We have some thoughts about what to do about it — including banning companies like Palantir that hold large government contracts from spending money on federal elections. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
The tech giant Palantir has some thoughts about the future of our Republic. This is your daily reminder that today’s unprecedented concentration of wealth and political power isn’t an inevitability. It’s a policy choice.
There is an urgent need for fresh thinking. We put out nine solutions that we believe should be at the center of any federal anticorruption agenda. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
It’s great to see elected leaders focus on corruption — and emphasize real solutions that address the problem in a systemic way. apnews.com/article/demo...
This is an important point. Abuse of the pardon power has been a concern for many years, but combined with expanded presidential immunity the stakes become much higher.
At a minimum there needs to be some sort of check on the president’s unilateral ability to grant clemency, either from Congress or some other body. We should also get rid of the sort of preemptive pardons that Trump is promising and that Biden also issued before leaving office.
It’s going to require a constitutional amendment. We put out some initial ideas in this paper and will have more soon. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
It’s becoming more and more evident that the pardon power needs to be reformed. Clemency is a critical avenue for mercy in our criminal justice system but it is also becoming a major vector for high-level corruption (and not only under Trump).
Under weak campaign finance laws, wealthy donors are increasingly hiding behind non-profits to anonymously donate large sums of money to political campaigns. “We are moving toward a system where transparency is just optional,” @danw329.bsky.social told @nytimes.com.
The potential for corruption in the federal government goes beyond the president – it exists in all 3 branches. Solutions "require Congress to take decisive action. There is no alternative," @danw329.bsky.social wrote in @time.com.
Corruption in the federal government does not begin and end with the president — or is unique to one party. @danw329.bsky.social urges Congress to advance reforms addressing corruption in all three branches, via @time.com: bit.ly/4biVl5S
What to do about it? As bad as things are, cycles of corruption and renewal are an enduring part of our history. We are overdue for another round of ambitious reform. Here are some of our top priorities: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
This is part of a broader unprecedented fusion of private wealth and political power that I write about in a piece today for Time.
time.com/7383185/prof...
Astonishing stat from the NYT: Billionaires were responsible for 19 percent of all money contributed in the 2024 election, a legacy of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/u...
This is what happens when you effectively have no ethical rules at the top of government — virtually limitless opportunities for insider profiteering.
“Any attempt by this administration to seize or ban mail-in ballots or voting machines during an election would” violate federal laws prohibiting interference with elections, says @lizagoitein.bsky.social.
The SAVE Act could block millions of Americans from voting. It is not common sense. If passed, it would be the first time in history Congress passed a vote suppression law. #SOTU
MAGA Inc., the main super PAC supporting President Trump, has raised $305 million since the 2024 election. “Because there are virtually no restrictions on what super PAC money can be used for, it...can be operated as a slush fund," @danw329.bsky.social told @apnews.com.
The challenge as we head into an election year is to offer voters a credible alternative. Among other things, that means putting forward concrete solutions like the reforms we propose here for political corruption in the federal government. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Executives no doubt feel these Old World-style tribute payments are just the cost of doing business. But this is not how most Americans want the federal government to be running our economy and picking winners and losers.
We are living through a period of unprecedented transactional politics. Companies face pressure to give to the president’s inauguration and other pet projects, like the White House ballroom, even as some are cutting back on more conventional lobbying.
I am always happy to talk to my original hometown paper, the @startribune.com. I was interviewed for this thoughtful piece on the record breaking donations big Minnesota companies made to the president’s inauguration and how their political spending is changing. www.startribune.com/target-lobby...
The $305 million raised by the main super PAC supporting President Trump comes almost entirely from megadonors: 96% of its funds are from donors giving $1 million or more.
bit.ly/4t8PBDU
“In the last presidential election, donations from people giving $5 million or more went up exponentially,” mostly motivated by corporate interests, @danw329.bsky.social told @prospect.org. “It seems like we’re on track to see that again” in the 2026 midterms.
Grappling with that problem means reckoning with Buckley and its legacy -- and finally choosing to do something about it.
At the root of our challenges today is Americans' justified sense that government has lost the plot and isn't really working to advance their priorities or make their lives better. The unprecedented concentrated of private wealth and public power is a big reason why.
Momentum for state-level reforms is also growing. For instance, states should pass ambitious reforms for their own elections with “trigger” provisions that would allow them to go into effect once constitutional jurisprudence changes. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana...
They include a constitutional amendment to return the power to regulate money in elections to Americans and their elected representatives. americanpromise.net/our-plan/#am...