In a move that raised some eyebrows, President Trump announced that businesses could sponsor an egg at the upcoming White House Easter Egg Roll for anywhere from $75,000 to $200,000. A document released by Harbinger, an event production company, outlined the three sponsorship levels of $75,000; $100,000; AND $200,000. “By partnering with this historic tradition, sponsors can engage with diverse audience, showcase their commitment to community and education and align with a beloved American event,” the document declared. “Sponsors of WHEER [White House Easter Egg Roll] provide financial support, activities, and giveaways to enhance the event while gaining valuable brand visibility and national recognition.” Sponsors could have their logos on event signage as well as “naming rights for key areas or elements,” and an “invite-only brunch hosted inside the White House by FLOTUS.” Also, despite tickets to the event being free via lottery in the past, sponsors have the ability to also obtain tickets to the event.

The event has always been paid for through private funds rather than tax-payer money, with most of it coming from the American Egg Board, which also donates eggs for the event. According to a former official who has planned the event in the past, the Egg Roll has gotten more and more elaborate throughout the years. “This is an enterprise. 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,” said the official. “There is a certain level of expectation by the public that these be amazingly grand affairs – memorable affairs – and every year, you try and top it with something new and different. But to do that, clearly, you need professional production companies. It’s beyond the White House Visitor’s Office and their little team of six people.”

Not everyone is impressed with this latest move. “That would have been vetoed in about 30 seconds in my day. We’re not running this like a football stadium where you get all logos all over the place for kicking in money,” said Richard Painter, who served in the White House Counsel’s Office under President George W. Bush administration. All money raised during the event will be put into an account run by the White House Historical Association. “For many presidencies, the White House Historical Association has collaborated with White House staff to facilitate a public gathering such as the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. And as we do with other gifts to the White House collection, we receive contributions and in-kind gifts that are used on the grounds that day,” the association’s president, Stewart McLaurin, said.