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February 05, 2025
Newsletter Congressional OversightConsumer ProtectionExecutive BranchScott BessentTreasury DepartmentTrump 2.0
Trump Taps Corporate Fox to Guard an Accountability Henhouse
Scott Bessent’s appointment to CFPB acting director will undermine the agency’s mission.
January 31, 2025 | Watchdog Weekly
Corruption Calendar Week Two: Trump Moves To Gut Exec Branch And Make Way For Loyalists
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.
January 30, 2025
Where Is the Democratic Opposition?
Trump is rapidly imposing his fascist agenda with barely a whimper of protest from the Democratic Party.
January 24, 2025 | Watchdog Weekly
Corruption Calendar Week One: Amidst A Flurry Of EOs, A First Round of CEOs Cashes In
We’re excited to introduce the Corruption Calendar, a new project from Revolving Door Project consisting of a weekly newsletter (you’re reading the first edition) and dedicated social media channels (follow us on X and Bluesky).
January 23, 2025 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
Four Pillars to Hold Up the Roof of Resistance
This week has been…well, whatever negative thing you want to say about American politics, we probably agree with you. Or think you’re being a bit too hopeful. That said, the coming months must eventually end up as a nadir in the trajectory of modern history. Even if #resistance is seemingly out of fashion (and wrongly so: not all elements of the recent past should be deemed cringe, and #resistance was a net positive, even if it led to outsized audiences for alternatively gauche and grifting behavior), resistance is not only necessary—it can and must succeed.
January 15, 2025 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
Tough Questions For Trump Nominees: The Lee Zeldin and Scott Turner Edition
We urged a more aggressive and justifiably confrontational approach in our recommended questions for Doug Burgum, Chris Wright, Russell Vought, Pam Bondi, and Scott Bessent, which you can read here and here. Today we’ll get into questions for Lee Zeldin, nominee for the Environmental Protection Agency, and Scott Turner, nominee for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
January 14, 2025 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
Newsletter 2024 Election/TransitionCryptocurrencyDepartment of JusticeExecutive BranchRevolving DoorScott Bessent
Tough Questions For Trump Nominees
We’re back for another edition of this newsletter proposing tough questions that need to be asked of Trump’s nominees. This iteration will cover Pam Bondi, the nominee for Attorney General, and Scott Bessent, the nominee to lead the Department of Treasury.
January 13, 2025 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
Democrats Need To Ask Trump Nominees The Tough Questions
Trump’s nominees need to be asked hard questions about their records of harming the public. So we did the work ourselves and wrote some!
January 08, 2025 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
Who Bought The Presidency?
With less than two weeks until Trump’s inauguration, the Senate confirmation process for his roster of loyalists will be underway before we know it. The confirmation hearings for Trump’s energy picks are already set, with hearings for Interior nominee Doug Burgum, Energy nominee Chris Wright, and EPA nominee Lee Zeldin scheduled for January 14, January 15, and Wednesday or Thursday of next week respectively. This newsletter series will highlight the ties between Trump’s personnel picks and the exploitative industries and their billionaire CEOs who will be enriched by their appointments.
December 19, 2024
As the Biden Admin Winds Down, Will They Take Stands To Protect The Public?
This week’s newsletter highlights three litmus tests of the Biden administration’s commitment to holding the wealthy and powerful accountable to the public interest within their dwindling time in office.
December 11, 2024 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
Doug Burgum and the Myth of the “Normal” Trump Nominee
Trump has spent the month since the election firing off a rapid torrent of Cabinet picks. His nominees generally fall into two types: obviously whacko (see Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard, Kash Patel, RFK Jr.) and superficially normal (think Marco Rubio, Doug Burgum, Pam Bondi). While the headline-grabbing scandals and general trumpery of the first group easily draw scorn, it’s important that we not grade the second group on a credulous curve, overlooking the economic interests behind their soothingly conventional manner.
November 20, 2024 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
A Lame-Duck Prelude of the Next Four Years
It’s only been two weeks since Donald Trump was re-elected President and the tenor of the next four years is already taking shape. The speed with which Trump’s transition team is announcing executive branch appointments is matched only by the swiftness with which those appointees will decimate the government’s capacity to serve the American people. The question now is whether Democrats and media understand the gravity of the situation and will act accordingly.
November 13, 2024 | Revolving Door Project Newsletter
Seeking Alternatives To A Sledgehammer
With anger, fear, and determination, we’re with you in this unsettled moment a week out from the election. It’s hard to predict or overstate how much may be on the brink of changing; hard to measure how much we’ve already lost, like the ‘functionally extinct’ goal of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 2.7°F, or 1.5°C. And it’s hard to know how much we may stand to gain from new visions and forms of solidarity and resistance that grow in the years to come.
October 31, 2024
Successful Biden-Harris Efforts Toward A Corporate Crackdown: A Pre-Election Week Review
We reviewed efforts at five agencies (DOL, NLRB, SEC, CFPB, and FTC) toward using existing enforcement powers to crack down on corporate wrongdoing, highlighting successful enforcement actions with real impact on our daily lives. Over the past four years, these critical (if not always public-facing) executive branch agencies have made significant strides toward reversing the deregulatory efforts of the Trump administration, while pushing protections for workers and consumers further.
October 24, 2024
TD Bank Settlement Shows DOJ Needs To Go Even Bigger To Crack Down On Corporate Criminals
Corporate revolvers are keeping industry giants from facing real accountability.