New statement on Iran strikes from Rep. Jeffries: "The Trump administration must explain itself to the American people and Congress immediately..." Palantir lobbyists gave $2.9 million to the DCCC in January alone, on top of millions bundled last year.

Latest: Article One, a pop-up super PAC that has spent $600,000 for Rep. Valerie Foushee in the Democratic primary against challenger County Commissioner Nida Allam, is tied to a reclusive billionaire AIPAC donor, according to FEC records.

In 2024, billionaire AIPAC donor Robert Granieri gave $350,000 to the super PAC of 314 Action. The next day, the group received $1 million more from AIPAC's super PAC. It then spent for two AIPAC-aligned House Dem candidates in Oregon. Now, Granieri is linked to a mysterious super PAC in #NC04:

New: A mysterious super PAC has spent $600,000 supporting Rep. Valerie Foushee in the NC-04 primary against challenger Nida Allam. Foushee said she would decline AIPAC's financial support. The group, Article One PAC, is tied in FEC records to a billionaire AIPAC donor.

NEW: The DCCC raised $2.9 million from Palantir's lobbying firms last month, per a new FEC disclosure.

New: More than one in four federal lobbyists are now working on AI issues, according to a new report from @publiccitizen.bsky.social, with AI lobbying soaring since 2022—overwhelmingly representing corporate interests.

NEW: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) has repeatedly warned about Palantir's surveillance tech powering ICE. A review of FEC filings show his political committees pocketed $37K from Palantir CEO Alex Karp in September. readsludge.com/2026/02/18/s...

The lobbying firms of top Trump fundraisers saw a boom in clients last year seeking access to the new administration. The firms of Brian Ballard, Jeff Miller, and Reince Priebus signed new clients in private equity, AI, and gambling apps.

New analysis: Lobbying firms led by Trump's fundraisers and former aides signed hundreds of influence-seekers after the 2024 election, raking in $145 million from new clients in 2025.

The Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding that underpins climate regulation, setting up legal battles. The fossil fuel industry lobby attempted to sue the EPA over the rule in 2010, and more recently Project 2025 called for its repeal. Report from May:

Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam has requested the immediate termination of a contract between the Hartford Parking Authority and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (h/t to @sludge.bsky.social @davidrussellmoore.bsky.social who had this first) www.ctpublic.org/news/2026-02...

News: Hartford, CT tells us it will "immediately" terminate the ICE parking contract it has held for a decade, worth $188,000. Hartford is the second, after New York's Hudson River Park Trust, to say it will drop its ICE contract after Sludge's reporting highlighted the deal.

Cities with policies that limit coordination with federal immigration authorities are still doing business with ICE. - Cottage Grove, MN has a lucrative firing range deal - San Diego Co. provides DHS access to crime data - in Philadelphia, the state-run Parking Authority has a deal - more:

NEWS: Hartford, Connecticut says it will "immediately" terminate ICE's long-running parking contract with the city. A constituent raised concerns with the ICE contract in the past two weeks, said Cristian Corza-Godinez, Hartford's deputy chief of staff. Full story: readsludge.com/2026/02/11/t...

More than a dozen cities and states, many with pro-immigrant “welcoming city” policies, still hold active contracts with ICE, according to federal contract data.

NEW: New companies like Anduril are funding the Kennedy Center since Trump's takeover, while others like Chevron are newly disclosing their donations with Trump as the "honoree." readsludge.com/2026/02/09/c...

Companies with Super Bowl ads that donated to the Trump White House ballroom project: - Google (up to $22 million) - Amazon's Alexa - Comcast's Xfinity - Microsoft - T-Mobile The project's estimate doubled this year to $400 million. Virtually all donation amounts have not been disclosed.

Our latest report in Politico Influence today—on the foreign lobbying firms quickly spending millions of dollars with a closely Trump-tied lobbying firm. 👀

Trump-tied firm Ballard Partners smashed the record for lobbying revenue in 2025. Many of their highest-paying clients were foreign companies that hired them since Trump's return to office, seeking access to the new administration.

Just out: The foreign-interest lobbying business of the Trump-tied firm Ballard Partners has boomed since Trump took office, raking in millions from new clients from Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Albania, Uzbekistan, and more.

New disclosures: AIPAC gave a record-high $30 million to its super PAC, the United Democracy Project, ahead of 2026 races. The group has already spent millions of dollars on attack ads in a New Jersey Democratic primary.

Super PACs for the crypto and AI industry, as well as AIPAC's group, are sitting on massive war chests for 2026 midterms. Cash on hand, according to new disclosures:

AIPAC's super PAC has now spent $2.3 million opposing Tom Malinowski in the #NJ11 primary election, per FEC filings. This weekend, UDP spent another half-million on media and direct mail against him. Though he is described as a former ally of AIPAC, the group opposes possibility of aid conditions.

Trump's MAGA Inc. super PAC entered 2026 with $304.4 million in cash on hand, per new FEC disclosure. It plans to spend for GOP allies in the midterms. On Dec. 31, it received another $7.5 million from Trump's "dark money" group, Securing American Greatness. docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/form...

Not just Larry Ellison—pro-Trump billionaire Jeff Yass is set to profit from the new U.S. TikTok on two sides. Also in the new ownership consortium: Emirati state-owned firm MGX, and Jared Kushner's circle. By @derekseidman.bsky.social:

Brand-name companies with ICE contracts under the Trump administration: - AT&T - Dell - Deloitte - Ernst & Young - FedEx - Stamps .com - Xerox, and others See the $$ amounts in our searchable list: readsludge.com/2026/01/16/t...

Here are ICE contractors nationwide. Interactive map: readsludge.com/2026/01/16/t...

Latest — @nycfootprint.bsky.social reports that nine New York elected officials are calling on the Hudson River Park Trust to cancel their ICE contract immediately. open.substack.com/pub/thefootp...

Live from Pier 40, after our latest reports on ICE’s parking contracts led the Hudson River Park Trust to say they would not renew their over two-decade deal with ICE…

💥 Hudson River Park is ending its ICE contract after Sludge's report. The garage at Pier 40, which has been awarded more than $1.9 million by ICE over two decades, says it will not renew ICE's contract when it ends on June 30.

NEW: The Hudson River Park Trust says it will not renew its contract for ICE parking, following Sludge's report on the arrangement. readsludge.com/2026/01/21/h...

NEW: No Labels is convening a new bipartisan working group on Israel policy. The move follows registered foreign agent work for Israel by firms led by the organization’s leader’s spouse, Mark Penn. readsludge.com/2026/01/20/n...

The week at Sludge we: ➜Broke the news of GOP Rep. Lisa McClain's suspicious xAI stock purchase ➜Exposed the major loophole in the GOP's stock trading bill ➜Put all of ICE's contractors on an interactive map. Sign up here to support and follow our work: readsludge.com/membership/

New: We built an interactive map of every ICE contractor working with the Trump administration. readsludge.com/2026/01/16/t...

Responding to our report, Lisa McClain says it couldn’t be insider trading because if she had insider knowledge her husband would have bought way more xAI stock.

Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) responds after our report today on her husband's purchase of non-public xAI stock worth between $100,000–$250,000:

The House Administration Committee just passed the GOP leadership-backed bill on congressional stock trading, which next heads to the floor. The bill would allow members of Congress to keep their stock holdings, including in companies they oversee on committee.

NEW: Just days before the Pentagon announced a major integration with Grok, House Republican Conference chairwoman Lisa McClain's family bought up to $250,000 worth of non-public xAI stock. readsludge.com/2026/01/14/g...

NEW: The House GOP's new stock trading bill would let lawmakers continue profiting from stocks in companies they oversee on their committees. Here are some of the most glaring conflicts of interest that would remain unaddressed. readsludge.com/2026/01/13/g...

The right-wing Foundation for Government Accountability sponsored state lawmakers at a conference training conservatives in "Deploying the One, Big, Beautiful, Bill Arsenal." "The fight isn't in D.C.—it's in your capitol, and you are the cavalry," the group said. New from us:

NEW: Democratic ad firm Bully Pulpit was paid $8.9 million in 2024 by a health insurance industry group working to ensure companies like UnitedHealth and Humana can continue overbilling Medicare. readsludge.com/2026/01/08/d...

💥 Sludge's reporting on the Big Tech ties of House Dems appointed to a new AI policy commission was cited by groups in a letter to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. "Gottheimer, a former Microsoft employee who Sludge reported owns millions worth of stock in the company...."

The Department of War has approved Israel to use another $5.8 billion of American money to buy F-15s from Boeing.

The Trump admin took actions last year that benefited Chevron, a $2.5 million inauguration donor and major GOP super PAC donor: - Restored Chevron's ability to operate in Venezuela and export oil - Promoted LNG exports through regulatory rollbacks - Allowed John B. Hess to join Chevron’s board

Chevron, the only major U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, is a top corporate donor to Republican super PACs. Over the past decade, the company has given: - $16.8 million to SLF, backing Senate GOP - $12.5 million to CLF, backing House GOP - $2.5 million to Trump 2024 inauguration, etc.

Chevron, the only major U.S. oil producer in Venezuela, has been a leading donor to the International Republican Institute, a nonprofit that supported the political opposition in the country. Former opposition leader Juan Guaidó pledged to protect oil giant's assets in 2019.

Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. received $25 million from OpenAI President Greg Brockman, according to a new disclosure. His Sept. 12 donation came as the Trump admin moved to accelerate permitting for data centers and aimed to ban state AI regulations, in line with AI industry lobbying.

House Dem leaders funneled millions to an AIPAC-funded group that backed pro-Israel candidates in primaries, according to newly-released tax documents.

House Dems gave millions in "dark money" to 314 Action, a group funded by AIPAC that spent supporting pro-Israel candidates in Democratic primaries in Oregon last year, according to a new tax return.

Our 2-person newsroom published 180+ stories this year exposing the corrupt influence of money in politics. Here’s some of the work we’re most proud of. First up, how the DCCC is raising millions from Palantir and Elon Musk-linked lobbyists. readsludge.com/2025/02/24/d...