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Musk's pick for NASA chief, Jared Isaacman, bought up to $50 million worth of stock in his payment processor for SpaceX ahead of its record-breaking IPO. He was not required to divest from his Shift4 holdings as NASA administrator.
Scoop by Donald Shaw, free to read @sludge
Are you excited for the crypto industry to get their preferred light-touch regulators?
For Anduril to get bottomless contracts in the "Golden Dome" missile shield that defense experts say is infeasible?
For AI and prediction apps to get federal preemption of state laws, as they're lobbying to claim?
Because they're all sending in favors to Trump:
https://readsludge.com/2026/06/16/trumps-white-house-cage-fight-doubled-as-an-ad-for-his-businesses/
It's happening, criminalization of ICE observation and protests.
"All this occurs in the context of NSPM-7, the Trump administration's initiative to turn the War on Terror against the left."
Read and share this piece by Spencer Ackerman:
https://www.forever-wars.com/the-next-step-in-criminalizing-ice-protests-is-here/
In 2021–22, Dems could have passed a bill that would require presidents, VPs, and other officials to divest from financial assets.
The House could have passed the Anti-Corruption Act and sent it to the Senate. Schumer could have started from creating a filibuster carve-out for ethics and elections legislation. Schumer, Pelosi, and Biden did not move to do so, and Trump ran again and won.
Banning members of Congress and government officials from trading stocks is highly popular, even among many rank and file lawmakers—but not among the congressional leaders who control which bills advance.
Viewers of Trump's birthday blast heard that they could send money faster through a stablecoin, like the one from Trump's World Liberty Financial, and were told of his social media app, "Download Truth Social today," since it's "the real voice of President Trump."
It was all probably legal:
https://readsludge.com/2026/06/16/trumps-white-house-cage-fight-doubled-as-an-ad-for-his-businesses/
States are adopting dozens of AI protections in areas like algorithmic discrimination and consumer fraud.
Do you trust this Congress, or the next one, to pre-empt these measures and pass robust AI safety?
If no, ask the House Democratic Commission on AI what they're doing sending legislative staff on AI industry junkets:
A dozen congressional aides—including staffers for co-chairs of the House Democrats' AI task force and a key AI subcommittee—were flown to Austin for meetings with executives and lobbyists from Google, Nvidia, Dell, Samsung, and other companies lobbying Congress to preempt state AI regulations.
House Dem staffers took a swank trip to Austin to hang out with lobbyists for the tech giants that are pushing to preempt state regulations on AI.
A bipartisan bill (Obernolte, Trahan) has been introduced that would give Meta, Amazon, etc. the regulation they want.
A lot like the crypto industry!
A dozen congressional aides—including staffers for co-chairs of the House Democrats' AI task force and a key AI subcommittee—were flown to Austin for meetings with executives and lobbyists from Google, Nvidia, Dell, Samsung, and other companies lobbying Congress to preempt state AI regulations.
So much money is sloshing into Dem primaries. Even Jeff Murray, the longtime corporate lobbyist and treasurer of the industry-funded Center Forward, appears to have spun off a super PAC that is spending to back Haley Stevens in #MISen. Its donors are still unknown.
New by reporter Minnah Arshad:
https://readsludge.com/2026/06/05/shadow-super-pac-tied-to-lobbyist-drops-1m-for-haley-stevens/
Think Big, the AI industry super PAC, spent another $2.1 million this week in #NY12 primary opposing Alex Bores, mostly on TV ads.
That brings the Leading the Future affiliate's total opposing Bores to $6.3 million, bankrolled by OpenAI, a16z, et al. Early voting starts June 13.
Months before the 2024 election, Gov. Wes Moore suggested that Kamala Harris would move on from Biden admin antitrust.
From Citigroup to Wall Street's favorite charity to "summer camp for billionaires," his career has stayed close to finance executives.
