Donald Shaw

Ashfield

Reporter, Co-Founder and Editor at Sludge

Reporter at @sludge, an independent, anti-corruption newsroom

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Articles

Trump DOL Pick is Fighting Overtime Pay for Domestic Workers

1 week ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on X and Bluesky!Jonathan Berry, the lead author on labor policy for the Project 2025 initiative, is poised to become the solicitor for the Department of Labor, despite his private-sector record focused on rolling back labor protections and limiting workers’ rights. His recent work includes a federal lawsuit aimed at cutting overtime pay for home care workers, as well as efforts to constrain shareholder oversight of corporations and restrict federal enforcement of wage laws.
Agrichemical Industry Insiders Sabotage MAHA Pesticide Crackdown

2 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💥Share this on X and Bluesky!Two chemical agriculture industry lobbyists who President Trump chose to serve in his administration are reportedly working behind the scenes to block Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy from placing new restrictions on dangerous pesticides.
Trump Cabinet Members Sold Millions in Stock Before Tariff Crash

2 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this post on X and Bluesky!At least two members of Trump’s cabinet sold substantial stock holdings just before and on the day of the president’s surprise April 2 tariff announcement that shook global markets and triggered a $2.4 trillion sell-off. Attorney General Pam Bondi divested millions in assets on the day Trump announced the “Liberation Day” tariffs, while Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F.
GOP Moves to Kill Direct File Following Intuit’s Lobbying Surge

3 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on X and Bluesky!Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, spent a record $3.72 million lobbying last year to kill the IRS’s new free tax filing tool. Now, House Republicans are delivering, with a plan to dismantle the program that helps people file their taxes at no cost. Section 112207 of the House Ways and Means Committee’s portion of the reconciliation bill would eliminate Direct File, the IRS’s new in-house system that lets eligible taxpayers in 25 states file their taxes online for free.
EPA Reverses Course, Drops Limits on Three Dangerous PFAS Chemicals

3 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💧Share this on Bluesky and XEchoing the demands of chemical industry lobbyists, the Trump administration has moved to weaken Biden-era drinking water protections by halting regulations on three toxic “forever chemicals” linked to cancer, liver damage, and immune dysfunction.
Who’s Profiting From ICE?

4 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💥Share this on Bluesky, Facebook, and X!Since January, the Trump administration has dramatically escalated its immigrant deportation and detention operations, triggering widespread condemnation from human rights advocates, legal experts, and international observers.
Harris 'Dark Money' Group Spent Over $300 Million, New Report Reveals

1 month ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on X or Bluesky. A new report from the Brennan Center for Justice reveals record-breaking sums of dark money spent during the 2024 election cycle—and shows that Democrats spent even more secret cash in their attempt to elect Kamala Harris than was previously known. According to the report, which includes both FEC-reported expenditures and unreported ad spending, the pro-Harris dark money nonprofit Future Forward USA Action poured $304 million into the election.
AIPAC’s Anti-BDS Bill Is Derailed, at Least for Now

1 month ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on X and Bluesky!The American Israel Public Affairs Committee suffered a rare setback this weekend as Representatives Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), two of its heavily-funded allies in Congress, saw their IGO Anti-Boycott Act pulled from the House calendar. The bill’s sudden withdrawal, amid powerful opposition from free speech and pro-Palestinian advocates, marks a major blow to AIPAC’s campaign to expand anti-BDS laws.
Top Corporate PAC Money Recipient Leads GOP Tax Overhaul

1 month ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Shrare this on X and Bluesky!As Republicans in Congress craft their budget megabill, the House Ways and Means Committee is at the center of high-stakes decisions on tax policies that could pour billions into corporate pockets. Leading that charge is Rep.
FEC Faces Paralysis Once Again

1 month ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this post on X or BlueskyThe agency in charge of enforcing campaign finance laws is once again poised to lose its ability to function, as Republican commissioner Allen Dickerson, a Trump appointee, is reportedly planning to announce his resignation from the Federal Election Commission.