A $915 million contract awarded to Salus Worldwide Solutions for ‘self-deportation’ services faces legal challenge for lacking transparency and following unlawful procurement procedures. The firm has connections to senior DHS officials, and bids were restricted to select companies for …
DHSSalus Worldwide SolutionsProject on Government Oversightsystematic-corruptionno-bid-contractscrony-capitalismprocurement-fraud
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent approved a $20 billion Argentina bailout that directly benefits hedge funds run by his former colleagues Stanley Druckenmiller and Robert Citrone, whose portfolios hold significant Argentine debt. Senator Elizabeth Warren demanded details on whether Managed Funds …
Scott BessentStanley DruckenmillerRobert CitroneElizabeth WarrenJavier Mileisystematic-corruptionconflicts-of-interesttreasury-corruptioncrony-capitalism
CoreCivic, a private prison company, secured nearly $300 million in new ICE contracts to add 5,700 detention beds across California, Kansas, and Oklahoma, effectively doubling agency capacity by 2026. The contracts include $130 million annually for California City Correctional Facility, $60 million …
Trump administration systematically cut deals across more than 30 industries, trading tariff relief and federal financing for corporate concessions in a pattern resembling state-driven capitalism. Companies including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and AstraZeneca faced pressure on production location and drug …
The White House ordered the General Services Administration (GSA) to add Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot to the approved vendor list for federal agencies ‘as soon as possible,’ despite the AI system’s documented history of producing antisemitic content and demonstrating instability …
After taking a 10% equity stake in Intel worth $8.9 billion, the government waived performance benchmarks and accountability requirements despite Intel receiving over $11 billion in total federal support through CHIPS Act grants and additional programs. The benchmark waiver eliminates standards that …
TrumpIntelDepartment of Commercestate-capitalismcorporate-welfareCHIPS-Actaccountabilitycrony-capitalism
The White House fired Robert E. Primus from the Surface Transportation Board via email without providing any cause, removing an independent regulator responsible for overseeing rail mergers and transportation policy. The Surface Transportation Board is designed to operate independently from …
TrumpWhite HouseSurface Transportation BoardRobert E. Primusregulatory-captureinstitutional-capturecrony-capitalismtransportation-policy
In Trump’s second term, tariff policy became increasingly opaque, with exemptions granted through a non-transparent process heavily influenced by lobbyists and political connections. The administration replaced the previous public application process with closed-door negotiations, raising …
Donald TrumpTrump AdministrationIndustry lobbyistsReyes HoldingsBallard Partnerstariffssecond-administrationcorruptiontransparencycrony-capitalism+1 more
Reyes Holdings, a Coca-Cola bottling giant owned by two major Republican donors, secured a tariff exemption for PET plastic resin with no public explanation, leaving industry insiders baffled. Records show the company had recently hired lobbyists with close White House ties, heightening suspicions …
Academic study of over 7,000 tariff exemption requests finds firms with political connections to Trump, especially those donating to Trump or Republican causes, had significantly higher approval rates, while those linked to Democrats were more often denied. Internal government audits describe the …
Donald TrumpTrump AdministrationVeljko FotakHye Seung Grace LeeWilliam Megginson+1 moretariffscorruptioncrony-capitalismtrade-policypolitical-favoritism
Cook’s ‘charm offensive’ through multiple dinners and meetings with Trump 2018-2019 secured Apple exemptions from China tariffs on iPhones and core products. Cook dined at Trump Tower, Bedminster golf course, attended White House state dinner, gave Trump Mac Pro plant tour. Apple …
Donald TrumpTim CookApple Inc.tariffsfavoritismapplecorporate-influencecrony-capitalism