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Department of Interior understaffing has been threatening environmental protection efforts and the health of marginalized communities.

Musk Connection: Unknown
Other Corporate Affiliations: Lead Palantir’s platform infrastructure and cloud strategy
DOGE Deployment: Department of Health and Human Services

It’s week eleven of the Revolving Door Project’s Corruption Calendar, where we highlight the latest slate of corporate corruption that’s shaping the Trump Administration, its agenda, and the material impacts of that corruption on real people. Our first ten issues can be found here, and follow us on Bluesky and X for more updates on this work.

This week has been defined by yet more chaos, as the gaggle of incompetent buffoons that seemingly make up the policy infrastructure of this administration continue to play at political theater while doing all that they can to ruin the rest of our lives. From crashing the global economy to giving corporations free license to do whatever they want, they’re succeeding.

Musk Connection: Unknown
Other Corporate Affiliations: Palantir Technologies, blockchain search engine Elementus, software engineering and finance start up Theorem
DOGE Deployment: Chief Information Officer, Executive Office of the President

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service has been destroyed. It provided free collective-bargaining mediation and saved hundreds of millions of dollars in labor costs.

Musk Connections: SpaceX, Starlink, X (Twitter)

DOGE Deployments: White House, FHFA

In Abundance and in press, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson have made it clear they want to close the book on Rachel Carson’s seminal work.

Musk Connections: N/A

Other Corporate Connections: Founder of Russell Street Ventures, Co-founder of Aspire Health, Co-founder of CareBridge, Co-founder of Main Street Health. 

DOGE Deployments: HHS

Musk Connections: SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), Boring Company

Other Corporate Connections: Board of Advisers, Atlas Society; Former owner, Mr. Yogato; Former owner, Thomas Foolery

DOGE Deployments: “Day-to-day leader.” SSA, GSA

On March 21, BigLaw firm Paul Weiss struck a deal with the Trump administration in exchange for an executive order targeting them to be lifted. This capitulation to Trump undermines the rule of law and will invite future authoritarian moves by the administration. As RDP’s Henry Burke wrote, “Appeasement will only lead to certain destruction.”

Fascists respond to capitulation with more aggression. Elon Musk has already started targeting firms himself.