Dozens of protesters, including several Democratic members of Congress, gathered along the National Mall in Washington on Thursday to demonstrate against a private dinner hosted by Paramount Skydance chief executive David Ellison in honour of the Trump White House. Critics, including Representative Jamie Raskin, denounced the event as an "oligarch's dinner" and argued it highlighted an improper closeness between the Ellisons and the administration at a moment when federal regulators must decide whether to approve Paramount's proposed $110 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery (the parent company of CNN). Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve the deal earlier the same day, though it still requires sign-off from the US Department of Justice and European regulators.