The woman the president anointed as his “princess of darkness” has landed in the congressional hot seat over questionable fundraising practices.
Several prominent Democratic lawmakers this week signed a letter accusing the president’s political fundraiser, Meredith O’Rourke, of engaging in shady practices that “reek[s] of potential corruption” after she secured $800 million for the president’s projects, The Wall Street Journal first reported.
O’Rourke, 54, is the 80-year-old president’s chief political fundraiser. While she is not a government employee, she is a mainstay at the White House, and Trump, who praises her as a “killer” with donors, reportedly phoned her every night to ask how much money she had raked in for him.
Trump has praised her as his “princess of darkness.”
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal, as well as incoming House Oversight Chair Robert Garcia, all signed the letter, which requested records about donations to the president from companies including Capital One, SoftBank, and Lockheed Martin.
“You facilitate an operation that raises serious questions about quid pro quo politics,” the letter to O’Rourke read.
“President Trump is the most successful fundraiser in political history, and he is deeply grateful to his donors, but one thing has never changed: He can’t be bought,” a spokeswoman for Trump and O’Rourke told the Journal, saying that “Democrats’ accusations are absurd, baseless and full of hypocrisy.” The White House did not immediately respond to questions from the Daily Beast.
In July, a report laid bare the shocking extent of O’Rourke’s operation, coaxing donors to throw between $5 million and $50 million toward refurbishment projects like Trump’s tacky White House ballroom, events including his Fourth of July celebrations, legacy plans like his presidential library, and political action committees (PACs) aligned with his MAGA agenda.
Many of those companies and individuals have gone on to benefit from regulatory decisions made by the White House after their donations landed. In some cases, it has also bought them unprecedented access to the president, securing them seats at the table for glitzy events at his Mar-a-Lago resort and at the White House.
Trump’s ballroom is funded by those kissing the ring.
A veteran Florida fundraiser, O’Rourke had worked in various capacities on Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns, and led the fundraising operation for the entirety of his 2024 run.
Reportedly, O’Rourke even chose to drive the six hours between her home in the north of the state and the campaign’s HQ in Palm Beach, rather than take an hour-long flight, so she wouldn’t lose valuable donor-call time in the air. And while she thought those efforts would go to the wayside after Trump won his final race, the president had other plans.
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