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May 09, 2025 | Watchdog Weekly

Xaver Clarke

Newsletter Consumer ProtectionCorruption CalendarCryptocurrencyDOGEElon MuskEthics in GovernmentRevolving DoorTechTrump 2.0

Corruption Calendar Week 16: The Grift That Keeps On Giving

This week, the Trump brothers Eric and Don Jr. embarked on a world tour to make real estate deals while the administration used the threat of tariffs to push Starlink into other countries. Trump allies engaged in price fixing and fraud were given a pass seemingly as a reward for their donations to the president, our retirement savings were placed under the eye of a greedy insurance executive, and consumer protections were targeted by House Republicans eager to find tax breaks for the rich.

May 02, 2025 | Watchdog Weekly

Fatou Ndiaye

Newsletter Climate and EnvironmentCongressional OversightConsumer ProtectionCorruption CalendarDOGEElon MuskEthics in GovernmentTech

Corruption Calendar Week 15: Trump, Binance and MGX—A Crooked Match Made In Dubai.

This week, the Trump family continued to blur the line between politics and business with Trump 2028 merch and a billion dollar deal with Binance and MGX. Trump Jr. and Eric Trump’s potential stock sales and a new elite Washington club further expose this convergence. President Trump’s pardons of allies, Elon Musk’s apparent sway over personnel picks, and the rollback of consumer and coal miner protections add to the ethical concerns.

February 28, 2025 | Watchdog Weekly

Fatou Ndiaye

Newsletter Climate and EnvironmentConsumer ProtectionCorruption CalendarEthics in GovernmentJudiciaryTechTrump 2.0

Corruption Calendar Week Six: A dying CFPB, Musk’s business boom, conflicts of interest, and blatant favoritism. 

This week, the Trump administration is moving fast to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), abandoning several active enforcement cases against financiers ripping off consumers. The SEC paused its case against Trump ally Justin Sun and handed the crypto industry another victory. Elon Musk continues to have field day after field day, slashing agencies he doesn’t like and watching his businesses balloon in value since the election. Several Trump appointees (like CFTC Chair Nominee Brian Quintenz and acting administrator of the PHMSA Ben Kochman) have major conflicts of interests which will likely skew agency action towards the interests of corporations at the expense of the public. We also witnessed an instance of blatant bias in how legal actions are handled, with leniency toward Republicans.

February 12, 2025

Emma Marsano

Newsletter AgricultureConsumer ProtectionDepartment of TransportationExecutive BranchGovernment CapacityHousingTrump 2.0

President Trump Would Like You To Say Goodbye To Our Food Inspectors

This week has seen further escalations in an already dramatic first month of Trump 2.0. In particular, in addition to “cartoonishly corrupt” moves like signing an order to halt enforcement of a bribery ban, the Trump administration has used a number of methods to reduce enforcement capacity across federal agencies, building on the hiring and funding freezes Trump ordered on his first day in office. (While judges have readily agreed to challenges to the funding freeze, it appears the administration is illegally withholding funding, anyway.)