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Welcome to Week Two of the Revolving Door Project’s Corruption Calendar, where we highlight examples of corporate corruption shaping the Trump administration’s agenda and their material impact on everyday people. Read our inaugural issue here and follow us on Bluesky and X for #CorruptionCalendar updates.
In just Week Two of his administration, Trump lodged a full-on attack aimed at gutting the federal civil service and disrupting the many critical functions of the federal government. The goal is obvious: to elevate figures who are first and foremost loyal to the Trump agenda, which is mostly about accommodating the rich people who matter to Trump. While there are likely plenty more stories, we’ve identified some key concerning accounts of how Trump’s bellicose approach will be a boon to his wealthy friends:
- Illegal IG Firings Aim To Replace Independent Watchdogs With Trump Loyalists. Last week, the Trump administration moved to dismiss 15 Inspectors General across the executive branch. Despite Trump’s assertion that “It’s a very standard thing to do,” both his handling and political motivations are not “standard” – the law requires the president to give Congress reasons for dismissal and 30 days’ notice (a requirement that Congress beefed up after Trump’s attempts to replace IGs with loyalists during his first term!). And as media outlets have reported, the IG purge “could clear the way for Trump to install loyalists” in these positions, which investigate fraud, waste and abuse at their respective agencies. IGs at “the departments of Defense, State, Transportation, Labor, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Energy, Commerce, Treasury and Agriculture, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, Small Business Administration and the Social Security Administration were ousted.”
- On Wednesday, the USDA Inspector General, Phyllis Fong, was escorted out of the building after refusing to comply with the firing. Her particular role gives a window into how Trump’s billionaire buddies will benefit from weakened watchdogs – in 2022, Fong’s office “launched an investigation of Elon Musk’s brain implant startup Neuralink, which remains ongoing.” The material implication here is that the Trump government might authorize medical care at the behest of donors, rather than after a rigorous scientific process. The consequences for public health could be severe.
- Federal Funding Freeze Attack Gives Trump Prospective Power To Pick Winners And Losers. The ongoing fight over Trump’s attempts to illegally freeze federal funding has wide implications for disrupting Americans’ everyday lives, from programs like Medicaid, Meals on Wheels, pre-school for low income families, to scientific research conducted by universities and research institutions across the country. One particular implication we have our eye on: how a federal funding freeze could supply Trump and his lackeys with the opportunity to pick and choose winners among the programs and grants that aren’t affected – an overreach of power ripe with potential conflicts of interests, given the broad financial interests of Trump’s personnel.
- Trump Admin Starts Dismantling Crypto Rules As Trump Shills For His Own Meme Coin. Last Thursday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) withdrew Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), which instructed “banks to disclose the crypto assets they hold on behalf of customers and to maintain sufficient assets to secure those holdings.” SAB 121’s overturning is likely just the beginning of the Trump administration’s efforts to fulfill the industry’s deregulatory wishlist.
- The Trump admin’s deregulatory efforts should come as no surprise now that the President holds deep financial ties to the industry, including his own meme coin. Our Jeff Hauser expanded on how brazenly corrupt this is last week:
- The Trump admin’s deregulatory efforts should come as no surprise now that the President holds deep financial ties to the industry, including his own meme coin. Our Jeff Hauser expanded on how brazenly corrupt this is last week:
“Why should people care about Trump marketing a coin? A few reasons come to mind. First, Trump having billions of dollars in wealth tied up in a cryptocurrency would obviously impact how his administration approaches regulating the crypto market. Will Trump fight for the public interest in regulating crypto — a key mechanism for the funding of ransomware, fentanyl and terrorism — if doing so could threaten the lucrative digital asset industry, an outsize share of which is controlled by a small elite?”
- Meta’s Conveniently-Timed Multi-Million Payout To Trump Ignites Questions On Their Return On Investment. On Wednesday, Meta paid $25 million to settle a previously-dormant lawsuit brought by Trump against the social media giant. According to the Wall Street Journal, the suit, over the suspension of Trump’s accounts after the January 6 riot, “had seen little activity since fall 2023,” but discussions renewed after Mark Zuckerberg dined with Trump at Mar-A-Lago after the election. Senator Elizabeth Warren said the settlement “looks like a bribe and a signal to every company that corruption is the name of the game,” questioning what kind of return on investment Zuckerberg is expecting. The WSJ report also notes that “the president signaled that the litigation had to be resolved before Zuckerberg could be ‘brought into the tent.’”
But now that Meta is brought in – do we think that a Trump FTC will protect your privacy against Zuckerberg’s efforts to suck up all of your digital data?
- Corporate Landlords Celebrate Trump FCC Move To Limit Tenants’ Internet Provider Choices. Trump’s Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr withdrew from proposed rulemaking to potentially rein in bulk billing agreements, which force tenants to pay for a single internet service provider. As the American Economic Liberties Project wrote last year, bulk billing arrangements limit tenants’ choices for broadband and cable, pushing them away from services that most suit their needs. Unsurprisingly, industry figures celebrated Carr’s move to limit consumer choice, including the National Multifamily Housing Council and the National Apartment Association, the two largest lobbying groups representing corporate landlords, developers and investors.
On Monday, Revolving Door Project and Demand Progress launched No Corporate Cabinet, a central hub documenting corporate corruption and conflicts of interest among those jockeying for power in the Trump administration. We’ve published profiles on Trump nominees like Paul Atkins, Linda McMahon and Chris Wright – check back for more profiles in the days to come.