Money, Money, Money

Pay-to-Play Politics in 2025/2026

Amid a Flood of Money Being Reported (& More Not Reported)

How’s ‘Cleaning the Swamp’ Doing in These Current Times of Trump ?

What happened to all the campaign promises to ‘Drain the Swamp’ ?

Anne Applebaum tracks the tale on a Money-in-Politics Beat, Kleptocracy, Inc.

Kleptocracy Inc.

John’s Hopkins has the Kleptocracy Tracker

Visit ‘The Kleptocracy Tracker’, a public log of political decisions that benefit private interests. Developed by journalist and SNF Agora Senior Fellow Anne Applebaum, the project builds on her reporting in The Atlantic to document a shift in American governance. Financial conflicts of interest are no longer hidden. They are accepted, promoted, and sometimes celebrated.

The timeline records actions taken by President Trump and his administration that raise concerns about the erosion of democratic norms. These include foreign-sponsored events at Trump-owned properties, regulatory changes by federal agencies, and business ventures involving the president’s family. Together, these entries point to a pattern: the use of public office to advance private gain.

In the article that launched this project, “Kleptocracy, Inc.” (see three links above), Applebaum describes a governing model shaped not by ideology but by self-interest.

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Rep. Mike Levin provides a tidy summing up of the tidal $$$ rush