Elon Musk sat down again with the Joe Rogan show and recycled his widely-disproven claims of "massive fraud" in the Social Security program—and as before, faced no fact-checks on the show.

Cantor Fitzgerald, the family-run firm of Howard Lutnick, is on track for all-time high revenue this year of $2.5 billion, according to Bloomberg. Its stake in stablecoin company Tether, which benefits from the Trump admin's crypto policies, could result in tens of billions in profit.

Glad to speak about the booze angle on THC showdown in the Senate with @sludge.bsky.social, an independent outlet that publishes some of the smartest and most dogged reporting available on money in politics:

Popular THC drinks face a federal ban in the bill to reopen the government. The measure, backed by Mitch McConnell and being fought by Rand Paul, was added after a lobbying push from large alcohol companies.

NEW: Despite ActBlue’s updated policies banning fake matches and deadlines, Democratic Party groups are continuing to spam supporters with messages designed to trick them into giving money. readsludge.com/2025/11/06/t...

New York City's election today comes after hundreds of thousands of city residents made small donations that were matched in the public campaign financing program. In 2021, a Brennan Center report found that NYC's matching option helped make city government more representative.

Binance facilitated a $2 billion deal using the Trump family token USD1, and its founder CZ got a pardon. In July, Binance CEO Richard Teng joined the advisory board of crypto lobbying group The Digital Chamber, as the industry spends record amounts: readsludge.com/2025/07/23/c...

NewsMatch is here, the best time to support our money-in-politics reporting. Become a Sludge subscriber, get full access to our stories and site archives, and your support will be matched 12x in the drive. >> readsludge.com/join

NEW: Senate Panel Advances Wildfire Bill Slammed as Timber Industry Giveaway readsludge.com/2025/10/30/s...

Not just crypto and fossil fuels — Big Pharma, chemical companies, and Big Banks received policy favors and regulatory handouts after giving millions to Trump’s inauguration fund. Search more than 150 top donors: readsludge.com/2025/10/29/t...

"Trump's Corporate Favor Factory" @sludge.bsky.social "researched more than 150 top donors to Trump’s inauguration fund and White House ballroom to find the government favors they’ve received this year."

Big Tech firms had FTC cases dropped. Chemical companies got air pollution exemptions. Crypto, fossil fuels, and private equity were handed long-sought policies. We researched more than 150 top donors to Trump's inauguration and White House ballroom to catalog their favors this year:

With More Perfect Union, we helped research this new, searchable list of the favors given to more than 150 top donors to Trump's inauguration and White House ballroom. Search by name to see regulations axed, cases dropped, and ambassadorships doled out: >> perfectunion.us/trumps-corpo...

Launched: in collaboration with @moreperfectunion.bsky.social, we dug into the top donors to Trump's inaugural and his new White House ballroom—and the favors they got. Search over 150 corporate and wealthy Trump donors and see their prizes this year. perfectunion.us/trumps-corpo...

Lobbying is booming to record highs under Trump, with PhRMA and others on track to spend all-time highs. Trump-allied firms are the top beneficiaries.

Pfizer recently cut a deal with the Trump White House that watchdogs and investors saw as favorable for the company. After Trump's election win, the drugmaker re-hired the lobbying firm Miller Strategies, founded by a Trump campaign fundraiser. It's just one of the corporate giants seeking access:

NEW: Corporate PACs that fund anti-Muslim extremist Rep. Randy Fine decline to comment on their donations. readsludge.com/2025/10/23/c...

ICE is stepping up its raids in Chicago, New York City, Portland, and elsewhere. Find all companies nationwide that have active ICE contracts — on our free, interactive map: readsludge.com/2025/05/09/w...

Chuck Schumer's reported favorites in primaries in Michigan and Minnesota are centrists endorsed by AIPAC. Both have received six figures in contributions from AIPAC's PAC this year—and are considered supportive by the crypto industry. In Maine, the DSCC is fundraising with Schumer's centrist pick.

NEW: While some Dems are breaking from AIPAC, Cory Booker is taking the group's money for the first time in his career. readsludge.com/2025/10/16/w...

NEW: Boeing appears on up to $26.7 billion in arms sales approved for Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, topping all other U.S. defense contractors. readsludge.com/2025/10/13/b...

NEW: Following the bot army backlash, Israel ramps up propaganda with 3 US firms: $6M Gen Z campaign by Brad Parscale, "Esther Project" that pays influencers, and a VR "10/7 Experience" deployed at churches. readsludge.com/2025/10/06/i...

NEW: Virginia AG Jason Miyares, deeply tied to the Leonard Leo network, has received $4 million+ from Leo-backed groups for his re-election. In 2023, he intervened to block a DC probe into Leo's nonprofits. readsludge.com/2025/10/02/t...

Chemical Industry set to gain more influence at EPA - MAHA should be Gaga readsludge.com/2025/09/26/l...

The EPA office overseeing toxic chemicals and pesticides is run by three former chemical lobbyists, and is about to welcome a fourth as its new leader. Our latest:

ByteDance will hold bigger-than-expected stakes in the new TikTok companies that will allow U.S. operations after national security concerns, per Reuters. Months before the election last year, TikTok hired lobbying firm Ballard Partners, run by one of Trump's top campaign bundlers Brian Ballard.

Big Tech sponsored trips for congressional staffers to Aspen, Silicon Valley, and other spots to hear about AI from their executives over August recess. Latest batch of travel disclosures for the House and Senate:

House and Senate staffers were given sponsored trips over the August recess to attend conferences on AI policy and company tours with Google, Meta, Palantir, and SpaceX, according to travel disclosures.

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...