Memo
Trump Transition Newsletter: Chaos, Confusion, Controversy That’s Doing Nothing to Lower Costs

Just 11 days of the Trump administration has already brought mass chaos and confusion, including vital health services disrupted for millions, highly controversial nominees confirmed and protested, constitutional crises, a tragic plane crash disgustingly used in an evidence-free racially-charged political attack, and rising food costs including record-high egg prices “without a single specific policy to reduce them.”
None of this is helpful for working Americans, but it is a golden distraction from the President’s efforts to help enrich himself with new multi-billion dollar crypto schemes and give another giant tax break to his billionaire and corporate donors at the expense of everyone else.
Rather than get to work lowering costs as he repeatedly promised to do, on day one, Trump indiscriminately pardoned all the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes, including assaulting police officers, in the violent U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 –– some of whom wasted no time committing more crimes.
While the administration’s actions are being called incompetent at best and dangerous to America’s security and health at worst, the Republican-led Senate has been going about business as usual, quickly moving forward with the confirmation process for the President’s largely unfit, deeply, and problematic nominees for top posts.
Let’s review this week’s red flags from the Trump nominee confirmation hearings.
CONFIRMATION HEARING LOWLIGHTS
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- RELEASE: Hearing Highlights: RFK Jr. Glosses Over Grave Concerns On Dangerous Health Views, Conflicts of Interest, Possible Felony
- RELEASE: Watchdog: Senators Should Make RFK Jr. Prove He Won’t Reap Legal Fees From Major Anti-HPV Vaccine Lawsuits Before Confirming Him HHS Head
- FACT SHEET
- VIDEO CLIPS:
- RFK Jr. stumped on a basic question about Medicaid and Medicare.
- Senator Bennet calls out RFK Jr’s racist COVID bioweapon conspiracies and wild HIV and AIDS misinformation
- Senator Kaine presses RFK Jr. on lie that Gardasil is “killing girls” while Kennedy quietly makes money off lawsuits against its manufacturer
- RFK Jr. Waffles on question, “Do vaccines cause autism?”, pretends he needs more proof
- Senator Wyden calls out RFK Jr. for taking every side on abortion, wanting to “pause” infectious disease research
Tulsi Gabbard, nominee for Director of National Intelligence
- RELEASE: Hearing Highlights: Tulsi Gabbard Under Fire for Cozy Ties to Foreign Adversaries
- FACT SHEET
Kash Patel, nominee for Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- RELEASE: Hearing Highlights: Kash Patel Elevates Worst Fears About His Unfitness for FBI Director and Threats to Politically Weaponize Agency
- FACT SHEET
- VIDEO CLIPS:
Howard Lutnick, nominee for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce
- RELEASE: Hearing Highlights: Billionaire Howard Lutnick Keeps Commerce Department Conflicts Alive
- FACT SHEET
- VIDEO CLIPS:
ACCOUNTABLE.US IN THE NEWS:
- New York Times: How Kash Patel’s Charity Aided Trump, and Patel Himself: “Kash’s whole brand is that the F.B.I. has been weaponized and needs to be essentially destroyed from within,” said Stuart Richardson, of the left-leaning watchdog group Accountable.us. “His work is his audition. He’s proving, through the people that he uplifts, the type of F.B.I. director that he would be.”
- USA Today: Senate confirms Doug Burgum as Interior secretary: “Donald Trump chose Doug Burgum to be his Interior Security precisely because he’s so cozy with the oil and gas industry that made record high donations to the Trump campaign,” said Tony Carrk, executive director of Accountable.US, a watchdog organization that focuses on the relationship between government and special interests, in a statement ahead of the vote Thursday.
- New York Times: Pete Hegseth Is Sworn In as Defense Secretary After Being Confirmed by Slim Margin: The criticism of Republicans for falling in line with Trump is pouring in from watchdog organizations and the left. “This confirmation shows that most Republican Senators are willing to rubber-stamp the lowest common denominator from the Trump administration even when it puts everyday Americans in harm’s way. That’s terrifying,” Tony Carrk, the executive director of Accountable.US, a nonprofit watchdog organization.
- Forbes: How FBI Nominee Kash Patel Profited Off His Loyalty To Trump: In December, left-leaning watchdog Accountable.US also raised questions about the nonprofit paying more than $275,000 in 2023 to a company owned by Andrew Ollis, who serves as the foundation’s vice president and co-founded Based Apparel with Patel. That payment was initially omitted from the organization’s tax filings until a revised version was filed.
- ProPublica: North Dakota Sued the Interior Department at Least Five Times Under Gov. Doug Burgum. Now He’s Set to Run the Agency. : “Doug Burgum’s blatant conflicts with the oil industry cast doubt on his ability to fairly manage our public lands,” said Tony Carrk, executive director of government ethics watchdog Accountable.US.
- States Newsroom: Commerce nominee Lutnick in confirmation hearing backs Trump’s tariff plans: Lutnick, who’s taken heat over his business ties and potential conflicts of interest, vowed to sell all his business interests within 90 days, if confirmed.
RECENT RELEASES FROM ACCOUNTABLE.US:
- Watchdog: Trump Media Jumps Into Crypto Grift Game Day After Trump Administration Jeopardized Health Care and Aid Services for Millions of Americans
- Report: Trump’s Billionaire Commerce Pick Howard Lutnick’s Empire Deeply Conflicted With Investments in Cryptocurrency, Computer Chipmaker Nvidia & Satellite industry
- Watchdog: With Trump’s Late Night Inspector General Firing Spree, Here Comes the Unchecked Corruption at Public Expense
- Watchdog: With Hegseth Confirmation, Senate Republicans Show There’s No Bottom to What They’ll Accept from Trump Administration, the Public Be Damned
- Watchdog: With a Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Now Running the U.S. Treasury, American Workers’ Stock Plummets
- Watchdog: If Senate Confirms Doug Burgum as Interior Secretary, It Will Give Big Oil & Gas a Prime Seat at Trump Administration’s Table
- Conservative Group Americans for Prosperity Admits Trump, Republican Tax Plan Could Raise Costs for American Families
- Under Vought, Everyday Americans Will Pay the Price for Trump Tax Scam
- Watchdog: Will RFK Jr. Keep Reaping Legal Fees from Major Anti-HPV Vaccine Lawsuit If Confirmed As HHS Secretary?
- Top 10 Corporations Reaped Disproportionate Share of Benefits from Trump Tax Scam, Report Finds
- Watchdog: Trump Pardon of Violent January 6 Rioters Signals “Law and Order” Doesn’t Apply to Trump Loyalists
- Watchdog: Trump’s New Crypto Coin is His Latest Grift, But One That Holds Unprecedented Potential for Corruption at Public’s Expense
- Trump’s Day 1 EOs: A Billionaire Donors’ Wish List, A Failure for Everyday Americans
- Trump Administration Day 1: Billionaires and Corporations Donate Millions