Sludge

💡 Share this on X and Bluesky! A new centrist Democratic group called Promise to America that is pushing back against progressives will not say who is funding its effort—but is closely tied to the Welcome Party, a group whose PAC has received more than half of its individual contributions from billionaires.

💡 Share this on X and Bluesky! The day before President Trump announced a 90-day pause on his sweeping tariffs, sending markets exploding higher, his investment accounts quietly purchased hundreds of stocks near the market low, trades that were not publicly disclosed until more than a year later despite federal disclosure requirements.

💡 Share this on X and Bluesky! Wall Street's largest banks have quietly been building a new dark money operation that's already funneled nearly $6 million into Democratic super PACs backing the party's most business-friendly candidates and incumbents, according to new Federal Election Commission records.

💥 Share this post on Bluesky and X President Trump sent an awaited-for-months supplemental funding request for the Iran War to Congress on Wednesday, seeking $87.6 billion in a package that is headlined by $67.1 billion for the Department of Defense’s “urgent needs” in “Operation Epic Fury.” Of that amount, a proposed $21 billion would replenish munitions spent in the Iran attacks, most of which are made by a pair of giant weapons contractors: Lockheed Martin, which has been showering...

💡 Share this on X and Bluesky! Palantir, the data analytics company whose software powers the Trump administration's deportation operations, has hired a former Democratic senator and a team of Democratic lobbyists with close ties to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, adding to a growing roster of Democrat-connected operatives the company has brought on in recent months. The company registered Avoq LLC as a lobbying firm effective May 1, according to a disclosure signed on June 15.

🚀 Share this on X and Bluesky! NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman bought up to $50 million in stock in his former company, Shift4 Payments, in May—just weeks before SpaceX, a key Shift4 business partner, went public in the largest IPO in history. Isaacman oversees SpaceX’s NASA contracts and has been leading a federal push to develop the nuclear technology that SpaceX says it needs to colonize Mars.

💡 Share this on X and Bluesky! As millions tuned in to watch UFC fights on the White House lawn Sunday, the octagon was plastered with logos for World Liberty Financial—the Trump family crypto venture—and Truth Social, the social media company where the president is a major shareholder.

💡 Share this on X and Bluesky! As Congress prepares to consider legislation on artificial intelligence, a tech industry nonprofit flew a dozen key congressional staffers to Austin last month for three days of tours, dinners, and briefings with executives from Google, Nvidia, Dell, and other companies that are lobbying for industry-friendly rules.

🔗 Share this on X and Bluesky! A newly registered super PAC tied to a corporate lobbying firm principal is bankrolling ads for Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s hotly contested Democratic Senate primary. The super PAC, called A Stronger Michigan, registered with the Federal Election Commission on Monday and started rolling its first ads one day later.

💸 Share this on Bluesky and X Maryland Gov. Wes Moore won’t say whether he received a bonus while working as an investment banker at Citigroup after the company was saved by a government bailout during the 2008 financial crisis that the bank helped precipitate. Asked by Sludge whether he received a bonus payment, Gov. Moore’s spokespeople declined to address the question.