The White House Easter Egg Roll will be sponsored: This is where the money from the event sponsorship will go to

Donald Trump and both his administrations have shown no qualms about bucking long-established norms and rules around the presidency. The latest shake-up is the White House Easter Egg Roll event, first held in 1878 during the Rutherford B Hayes administration.

This year the White House, through Harbinger, an outside event production company, is soliciting corporate sponsors with the promise of having their logo displayed on event signage as well as other branding opportunities around the event. According to a nine-page document that CNN obtained, the sponsorship offers range from $75,000 to $200,000.

Where will the money from the event sponsorship go?

The annual event has long been privately funded, mainly through the American Egg Board, without tapping the public purse. All proceeds collected this year will go into an account managed by the White House Historical Association, a private nonprofit organization.

Typically, the funds would be used to reimburse the National Park Service, the American Egg Board, the White House Historical Association and the White House for any costs incurred. Any excess funds are then put toward similar White House events.

Why is this year’s White House Easter Egg Roll is so controversial?

Neither Harbinger’s involvement nor having private sponsors is new for events at the White House like the Easter Egg Roll, “which has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years,” reported CNN. However, the implicit offer of branding opportunities to corporations on White House grounds with the consent of the administration goes against the grain.

This violates established prohibitions on the use of public office for private gain and has caused “shock and concern” among ethics experts and former White House officials. Over the years, because of these branding restrictions multiple administrations had to tell Coca-Cola that its donated refreshments could not be served in Coke-branded coolers pointed out CNN.

The pitch to prospective sponsors includes naming rights, custom-branded merch, and official acknowledgement and mentions in social media and event programs. “This is an enterprise,” a former official involved in planning the event told CNN. “This is not your grandmother’s Easter Egg Roll where people lined up outside the gate and go and roll an egg and get a little gift bag and walk out.”

“Sometimes it went too far – yeah – but their goal is to protect the president,” the individual said. “I’m getting agita thinking of the conversations I used to have with the Counsel’s Office.”

A White House Counsel’s Office under President George W. Bush, Richard Painter, told CNN, the sponsorship plans for this year’s Easter Egg Roll “would have been vetoed in about 30 seconds in my day.” He said that administrations typically don’t run events at the White House as if it were “a football stadium where you get all logos all over the place for kicking in money.”

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