In Donald Trump’s first term, observers of the White House joked about “Infrastructure Week,” the perpetually rescheduled promise that never arrived. In his second term, every single week has been Corruption Week as the administration routinely delivers fresh revelations of graft, and this week was no different.
While working families navigate sky-high prices and financial anxiety that this administration has done nothing to relieve, Trump and the people around him are using the full power of the federal government to enrich themselves, reward their friends, and protect each other from consequences.
Here is what this week alone brought:
Trump Trades 3,600+ Stocks In Companies He Regulates, And Flies Their Executives To China
- New reporting revealed that Donald Trump has turned the White House into his personal trading floor, buying and selling millions of dollars’ worth of stock in technology companies and government contractors while his administration handed out billion-dollar contracts and favorable regulatory decisions to those very same companies.
- Trump made more than 3,600 individual stock and financial trades in just the first three months of 2026.
- Even JD Vance, who was known for opposing members of Congress engaging in stock trading as a U.S. Senator, offered up a full-throated defense of Trump’s corruption.
A Bribe and a Private Lunch Led Trump To Write Lax FDA Vaping Policy
- A Reynolds American subsidiary donated $5 million to MAGA Inc. just two days before a top executive at Reynolds and two lobbyists who represent the company had lunch with Trump and expressed frustration with government regulations.
- In the middle of the lunch, Trump called RFK Jr. and told him he wanted the regulation lifted. The FDA changed the policy the following Friday.
- Reynolds has now given $10 million to the super PAC backing Trump’s 2024 campaign, contributed to his White House ballroom project, and sent an executive to a White House donor dinner reserved for those who gave at least $2.5 million.
Trump Gifts Extreme Right-Wing Allies $1.78B Slush Fund
- The Trump administration announced it will reward Trump’s political allies with a $1.78 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund.
- The scheme, negotiated directly between Trump’s own lawyers and lawyers from Trump’s handpicked, loyalty-first administration, would give taxpayer money to Trump allies who claim to be victims in connection with lawful investigations conducted by the previous administration, potentially including the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the violent, deadly January 6th attack on the United States Capitol.
- The fund would be governed by a five-member commission that Trump would have the right to remove at any time without cause, and the commission would not have to disclose how it decides to allot the money. Additionally, the scheme would forever bar the IRS from auditing the returns of Trump, his family, or their businesses.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Pays $5 Million to House Republicans for a Friendly Oversight Committee Meeting on Epstein Relationship Lies
- Howard Lutnick donated $5 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, the main super PAC supporting House Republicans, in April, just weeks before appearing before those same House Republicans on the Oversight Committee to answer questions about his documented ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
- Lutnick lied that he was never in the same room with Epstein after an encounter in 2005. But newly released files from the Department of Justice showed that Lutnick traveled to Epstein’s private island in 2012.
- Though Lutnick allegedly couldn’t remember important details such as why he and his family had lunch on Epstein’s private island, the Republican committee chair called his testimony “forthcoming.“
“Every week is Corruption Week in the Trump administration. They are openly, gleefully, and systematically looting the federal government for their own interests. They have zero desire to actually govern because their agenda is focused on extracting as many resources from working-class people as possible and redistributing them to the Epstein class of billionaires who line Republican campaign coffers,” said American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson Brandon Weathersby. “American families are working harder than ever just to afford groceries, cover their rent, and keep their heads above water. Meanwhile, Trump and his allies are getting richer while everyone else gets left behind.”
Published: May 22, 2026 | Last Modified: Jun 3, 2026