Trump’s First 100 Days: Power and Profit for Him While Americans Pay the Price

MEMORANDUM 

To: Interested Parties 

From: Tony Carrk, Executive Director, Accountable.US

Date: April 28, 2025

Re: Trump’s First 100 Days: Power and Profit for Him While Americans Pay the Price

It is a fallacy to argue that we must choose between fighting for a fair economy and protecting our democracy. President Donald Trump’s first 100 days, which will be marked this week, clearly show that the two are interconnected, and he’s failed Americans on both.

What we have seen over the past 100 days is a President who has flouted the law, gutted checks and balances, and consolidated power for himself. He has also, with the help of Elon Musk and allies in Congress, done catastrophic damage to our economy, injecting chaos and uncertainty for small businesses and investors, undermining workers’ rights, tanking consumer confidence, and increasing the likelihood of a recession. Right now, the number one legislative priority for the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans is to pass a massive tax giveaway to their billionaire donors that is paid for by cutting health care and other essential services for American families.

In other words, President Trump is undermining our democracy, our freedoms, and our values to take more power for himself and using that power to pad his pockets. Meanwhile, he and his allies want the rest of us to pay the price.

Here are the impacts of just some of his actions so far:

No Oversight → More Corruption and Abuse of Power 

In his first days in office, President Trump gutted checks and balances in our democracy by significantly weakening federal oversight. Notably, he fired independent watchdog inspectors general in charge of rooting out corruption and abuse of power in federal agencies, appointed political lackeys to key law enforcement agencies to carry out his political retribution, and dismantled the U.S. Justice Department’s cryptocurrency crime enforcement unit. 

Not to mention, Donald Trump assembled one of the most conflicted and unqualified cabinets ever to serve in office. To carry out his Billionaire-First agenda, Trump hired more than a dozen billionaires, many with significant conflicts of interest, who are looking to advance their own financial interests. Among some of the worst offenders are Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who recently used his official office to urge Americans to prop up Elon Musk’s fortune – and his own – by buying stock in Tesla.

Consolidating Power → Harms to Americans 

In the past 100 days, we have seen President Trump consolidate his power, using Elon Musk’s DOGE as a trojan horse to gut everything from affordable health care and housing programs, to veterans’ services, cancer research, food safety, farmers’ assistance, and national park funding, eliminating thousands of jobs, and opening the door to privatizing Americans’ earned benefits. And if their goals were not already clear enough, it’s telling that Trump and Musk’s first targets were slashing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the watchdog agency responsible for protecting average consumers from corporate scams which has recovered millions for taxpayers, along with making cuts to the Internal Revenue Service’s enforcement arm and all but enabling billionaire tax cheats from paying their fair share. 

They Profit → We Pay the Price

As a result of the erosion of checks and balances and the consolidation of power, President Trump and his allies have doubled down on a system that benefits them, while the rest of us pay the price. 

With no oversight or checks in his way, President Trump has used his power for everything from funneling unknown investors to his cryptocurrency venture to potentially launching a scheme to enrich himself based on tariff policy. Days ago, Trump announced that in May, he will attend a private dinner with top holders of his cryptocurrency venture, nakedly creating a free-for-all cash infusion which has already generated $100 million for Trump, and selling Presidential access to the highest bidder, heightening concerns about foreign influence and threats to US national security.  

It’s not just the Administration. Trump’s allies in Congress stand to gain from his actions. As Trump introduced chaos into our economy with an erratic tariff policy, many Americans saw lower 401ks and higher prices for things like groceries and housing. Meanwhile, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene appeared to cash in by buying stocks in semiconductor and microchip companies just before Trump announced a brief delay in his tariff plan, which ignited a market rally. 

Republican Members of Congress also stand to gain from the current tax fight happening in Washington. Our recent report, “Cash in Congress,” found that more than 70% of the caucus could financially benefit from the bill. They plan to pay for it by cutting programs Americans rely on every day for their healthcare, education, and groceries. Medicaid, a program that provides healthcare to tens of millions of Americans and pays for long-term care for 7 million seniors, could see $880 billion in cuts to its programs. Food assistance through SNAP could see significant cuts. 

The Bottom Line

Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their Administration are taking a wrecking ball to our democracy and using their power to sell the government and our economy to the highest bidder, all the while enriching themselves. The silver lining here is that we, the American people, are on to them. We see this erosion of our rights and freedoms and are outraged. We see the broken promises to families to lower our costs. And we won’t stop making our voices heard.  

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