Cryptocurrency

While the lion’s share of this weeks’ news cycle surrounds a potential partial government shutdown (readers of this newsletter know that the government already is substantially shut down by DOGE), Trump and his lackeys continue churning the corruption machine for their own benefit. Trump, Musk, and their underlings shamelessly use the government to get even richer while decimating the government’s capacity to help poor people, farmers, students, women, and well, all of us.

Jen Brown, Senator Chuck Schumer’s former Banking Counsel, joins the cryptocurrency investment firm Paradigm in a clear conflict of interest.

In 2017, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) led Congressional Democrats by having the highest rate of opposing votes to Donald Trump’s cabinet picks. Eight years later, however, the New York senator seems to have lost any interest in reprising that role. 

As the crypto industry continues to jockey for prominence in the second Trump administration this FAQ explains crypto’s impacts and influence.

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.

If Atkins is confirmed by the Senate, crypto grifters will surely rejoice at their newfound freedom to swindle, but most investors in the U.S. will be much less safe.

DOGE is a new weapon in Trump’s ongoing war against the administrative state. But it’s important to remain clear-eyed about the value federal civil servants provide. These individuals help ensure the safety of our food, medicine, transportation, air, and water. They are also the backbone of our education, health care, and financial regulatory systems. There is no doubt that many Americans feel burned by their recent interactions with these systems, but federal employees are the wrong targets of their ire.

Some Notes on Centrists Blaming Everyone but Themselves

Reid Hoffman hates Lina Khan, but the polling firm he funds keeps demonstrating the popularity of her crackdown on corporate monopoly power.