Dimon on JPMorgan Chase not donating to White House ballroom: 'We have an issue'

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday said his company will not donate money toward the White House's ballroom construction, where the East Wing once stood.

In an interview with Dimon, CNN anchor Erin Burnett noted how JPMorgan Chase was not listed among the companies that have donated toward the project.

"We have an issue, OK, which is anything we do, since we do a lot of contracts with governments here and around the world, we have to be very careful about how anything is perceived," Dimon said. "And also how the next DOJ is going to deal with it."

"So, we're quite conscious of risks we bear by doing anything that looks like buying favors or anything like that," he continued. "So, do we do things like that? And by the way, we also have policies where we don't do certain things because it makes it easier for us."

He did note that JPMorgan Chase has contributed funds toward past presidential inaugurations, something that has been "a normal thing that companies did."

During the demolition of the White House's East Wing, the Trump administration released a list of all of the companies that donated to the ballroom's construction. At the time, President Trump said that the White House received $300 million for the construction, up from the $200 million that the administration previously said.

ABC News also reported that the White House raised $350 million to build the ballroom. Trump suggested some of that money could go toward an arch planned to be built at the entrance of Washington, D.C., near the Lincoln Memorial.

Donors include Amazon, Apple, Google, HP, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Booz Allen Hamilton, Union Pacific Railroad, Palantir Technologies, the Lutnick family and Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.

The White House said the ballroom's construction is expected to be completed by 2029, before his second term ends that January.

Demolition of the East Wing was met with criticism from past White House residents, lawmakers, historians and Trump critics.

Former first lady Michelle Obama reflected on the memories of being in the East Wing, which housed the first lady's office, on CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." The Obamas always viewed the White House as the "people's house," she said.

“And yes, every family, every administration, has a right and a duty to maintain the house, make investments and improvements," Obama told Colbert. "And there are plenty of things that needed fixing there. “But the thing — it makes me confused. I am confused by what are our norms? What are our standards? What are our traditions?”

“The East Wing of the White House is being demolished so that Donald Trump can construct a ballroom where he will be celebrated like a king,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said last month.

Michael LaRosa, former press secretary to former first lady Jill Biden, called the demolition "sad" and "heartbreaking," but added that the ballroom is "probably needed."

Comedian Bill Maher dismissed the demolition but asked why Trump would build a ballroom, considering the amount of time left in his term. After former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele pushed back on Maher's dismissal and emphasized the symbolism of Trump demolishing part of the White House, Maher invoked the recent talk from Trump and Trump allies suggesting he could seek a third term, which is not constitutionally allowed.

“The symbolism is he’s not leaving," Maher said. "That’s what bothers me about it. Who puts in a giant ballroom if you’re leaving?”