U.S. Senators Express Concern over OpenAI CEO’s Donation to Trump Inaugural Fund
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, was the subject of concern by U.S. senators on Friday over a $1 million donation he made to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund. The donation was made in an effort to avoid regulation and limit scrutiny.
In a letter, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bennet expressed concern that large tech companies were attempting to influence and sway the actions and policies of the incoming administration. The letter noted that Altman’s personal contribution was joined by contributions from Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon, with Apple CEO Tim Cook also reportedly contributing $1 million.
The senators acknowledged that the donations raised questions about corruption and the influence of corporate money on the Trump administration. They requested that Altman answer a series of questions, including when and under what circumstances he made the donation, and whether any communications were made with members of the Trump transition team or the president-elect’s associates about the donation.
Altman took to online platform X to respond to the concerns, stating that his donation was a personal contribution and not a decision made by the company. He expressed his confusion about the questions given that OpenAI did not make a decision to make the contribution.
The controversy comes as Altman is set to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday, where he will be joined by several other tech executives, including Tim Cook, Shou Chew, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk. The event will mark one of the largest gatherings of tech leaders at a presidential inauguration in recent years.