Today, GOP members of the House Financial Services Committee sent a letter to SEC Chair Paul Atkins urging him to implement Trump's order allowing "alternative assets"—including crypto and private equity investments—in 401(k)s. Access to retirement funds has been a crypto industry lobbying goal...

A satellite imaging company aims to map every inch of the globe on a daily basis, providing government clients with "near real-time analysis" and AI decision-making. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick oversees it after serving on its board, and with his family investment firm holding a large stake.

Cantor Fitzgerald is a major investor in Satellogic, a satellite contractor that aims to map every inch of the globe for near real-time analysis with AI. The company has longtime ties to China, from collaborating on technology projects with state-owned firms to startup investment from Tencent.

Howard Lutnick's family-owned firm is a key investor in Satellogic, a satellite imagery company whose new strategy is to bag U.S. defense and intelligence contracts—and which has long ties to China. Other partners include SpaceX and Palantir.

Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick's family-owned firm, is a key investor in Satellogic, a satellite imagery company angling for U.S. defense and intelligence contracts—as it works for a Chinese state-tied data company. Satellogic's partners also include Palantir and SpaceX. New investigation:

NEW: Democratic PR firm SKDK says it’s dropping its work with the Israeli government one day after Sludge reported it was under contract to build a social media bot program to “flood the zone” with pro-Israel messaging. readsludge.com/2025/09/17/f...

NEW: Democratic firm SKDK has agreed to run a bot farm on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and other social media sites for the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to "flood the zone" with pro-Israel messages. readsludge.com/2025/09/15/d...

NEW: Children and niblings of Trump allies including RFK Jr., Chris LaCivita, and Susie Wiles are landing lucrative lobbying jobs, helping clients like Novo Nordisk and GEO Group secure wins from Trump's administration. readsludge.com/2025/09/15/t...

As ICE ramps up its attacks on immigrant workers and families, corporations and oligarchs are set to profit by supplying ICE with everything from surveillance tech and airline transportation to cloud services and bank financing. littlesis.org/news/the-bil...

17 House Dems voted with Republicans to pass a trillion-dollar defense budget for FY26, a bill stuffed with "culture war" amendments. The must-pass NDAA included GOP measures blocking gender transition care in the military, abortion care, diversity initiatives, clean energy programs, and more.

17 House Dems voted with Republicans for the defense funding bill that will push defense spending above $1 trillion. Many of them are in the Blue Dog Coalition, who are self-described fiscal conservatives. The Pentagon has never passed an audit.

California lawmakers must soon decide on two bills on PFAS, known as “forever chemicals," before the end of the legislative session. State lobbyists are getting paid by the petrochemical industry that opposes a ban on PFAS in consumer products—as well as by its supporters.

After Trump's election last year, contractors Palantir and GEO Group hired the lobbying firms of his campaign fundraisers. Now the companies' government revenue is soaring (Palantir's rising by half, GEO Group's doubling)—and the lobbyists are raking in record cash.

AG Pam Bondi is barred by her ethics agreement from any matter that involves her former employer Ballard Partners—or any party represented by Ballard. (Unless she gets a waiver, and none have been released.) That means she's barred from hundreds of clients at the top-paid lobbying firm in D.C. ...

Ballard Partners, the Trump-tied lobbying firm where AG Pam Bondi and other senior White House officials worked as lobbyists, skyrocketed last quarter to become the highest-paid shop. Some of its top-paying clients are newer ones: Palantir, Chevron, and law firms attacked by Trump.

A group of House members ranging from progressives to MAGA faithful is pushing for a vote on a bill to ban congressional stock trading—and ownership of individual stocks. One of them, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), has set a deadline of this month for the GOP speaker.

"We have asked nicely for leadership to put this on the floor," said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), of a new bill to ban congressional stock trading and ownership. "If they don't, I'm saying the timeline is end of month. There is a discharge petition prepared and ready to go."

A bipartisan group of House members introduced a unified bill to ban stock trading and ownership by members of Congress. Some of the GOP reps gave the speaker a deadline of this month to bring it up, or they'd force a vote via discharge petition.

NEW: House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP lawmakers tour West Bank settlements with Israeli officials and pro-settlement advocacy groups amid annexation talks. readsludge.com/2025/09/03/j...

Billionaires are again pouring six-figure donations into the super PAC promoting Andrew Cuomo. The spending group received $1.3 million in one week.

Last month, the super PAC backing Andrew Cuomo received $1.3 million in one week from the billionaire Lauder family and oil & gas CEO John Hess, loading up to spend against Zohran Mamdani.

NEW: Pharmaceutical Industry on Pace for Record Lobbying Spending readsludge.com/2025/08/29/p...

Companies are rushing out stock buybacks at a record pace: $1 trillion this year, on track for an all-time high. The buybacks boost their own share prices rather than investing that money in research or manufacturing.

Jim O'Neill, a Peter Thiel ally and top deputy of RFK Jr., has been tapped to be acting CDC director. O'Neill proposed sweeping deregulation that would allow the FDA to approve drugs before their efficacy had been proven. Health industry watchdogs opposed it strongly. Free article on his career:

New: Companies are rushing out stock buybacks, with more than $1 trillion in corporate buybacks this year, setting a record pace. Nvidia announced a record buyback of shares, following plans by Apple and Alphabet.

NEW: Mothership Strategies has been called out for years for operating "scam PACs" that funnel small-dollar donations almost entirely to consultants, but top Democrats, including Pete Aguilar, keep funding them. readsludge.com/2025/08/27/t...

A new AI industry group, Leading the Future, has amassed $100 million from heavy hitters like Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI to knock off candidates who favor tougher regulation. The playbook might sound familiar—one of its staffers hails from the gigantic crypto industry super PAC Fairshake.

NEW: Ritchie Torres Invested in Weapons Makers as He Backed Billions in Arms for Israel readsludge.com/2025/08/25/t...

Lawmakers who voted for corporate tax benefits in the Trump-GOP reconciliation bill own large amounts of stock in multinationals like Apple, Boeing, and Chevron. Companies are expected to profit from items like permanent 100% bonus depreciation and international tax benefits.

Here are 13 senators and representatives whose stock portfolios raise conflict-of-interest questions. Despite public opposition to congressional stock trading, lawmakers are still invested in defense contractors, Big Oil, and Big Tech.

NEW: Ruben Gallego held a fundraiser this week in Nantucket with crypto and Wall Street lobbyists. readsludge.com/2025/08/21/g...

The plastic industry pushed "recycling" in its lobbying to block a United Nations treaty on plastic pollution. But research shows that less than 10% of plastic gets recycled, and plastic production is set to explode.

Pivotal global talks to curb plastic pollution collapsed last week amid fossil fuel industry lobbying and opposition from a handful of oil-producing states. The U.S., the world's top producer of oil and gas, leaned further against a legally-binding cap on plastic production.

NEW: Future Forward and Women Vote waited years to refund their FTX money, only doing so after being pressed by the Justice Department. readsludge.com/2025/08/19/d...

“When the Oxford English Dictionary next updates its conflict-of-interest definition, it'll use Cantor Fitzgerald's crypto ventures and the Lutnick connection as prime example,” said Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate at @publiccitizen.bsky.social.

Cantor Fitzgerald deepened its investments in assets boosted by Trump policies in the second quarter, including Bitcoin and companies like AMD and Apple that are ducking tariffs.

Cantor Fitzgerald, the firm now run by Howard Lutnick's sons, bought hefty amounts of Tesla and Trump Media stock in the second quarter of this year, according to its new SEC filing.

Cantor Fitzgerald, now run by Howard Lutnick's sons, bought more shares in a Bitcoin fund and stocks in companies—like chipmaker AMD and Apple—that negotiated carve-outs in Trump administration tariffs, according to its new SEC disclosure.

A new DNC panel will propose "real, enforceable steps the DNC can take to eliminate unlimited corporate and dark money in its 2028 presidential primary process.” Read the resolution:

House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark said last night at a Quaker event, "Whether that is stopping the starvation, and genocide, and destruction of Gaza..." Other Dem leadership have received from AIPAC's PAC this year: - Jeffries: $250,000 - Aguilar: $203,000 - Lieu: $200,000 - Neguse: $75,000

DNC Chair Ken Martin will introduce a resolution to curb corporate and dark money in Democratic primaries. We took a look at what's in the proposal—and the ways it will have to contend with Big Money's spending tactics.

A new proposal from DNC Chair Ken Martin targets dark money and unlimited corporate spending in 2028 Democratic primaries, aiming for "real, enforceable steps" focused on the presidential primary. Sludge obtained a copy of the resolution to DNC members:

NEW: Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), who sits on a congressional subcommittee overseeing the crypto market, voted for crypto-friendly bills this summer while secretly holding tens of thousands of dollars in stock tied to Bitcoin’s price. readsludge.com/2025/08/13/h...

“This doesn’t exactly send the most progressive message about where the Center for American Progress is looking in its foreign policy vision,” said Eli Clifton of @quincyinst.bsky.social. “The Biden admin used no leverage against Netanyahu in what is clearly turning into an outright genocide..."

Antony Blinken, who contradicted two U.S. government bodies in approving billions of dollars in weapons for Israel over U.S. humanitarian laws, quietly joined the board of the Democratic Party-aligned Center for American Progress.

New: Antony Blinken quietly joined the board of the Center for American Progress. Last year, Blinken rejected two government bodies and certified to Congress that Israel was not blocking humanitarian aid, enabling billions of dollars in weapons to flow.

The crypto industry spent a record high on lobbying in the first half of the year, lining up wins on major deregulatory bills. We tallied up the more than $18.4 million by Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, and allies: readsludge.com/2025/07/23/c...

The DSCC took bundled donations this year from a "Top Hired Gun" and "Top Corporate Lobbyist," Mike Smith of Cornerstone, who was hired by Intuit in its successful push to kill the IRS Direct File program.

The DSCC received six figures in bundled donations from lobbyists for crypto investors Andreessen Horowitz in the first half of this year. In May, Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to advance the GENIUS Act, the major stablecoin bill pushed by a16z and the crypto industry.

New - The DSCC quietly received bundled donations in the first half of this year from lobbyists for Palantir, crypto investors Andreessen Horowitz, SpaceX, and other firms banking legislative wins under the Trump administration, according to its latest filing.