Ethics in Government

This past century of days, we have witnessed an administration wholly committed to executing this warped idea of governing. So let’s unpack a couple of ways that Donald Trump & Associates have promoted the corporate takeover of government.

Inspectors General are a crucial part of the apparatus that keeps the government accountable to the public it is supposed to serve. 

Inspectors General have spent decades building careful systems for overseeing the activities of the Executive branch, acting as crucial watchdogs that root out actual inefficiency, waste, fraud, corruption, and abuse throughout the government.

An overview of Trump family ally, fundraiser, and business partner Omeed Malik. Malik was appointed to the board of Fannie Mae.

This week, Trump once again leveraged his office to boost the price of his meme coin, $Trump. Meanwhile, firms that donated to Trump’s campaign or lobbied aggressively seem to be securing exemptions to his tariffs. But as the oligarchs are finding clever ways to enrich themselves, the risks of public health and environmental crises have grown. Read below for the full overview of corruption this week:

In unlucky number 13, we tackle more corruption and pay to play stories in the administration. From Zaslav to Zuckerberg to selling gold visas we have all of the stories.

This week’s stories show that from the Justice Department to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Trump admin is simultaneously eroding, side-stepping, and outright defying the checks and balances that distinguish a government that is accountable to the public from one that exists simply to enrich the elite. 

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 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.”

Senators shouldn’t go easy on Trump’s nominee to lead the SEC. Here are some things they ought to ask him about.

“We’re not stopping. I don’t care what the judges think.” 

These were the words of Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan after the Trump administration violated multiple court orders and deported people without due process. Are we in a constitutional crisis yet? (Yes, and this is not the first time Trump officials have refused to obey the courts; we are tracking these violations here.)