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Share this on X, Bluesky, and Reddit. The Senate’s top investor in data center companies is one of two Democrats leading the push for a permitting deal that would make it easier to build the power infrastructure the industry needs to expand. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, negotiated and introduced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act with Sens.

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💡 Share this on X and Bluesky Sen. Alan Armstrong (R-Okla.) is helping advance legislation sought by the natural gas company he formerly led while retaining performance-based stock awards that could pay out tens of millions of dollars depending on the company's financial results. Armstrong, the former CEO and executive chairman of Williams Companies, introduced a bill in June that would limit states’ water-quality review powers over gas pipelines and other infrastructure projects.

💡 Share this on X and Bluesky Texas Republican Michael McCaul helped give the federal government authority to take down drones deemed a threat, which the Federal Aviation Administration now cites in warning drone operators against flying near federal vehicles and other mobile assets. Since early 2025, he has disclosed six trades in the stock of leading counter-drone contractor CACI International, made in his wife’s accounts.

💡 Share this on X and Bluesky As the Congressional Black Caucus works toward a consensus position on data centers, its members and the nonprofits they lead have brought the tech giants and utilities driving the data center boom into the discussion. In August, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute hosted a policy conference in Mississippi and had DTE Energy's CEO speak on a panel about artificial intelligence.

Summary The prediction market companies have been loading up on revolving-door lobbyists from both the Democratic and Republican sides, while ramping up their influence spending amid legal battles with state gambling regulators. Read This Post With a Free Trial Unlock this post plus get our investigative reports with a two-week free trial subscription. Cancel anytime. Already have an account? Sign in

🛰️ Share this on X and Bluesky The Pentagon awarded a satellite surveillance contract last week to a defense startup backed by a venture fund in which Vice President JD Vance holds a stake worth up to $1 million and a right to more than half of the investment profits paid to the fund’s managers. True Anomaly was one of two companies selected to build prototype satellites for GHOST-R, a Space Force effort to observe and track other spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit.

💡 Share this on X and Bluesky Jake Sullivan spent his final 15 months as President Biden’s national security adviser defending the continued flow of American weapons to Israel as it carried out a military assault on Gaza that human rights organizations and a United Nations commission have concluded amount to genocide. After leaving the White House, Sullivan turned the experience into a business opportunity.

📈 Share this on X and Bluesky! As Congress faces growing pressure to regulate artificial intelligence, roughly one in five lawmakers’ households has investments in companies developing AI and supplying the infrastructure behind it, according to a Sludge analysis of congressional financial disclosures.

💡 Share this on X and Bluesky! When Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said earlier this year that an online pressure campaign to pass a Republican bill imposing new proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration was being driven by a “paid influencer ecosystem,” the right-wing X personality known as ALX was outraged. “I just lost any respect I ever had for @LeaderJohnThune,” ALX wrote to his more than 1 million followers.