Independent federal agencies establish and enforce the rules that define the shape of our economy and society. From preventing the next financial crisis to antitrust enforcement, and from employment discrimination to net neutrality, independent agencies’ decisions impact the lives of every American.
Unfortunately, information about independent agency leadership and voting records has been scattered and opaque, making it difficult for the public to hold these powerful bodies accountable. In this vacuum, corporations, with their ability to purchase specialized expertise, have succeeded in setting the agenda to serve their narrow interests at the expense of the public good.
The Revolving Door Project’s agency spotlight and routine agency leadership tracking updates monitor agency personnel in order to help civil society ensure they play a role in choosing who gets these critical jobs. Because while the public interest-minded are only intermittently focused on appointments, we can rest assured that sectors of corporate America diligently monitor each and every one of these jobs, regardless of how seemingly obscure the agency might be.
October 31, 2025 | The American Prospect
Op-Ed BankingConsumer ProtectionEconomic PolicyExecutive BranchFinancial RegulationIndependent Agencies
Making Banking Supervision Suck Again
Willfully blinding bank examiners could send us hurtling to yet another financial crisis.
September 23, 2025 | The American Prospect
Op-Ed Artificial IntelligenceConsumer ProtectionExecutive BranchIndependent AgenciesRevolving DoorTech
Ted Cruz Attempts to Exempt Big Tech From the Law
The Texas senator has introduced a bill allowing any AI company a streamlined path around regulations.
September 22, 2025
From Industry Watchdog to Industry Wish List
The MAHA Commission’s latest report reflect the very corporate cronyism that it was was supposed to root out
September 17, 2025
Attrition in the Early Months of the Trump Administration
According to data released in July by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), March 2025 was, by a large margin, the single worst month for federal hiring since at least October 2004.
September 15, 2025 | The American Prospect
Trump Doesn’t Need DOGE to Kneecap Independent Agencies
Many independent agencies that protect the public against corporate and government malfeasance remain hobbled by a lack of quorum.
September 04, 2025
CDC in Chaos: Director Fired, Top Leaders Resign in Protest
HHS fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after she refused to implement vaccine policy changes directed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
August 26, 2025
Supreme Court, Jay Powell, & Media Enabled Trump’s Attack on Lisa Cook
Institutions have allowed Trump to attack the Federal Reserve’s Independence. They must stand up for Lisa Cook.
August 13, 2025
How Trump’s BLS Nominee Could Undermine Our Social Safety Net
The agency’s data feeds directly into many social programs—programs EJ Antoni opposes.
August 07, 2025
Trump’s EPA Just Moved to Shred the Legal Foundation of U.S. Climate Policy
Trump’s most brazen act of climate sabotage yet: a proposed repeal of the 2009 “endangerment finding.”
July 25, 2025 | Watchdog Weekly
Corruption Calendar Week 27: Media Merger Madness
Also, CFPB pays for Russ Vought’s security detail while ignoring Americans’ financial security—and other tales from Trump’s swamp.
June 06, 2025 | Watchdog Weekly
Newsletter Artificial IntelligenceClimate and EnvironmentCorruption CalendarEthics in GovernmentExecutive BranchIndependent AgenciesTech
Corruption Calendar Week 20: Trump Partners With Palantir To Build A Real World Panopticon
This week has put on full display the Trump administration’s embrace of the white collar criminals, grifters, harmful extractive industries, and fascist tech bros jointly wreaking havoc on our social institutions and the environment.
June 05, 2025
TRACKER: Cuts to Corporate Enforcement Capacity
This tracker records cuts made by the Trump-Musk administration to enforcement capacity at agencies responsible for overseeing corporations’ activities and identifying wrongdoing.
“Enforcement capacity” refers to staffing and funding dedicated to monitoring, oversight, investigation, and preparation of cases against corporations for breaking the law. Cuts to and attacks on enforcement capacity can include firings, buyout offers, funding cuts, reorganizations, and other steps the Trump administration has taken to date.
June 04, 2025
Personnel is Policy: The Faces Behind Trump 2.0’s Measles Mismanagement
For the first time in six years, confirmed measles cases in the United States have surged past 1,000, a grim milestone that has come to define Trump governance.
May 23, 2025 | Watchdog Weekly
Corruption Calendar Week 18: Trump’s Independent Agency Power Grab
This week the Trump administration continued to dedicate itself to tearing down the safeguards that protect Americans from things like dangerous consumer products and predatory sales tactics, all while his officials and donors (often one and the same) enrich themselves.
May 09, 2025 | The American Prospect
Op-Ed CryptocurrencyDOGEEconomic PolicyElon MuskEthics in GovernmentExecutive BranchFinancial RegulationIndependent AgenciesSECTrump 2.0
We Can’t Count on Trump’s SEC to Tell Us If He Is Manipulating the Market
The Musk-damaged agency is unlikely to investigate whether Trump and his allies are profiting from advance knowledge about tariff changes or meme coin shenanigans.