people with clear interests before the government may be currying favor with the president in this way? Should “ambition . . . be made to counteract ambition”? For members of the current majority, the answer to these questions is the same: no.
For now, congressional interest in the ballroom donations and the avenues for corrupt dealing that they’ve opened up has not crossed the aisle.