Washington, D.C. — Donald Trump’s OMB has proposed rewriting the rules for $1.2 trillion in annual federal grants to serve Trump’s personal priorities. The Justice Department is now subpoenaing the very law firms that already surrendered to Trump’s demands. And a Washington Post investigation finds Trump’s sons have built a defense tech portfolio worth billions, funded by their father’s Pentagon.
Trump’s OMB Wants a Loyalty Test on Every Federal Grant
The Office of Management and Budget has proposed a sweeping overhaul of the rule governing federal financial assistance, which would let federal agencies dismiss community needs and congressional intent on a partisan basis, with billions of dollars at stake. The rule would bar funding for projects that the administration deems related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Science journal editor H. Holden Thorp warned this would dramatically expand the power of political appointees to override expert assessments of scientific merit, and BioCentury’s Steve Usdin called it the most serious assault on U.S. science since World War II. Almost 100,000 public comments poured in before the deadline, opposing a rule that would turn research grants, disaster aid, and community health funding into loyalty tests.
These Law Firms Gave Trump Everything He Wanted. He’s Coming for Them Anyway.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. The law firms that cut deals to survive Trump’s retaliation are figuring out that loyalty to Trump is a one-way street. The New York Times reports the Justice Department has subpoenaed nine firms, demanding their communications with Trump’s personal lawyer, who brokered $1 billion in pro bono commitments from firms willing to comply with Trump’s demands. Reporting indicates the demands are meant to put the firms’ leaders under pressure amid an American Bar Association lawsuit challenging the entire intimidation campaign. Firms that folded to protect their business are now being squeezed anyway, proof that capitulating to Trump buys nothing.
Trump’s Sons Have Built a Portfolio Worth Billions, Funded By Daddy’s Pentagon
A Washington Post investigation finds funds tied to Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have invested in more than a dozen defense tech companies seeking Pentagon and federal business, most of it since their father’s reelection. Those companies have collectively generated at least $3.2 billion in direct government business since the sons invested, plus another $3.1 billion in future contract options. Neither brother holds a government role or answers to federal disclosure and divestment rules, yet Donald Trump Jr. has described personally helping shape Pentagon messaging and personnel decisions. Trump opened the multibillion-dollar Pentagon contracting pipeline for his family, and now they’re all getting rich off the taxpayer dime.
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