Trump’s Billionaire Cabinet: Profiting Off Power While YOU Pay the Price

Trump Accountability Watch: As Trump Administration Abuses of Power Spike, Accountable.US Launches Phase Two of Accountability Campaign

This week, Accountable.US launched the next phase of our War Room campaign focused on holding the Trump Administration accountable for its rampant and unprecedented abuses of power. In just over 60 days, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their Administration have done severe damage to our economy, our democracy, and wreaked havoc on everyday families. It should surprise no one that Americans are souring on Donald Trump’s handling of the economy – as the stock market is in chaos in the face of a tariff rollercoaster, grocery prices continue climbing, and the Administration is targeting cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for Trump’s billionaire backers and friends.

Meanwhile, a culture of self-dealing and corruption is festering within the Trump Administration. Trump, Musk, and Administration officials have engaged in shocking conflicts of interest, using the federal government to benefit themselves and their businesses, while instituting devastating cuts to benefits and services for everyone else.

The abuses of power have been on full display this week. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick used his official office to urge Americans to prop up Elon Musk’s fortune – and Lutnick’s own – by buying stock in Tesla. Trump’s White House installed wifi operated by Elon Musk’s company, potentially introducing new security risks, after the Federal Communications Commission granted new waivers to prop up Musk’s Starlink business. And Trump gave yet another gift to his billionaire donors in the banking industry, by nominating a Wall Street insider to serve as Federal Reserve’s Vice Chair for Supervision – a role intended to oversee regulatory efforts and advocate for regular Americans, not big banks.

Tracking the chaos, corruption, and conflicts of interest in Trump’s cabinet this week:

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urges Americans to buy Tesla stock, helping juice his own firm’s investments, in latest Trump Administration abuse of power: This week, Trump Commerce Secretary and “close” Elon Musk associate, Howard Lutnick, urged the public to “buy Tesla” stock – in the Administration’s latest effort to help benefit Elon Musk’s company and their bottom lines. A new analysis by Accountable.US found that Lutnick’s family-run financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald reported holding nearly $840 million in Tesla Inc. in its most recent holdings report. Conveniently, Lutnick’s appeal to would-be investors came on the same day Cantor Fitzgerald analysts upgraded Tesla to a “buy” rating. Accountable.US has previously documented billions of dollars of interests Cantor Fitzgerald is involved in that could directly benefit from his role as Commerce Secretary. Despite claiming he would divest from his business empire while serving in the Administration, nearly two dozen of his associates have stated that his “grip on his various businesses is bolted tight” and “his knot of conflicts is unlikely to loosen easily.”

Trump, Musk, and Education Secretary McMahon take a machete to public education, while families pay the price: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Education Secretary Linda McMahon made good on their Project 2025 promise to axe the Department of Education in a move that is expected to limit funding for K-12 education amidst declining reading and math test scores nationally. Education policy experts have warned dismantling the Department would be “catastrophic for the millions of students in low-income communities who depend on federal educational services and support” while “civil rights protections against discrimination based on race, gender, and disability would also be gutted.”

Senate to hold hearing for Trump’s nominee for Social Security Commissioner as Musk’s DOGE plots cuts: Next week, the Republican-controlled Senate will hear Trump’s nomination for Social Security Administrator Frank Bisignano. Bisignano is yet another Wall Street insider appointed to Trump’s billionaire cabinet, and next week he’ll have to answer for the Administration’s increasing march toward gutting Social Security. Already Trump and Musk have cut thousands of Social Security Administration jobs, and now are reportedly planning to cut Social Security phone support, which has the potential to derail access to the earned benefits for seniors.

ACCOUNTABLE.US IN THE NEWS:

POLITICO: West Wing Playbook: “Accountable.US, a nonpartisan watchdog organization aimed at exposing corruption within the government, today launched phase two of its ‘Trump Accountability War Room,’ according to a memo shared exclusively with West Wing Playbook. The second phase zeroes in on the ways in which DOGE cuts affect the American people. The strategy will be driven by public opinion research which shows concerns about Trump and his allies’ work cutting the federal government. The group’s first phase focused on accusations of conflicts of interest against Trump’s Cabinet nominees. ‘It’s imperative for organizations like ours to hammer in that their corrupt, self-enriching efforts to cut government programs are doing deep harm to Americans at a time when costs are rising — a point we know breaks through to Americans at a time when they’re tuning out the news,’ Accountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk said.”

Courthouse News Service: Thomas, Alito ties to conservative activist spark recusal calls: “Conservative activist Leonard Leo’s financial and ideological ties to a case before the Supreme Court next week sparked calls on Wednesday for Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito to step down from a dispute that could further cripple federal agencies. A new report details Leo’s contributions to and payments from Consumers’ Research — a group arguing against regulatory authority in a case against the Federal Communications Commission. ‘What has not come to light until now is the alarmingly close personal and financial ties between Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito in the major backer of one of the parties in the case,’ Tony Carrk, executive director at Accountable.US, told reporters. ‘Consumers’ Research is reportedly bankrolled by right-wing legal activist Leonard Leo.’ Accountable.US was one of three watchdog groups that signed a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts calling for Thomas and Alito’s recusal.”

E&E News: Justices urged to pull out of SCOTUS case that could handcuff Congress: “Advocacy groups are calling on justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito to step back from an upcoming Supreme Court case involving a right-leaning nonprofit backed by conservative legal activist Leonard Leo. The nonprofit, Consumers’ Research, is set to make the case next week that the justices should bring back a long-dormant legal doctrine that stops Congress from handing off too much power to federal agencies like EPA. According to a new report by Accountable.US, Consumers’ Research has close connections to Leo, who is co-chair of the Federalist Society. The recusal call comes as the Supreme Court has faced heightened scrutiny over reports that Thomas and other justices received gifts and trips from billionaires and conservative activists — including Leo — with business before the bench.”

Common Dreams: Alito and Thomas Urged to Recuse From Key Case Over ‘Cozy Ties’ to Right-Wing Kingpin: “Ahead of U.S. Supreme Court arguments next week, a watchdog group asserted Wednesday that right-wing Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas must recuse themselves from a case ‘whose outcome could have sweeping consequences,’ citing ‘significant conflicts of interest’ due to their relationships with ‘conservative kingpin Leonard Leo.’ In Federal Communications Commission v. Consumers’ Research, a right-wing group, is challenging the constitutionality of the FCC’s Universal Service Fund program. […] ‘Americans deserve a legal system that isn’t influenced by billionaires and special interest backers pushing an agenda at the expense of working families. Justices Thomas and Alito’s cozy ties to Leonard Leo and thereby Consumers’ Research fly straight in the face of that, and present a clear conflict of interest impeding their ability to rule impartially on the case,’ said Accountable.US president Caroline Ciccone in a statement.”

MarketWatch: Dr. Oz dodges questions on Medicaid cuts during Senate confirmation hearing: Television personality Mehmet Oz didn’t directly answer questions from U.S. senators Friday on whether he would oppose cuts to Medicaid if he were confirmed as head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — saying instead that “I cherish Medicaid.” CMS — the federal agency in charge of a $1.5 trillion budget and the health-insurance coverage for more than 155 million Americans — oversees Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Health Insurance Marketplace. The agency has about 6,500 employees. […] As of 2022, Oz and his wife owned up to $600,000 in UnitedHealth Group Inc. stock and up to $100,000 in shares of CVS Health Corp., which owns Aetna, according to Accountable.US. Both companies are large Medicare Advantage providers.

Trump Accountability Watch: As Trump Administration Abuses of Power Spike, Accountable.US Launches Phase Two of Accountability Campaign

Tracking the chaos, corruption, and conflicts of interest in Trump’s cabinet this week:

ACCOUNTABLE.US IN THE NEWS:

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