A day-by-day review of President Donald Trump’s administration shows virtually every day has been marked by a new, extraordinary grant of power to corporate interests and the enrichment of Trump’s private businesses, a Public Citizen report shows.
‘America has never seen anything like this, and we have endured only the first three months.’
Public Citizen’s report shows an administration that has granted extraordinary power to corporations and has used the office of the presidency to enrich Trump’s private businesses:
- Since taking office in January, Trump has met with nearly 200 corporate executives, inviting mega-corporations to shape federal policy.
- Trump has signed 13 bills passed by a GOP-led Congress that were deemed gifts to big business because they would roll back regulatory protections established by the Obama administration and were opposed by industry.
- Trump has stacked his cabinet with corporate executives or people with strong ties to Corporate America or specific industries.
- With his frequent visits to Mar-a-Lago, Trump has turned himself into a walking advertisement for his global resort properties.
- Although Trump’s sons are running the day-to-day operations of his real estate empire, Trump still owns his family business, creating an extraordinary conflict of interest between Trump’s personal financial interests and the interests of the country.
“We are nearly 100 days into the Trump administration, and it’s clear that there has been a wholesale corporate takeover of the government,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. “Corporate interests are directly driving policy on everything from pesticides to China, regulation to for-profit college rip-offs.
“Meanwhile, Trump is degrading the office of the presidency to promote the Trump brand, and the ethical vacuum in the White House is ensuring that megascandals will ensnare this administration. America has never seen anything like this, and we have endured only the first three months.”
