Here's a fun party trick: try to find a major federal contractor that didn't put money into both the official U.S. 250th birthday celebration and President Donald Trump's parallel Freedom 250 initiative. According to a CNBC analysis, at least 14 companies managed to be in both places at once.

The list reads like a who's-who of government spending: Boeing (BA), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Northrop Grumman (NOC), RTX (RTX), Palantir (PLTR), Oracle (ORCL), John Deere (DE), SAP (SAP), Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG), United Airlines (UAL), plus Deloitte, Exiger, Phorm Energy, and the UFC. All of them are listed as sponsors of both America250—the nonprofit supporting the congressionally established U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission—and Freedom 250, the Trump-backed public-private initiative that organized several of the administration's marquee July 4th events.

When CNBC reached out for comment, only John Deere responded. The company said it was proud to celebrate the Americans whose work helped "build power, feed and sustain" the country. It did not directly address why it supported both organizations. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Now, let's be clear: CNBC found no evidence that the sponsorships influenced government decisions or were tied to the companies' dealings with the Trump administration. But ethics experts argue that the optics are, shall we say, not great.

Bruce Freed, president of the Center for Political Accountability, told CNBC that the issue isn't corporate sponsorship of a national celebration—it's the possibility that companies with pending government interests could gain special access to the president. Fundraising materials reported by The New York Times said higher-tier donors were offered perks like VIP seating, private receptions with Trump, photo opportunities, and speaking roles at July 4 events. That's a lot of face time for companies that also have business before the federal government.

Freedom 250 was launched after Trump returned to office, while America250 was created by Congress in 2016 to organize bipartisan celebrations for the nation's 250th birthday. The Trump-backed initiative has faced some operational hiccups: several Democratic-led states opted out, reports noted low attendance, power outages plagued events, and multiple artists withdrew after saying they were unaware of the political associations. It's been a rocky road for a celebration that was supposed to unite the country.

So, what's the takeaway? It's not illegal for companies to sponsor both a bipartisan commission and a president's pet project. But when the same companies that are bidding on defense contracts and navigating regulatory hurdles are also buying VIP access to the president, it raises questions about whose birthday we're really celebrating.