{"id":1050193,"date":"2024-12-09T14:52:55","date_gmt":"2024-12-09T19:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1050193"},"modified":"2024-12-09T14:52:56","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T19:52:56","slug":"donald-trumps-special-interest-billionaire-cabinet-is-riddled-with-alarming-conflicts-of-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/donald-trumps-special-interest-billionaire-cabinet-is-riddled-with-alarming-conflicts-of-interest\/","title":{"rendered":"Donald Trump\u2019s Special Interest Billionaire Cabinet is Riddled with \u201cAlarming\u201d Conflicts of Interest\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Donald Trump is stacking his billionaire Cabinet with industry insiders drowning in serious conflict of interest concerns that get worse by the day. The truth is Trump and his picks to lead our government are more focused on their own bottom line than on working families. The American people deserve a leader who will look out for them and their wallets \u2014 not an administration designed to cater to special interests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at the latest coverage of Donald Trump\u2019s billionaire Cabinet\u2019s conflicts of interest:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cWealthy Americans who have had successful careers in business have long served in government, but watchdog groups say the high concentration of ultra-wealthy picks for roles in Trump\u2019s Cabinet presents distinct conflict-of-interest risks and could work against promises that Trump \u2014 a billionaire himself \u2014 made on the campaign trail.<\/strong> As he crisscrossed the country to host rallies, Trump repeatedly promised to fight for the rights of working- and middle-class Americans by bringing back manufacturing jobs and limiting inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrump\u2019s selections may be more inclined to look out for the interests of their own businesses and their fellow billionaires than for working-class voters<\/strong>, said Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. […]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrump himself has not promised to divest from any of his businesses, which have now soared and include a cryptocurrency business and a stake in a social media company.<\/strong> And with Trump\u2019s own party controlling both chambers of Congress and a Cabinet packed with his allies and loyalists, he can expect little oversight over his finances<\/strong>, Bookbinder said.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wall Street Journal<\/a>: \u201cDr. Janette Nesheiwat<\/strong>, Trump\u2019s pick for surgeon general, sells her own line of vitamins. Kash Patel<\/strong>, Trump\u2019s choice to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation, recommended pills on Truth Social in February<\/strong> that he said could \u2018rid your body of the harms\u2019 from Covid-19 vaccines. […]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFabricant said the supplement industry<\/strong>, which he said generates more than $60 billion in sales annually, was thrilled about the incoming administration\u2019s unusual embrace of its products and had found an ideal ally in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/strong>, Trump\u2019s choice for Health and Human Services secretary. […]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe consumer-advocacy group Public Citizen wrote to the Federal Trade Commission on Dec. 3 with concerns that Oz had failed to properly disclose his financial ties to iHerb in his promotions for its products on social media.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NBC News<\/a>: \u201cTrump and his team have so far provided no details about how \u2014 or if \u2014 he will separate his business interests from his work as president.<\/strong> […]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn an interview with NBC News\u2019 \u2018Meet the Press\u2019 that aired Sunday, Trump declined to say he would divest from his new social media company<\/strong>. […]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYet ethics experts, government watchdogs and Democrats warn that Trump\u2019s wide web of business dealings pose alarming conflicts of interest for his presidency.<\/strong> His appointees will be charged with regulating his businesses, his promised tariffs could affect his profit margins, and his dealings with foreign countries could affect deals his eponymous company seeks abroad. […]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn his second administration, however, there are indications Trump plans to have a more involved role in his businesses than he did in his first.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axios<\/a>: \u201cIt\u2019s not hyperbole to call the incoming Trump team a government of billionaires,<\/strong> as Axios\u2019 Zachary Basu recently wrote. […]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat they\u2019re saying: When business elites have disproportionate influence on policymaking, it can result \u2018in policies such as tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulation of industries, and reduced funding for social welfare programs<\/strong> \u2014 potentially exacerbating inequality,\u2019 Darrian Stacy, a political science professor at the U.S. Naval Academy who also studies the topic, tells Axios by email, adding that his views don’t reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. government, Defense Department or U.S. Naval Academy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BBC<\/a>: \u201cThis week, Trump said he would nominate Paul Atkins<\/strong>, who has lobbied for the industry, to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is widely expected to dial back enforcement at the agency, which polices publicly traded firms such as Trump Media<\/strong> for issues such as fraud and insider trading. The SEC oversaw a crackdown on the crypto industry under President Joe Biden. […]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow preparing to enter the White House a second time, Trump has yet to unveil an ethics plan, as is customary, and has given little sign he plans to bow to such concerns.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe has vowed to hold onto his Trump Media stake, continues to hawk Trump-branded merchandise and lend his name to ventures like World Liberty Financial. His Mar-a-Lago club remains a place where the wealthy willing to pay for membership can gain access to the president with little to no transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEthics experts worry that Trump has opened a door that will be difficult to close again.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

USA Today<\/a>: \u201cPresident-elect Donald Trump\u2019s plan to use an outside advisory committee led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to cut federal spending is raising eyebrows among ethics-law experts who say its leaders won\u2019t be subject to the same laws as Trump\u2019s nominees to the Cabinet and other top jobs. <\/strong>[…] <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMusk\u2019s companies have received nearly $20 billion in government contracts and both he and Ramaswamy have complained about how federal regulators have hampered their businesses.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donald Trump is stacking his billionaire Cabinet with industry insiders drowning in serious conflict of interest concerns that get worse by the day. The truth is Trump and his picks to lead our government are more focused on their own bottom line than on working families. The American people deserve a leader who will look […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":292,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1050193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDonald Trump\u2019s Special Interest Billionaire Cabinet is Riddled with \u201cAlarming\u201d Conflicts of Interest\u00a0 - Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/donald-trumps-special-interest-billionaire-cabinet-is-riddled-with-alarming-conflicts-of-interest\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-09T19:52:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-09T19:52:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/image.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Adrianna Tomasello\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/donald-trumps-special-interest-billionaire-cabinet-is-riddled-with-alarming-conflicts-of-interest\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/donald-trumps-special-interest-billionaire-cabinet-is-riddled-with-alarming-conflicts-of-interest\/\",\"name\":\"Donald Trump\u2019s Special Interest Billionaire Cabinet is Riddled with \u201cAlarming\u201d Conflicts of Interest\u00a0 - 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