Sludge

Sludge focuses on investigative reporting related to lobbying and financial influences in politics. We delve deeper than just public records and reports to uncover the concealed connections and conflicts of interest that contribute to ongoing corruption in the system.

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Republicans Are Just Wrong About the SAVE Act and Real ID

1 week ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw |Byron Donalds

💡Share this on X and Bluesky!Last Friday, Rep.
Congressional Leaders Warning of ‘Insider Trading’ Could Have Banned Officials From Stock Trading

1 week ago | readsludge.com | David Moore
Granholm Cashes In

1 week ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on X and Bluesky!Jennifer Granholm, fresh off her role as Biden’s Energy Secretary, is now drawing paychecks from firms tied to fossil fuel and utility interests that lobbied her while she shaped U.S. energy policy.
House Republicans Vote to Kill the CFPB’s $5 Overdraft Fee Cap

2 weeks ago | readsludge.com | David Moore

💥Share this on Bluesky or XOn Wednesday, the Republican-controlled House passed two resolutions along party lines overturning rules—on capping bank overdraft fees and oversight of consumer payment apps—that were adopted in the last months of 2024 by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The votes represent major wins for the consumer banking industry and Big Tech companies that offer—or are planning to offer—digital wallet services.
Trump Picks Apollo Co-Founder’s Son for DFC After Firm Shows Interest in X Debt

2 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on Bluesky and X!Private equity firm Apollo Global Management and its billionaire co-founder Leon Black are poised to gain a direct link to the Trump administration. On January 31, 2025, President Donald Trump nominated Ben Black—Leon’s 40-year-old son and a former Apollo associate—to serve as CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
Peter Thiel Ally in Line to Oversee Drug (De-)Regulation

2 weeks ago | readsludge.com | David Moore

💊Share this on Bluesky and XJim O’Neill, a close aide to billionaire investor Peter Thiel and a senior health official during the George W. Bush administration, is President Trump’s pick to be deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services—a position where his past calls for deregulation of drug approvals could benefit medical startups like those in Thiel’s portfolios.
MTG Bought Treasuries Ahead of Market Crash

2 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw

💡Share this on Bluesky or X!Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a close ally of President Donald Trump, invested as much as $750,000 in U.S. Treasury bonds from mid- to late March, according to transaction disclosures reviewed by Sludge. The purchases, made in three transactions between March 17 and March 25, align with her vocal support for Trump’s recently imposed tariffs—policies that have triggered a sharp decline in stock markets.
Republicans Push SAVE Act Vote, Potentially Disenfranchising Millions

2 weeks ago | readsludge.com | David Moore

💡 Share this on Bluesky, Facebook, and X House Republicans are teeing up a vote on the SAVE Act as soon as next week, a bill to change voter registration policies that voting-rights advocates warn could disenfranchise tens of millions of eligible voters—with one expert even calling it “one of the worst voting laws in congressional history.” The bill is supported by the Heritage Foundation's advocacy arm and conservative groups led by former Trump lawyer Cleta Mitchell that work to pass...
SpaceX Poised for Massive Profit From Pentagon Rocket Initiative

3 weeks ago | readsludge.com | Donald Shaw |David Moore

🚀Share this on Bluesky and X!A federal rocket program that could be massively profitable for Elon Musk’s SpaceX was quietly pushed forward by the Trump administration last month. In a notice of proposed action posted on March 3, the Air Force announced its plan to construct a testing and demonstration site on the remote Johnston Atoll—a decommissioned military atoll 700 nautical miles from Hawaii—for up to 40 test reentry vehicle landings to be conducted over four years.
Trump-Tied Lobbying Firms Rake in Hundreds of New Clients

3 weeks ago | readsludge.com | David Moore

📣Share this on Bluesky and XLobbying firms with ties to the Trump administration have been raking in business since the election—especially the firms founded by Trump’s campaign bundlers. Several of the Trump-tied firms previously employed administration officials, like White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Attorney General Pam Bondi, giving them personal connections to a government that in its previous term was marked by dysfunction.