{"id":1052910,"date":"2025-05-14T16:10:03","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T20:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/?p=1052910"},"modified":"2025-05-14T16:10:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T20:10:05","slug":"trumps-latest-grifts-747s-crooked-contracts-and-sweetheart-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-latest-grifts-747s-crooked-contracts-and-sweetheart-deals\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Latest Grifts: 747s, Crooked Contracts, and Sweetheart Deals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Instead of helping working families, Donald Trump and his billionaire administration are trying to line their pockets<\/a>, secure deals<\/a> and government contracts<\/a> for themselves, and skirt the law<\/a>. While Americans are struggling with rising costs<\/a> with no end<\/a> in sight, Trump and his administration officials are busy cashing in<\/a> \u2014 all while preparing to fly around in Trump\u2019s new luxury jet<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at the latest ways Trump and his cronies are lining their pockets: <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cTrump\u2019s gifted Qatari 747 would be a security problem<\/strong>, officials say\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[C]urrent and former U.S. military, defense and Secret Service officials said [Trump] will likely have to waive existing security specifications to be able to use the plane. \u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[E]ven Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), a Trump ally, told reporters on Monday that he wants \u2018to make sure that this whole thing is kosher,\u2019 <\/strong>adding that \u2018time will tell.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cTrump\u2019s Middle East trip marked by potential private business conflicts\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe president\u2019s sons<\/strong>, who head the Trump Organization, have spent the past few weeks<\/strong> crisscrossing the Middle East, laying the groundwork for deals that will benefit the company and, in some instances, Trump himself. \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrump has notably declined to duplicate his first-term pledge to not advance his personal business interests from the White House<\/strong>, but he has also managed to evade efforts by Congress and the courts to rein in his potential conflicts. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a public interest group \u2026 [said] \u2018The Trump family is generating potentially billions and billions of dollars.\u2019\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York Times<\/a>: \u201cElon Musk\u2019s Boring Company Is in Talks With Government Over Amtrak Project\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Federal Railroad Administration<\/strong>, the nation\u2019s railroad agency, has brought in the Boring Company, the tunneling firm founded by Elon Musk, to see if it could help with a multibillion-dollar Amtrak project,<\/strong> according to three people familiar with the discussions. \u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMr. Musk<\/strong> has also been pushing the F.A.A. to cancel a multibillion-dollar air traffic control contract with Verizon in favor of a system from Starlink.\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NBC News<\/a>: \u201cElon Musk\u2019s regulatory troubles have begun to melt away in Trump\u2019s second term\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the Department of Agriculture, for example, President Donald Trump fired the person who had been investigating the Musk company Neuralink.<\/strong> \u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTrump\u2019s Justice Department has dropped a case against Musk<\/strong>\u2019s rocket company, SpaceX, and his Labor Department has canceled a planned civil rights review of his automaker, Tesla.<\/strong> Another regulatory matter against SpaceX has entered settlement talks with the National Labor Relations Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe moves may help Musk\u2019s companies avoid potential fines<\/strong> for alleged violations of federal law. At stake is more than $2 billion in potential liability<\/strong>, plus workplace changes that Musk could have to make if he loses those regulatory fights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington Post<\/a>: \u201cU.S. pushes nations facing tariffs to approve Musk\u2019s Starlink, cables show\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA series of internal government messages obtained by The Post reveal how U.S. embassies and the State Department have pushed nations to clear hurdles for U.S. satellite companies, often mentioning Starlink by name. \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStarlink\u2019s international expansion could unlock multibillion-dollar revenue streams. <\/strong>Capturing just 1 percent of India\u2019s consumer broadband market could generate nearly $1 billion annually, with comparable upside in Latin America and Africa \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStarlink was pushing for a license to operate in Djibouti. \u2026 Embassy staffers wrote they would help Starlink as much as they could.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CNN<\/a>: \u201cTrump staffed his Cabinet with wealthy advisers. Some stand to gain even more from recent policy shifts\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven as they\u2019ve agreed to divest, some Cabinet members have found a loophole: <\/strong>giving control of certain assets to their adult children. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick handed the reins of his financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald to his 27-year-old son<\/strong>, while Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he would give his interest in litigation against a vaccine maker<\/strong> \u2013 part of an industry he is now tasked with regulating \u2013 to his adult son.\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Instead of helping working families, Donald Trump and his billionaire administration are trying to line their pockets, secure deals and government contracts for themselves, and skirt the law. While Americans are struggling with rising costs with no end in sight, Trump and his administration officials are busy cashing in \u2014 all while preparing to fly […]<\/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-1052910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrump\u2019s Latest Grifts: 747s, Crooked Contracts, and Sweetheart Deals - 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\/trumps-latest-grifts-747s-crooked-contracts-and-sweetheart-deals\/\" \/>\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=\"2025-05-14T20:10:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-14T20:10:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Black-Logo-White-Fill-For-Email.png?w=1024\" \/>\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\/trumps-latest-grifts-747s-crooked-contracts-and-sweetheart-deals\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/democrats.org\/news\/trumps-latest-grifts-747s-crooked-contracts-and-sweetheart-deals\/\",\"name\":\"Trump\u2019s Latest Grifts: 747s, Crooked Contracts, and Sweetheart Deals - 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