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We Can’t Let Hegseth Win His War on Women

We Can’t Let Hegseth Win His War on Women

A car with a bullet hole in the windshield.

States Sue D.C. at Record Levels — MN Case May Be the Turning Point

Trump’s Plan to Gather Data on Every Voter Will Cripple Democracy

Trump’s Plan to Gather Data on Every Voter Will Cripple Democracy

People voting at voting booths.

The Quiet Campaign That Could Rewrite the 2028 Election

Can Things Get Even Worse for Mike Johnson?

Can Things Get Even Worse for Mike Johnson?

K Street profiting from the Trump revolving door

The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumApr 24, 2019
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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Lobbying firms linked to the Trump administration have made plenty of rain this year.

This seems no more true than with the firm created by Trump campaign fundraiser Brian Ballard after the 2016 election. Ballard Partners reported $4.2 million in revenue between January and March from a roster of clients recently expanded to include General Motors and Boeing and also featuring GEO Group, a private prison contractor hoping to benefit from an illegal immigration crackdown at the southern border.

The firm brought in $10 million in its first year and $18 million last year thanks to several "revolving door" moves. Faces at the firm now include Raj Shah, previously White House deputy press secretary, and Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and Trump transition team member.

A Center for Responsive Politics survey of how K Street has been absorbing former Trump administration officials also found:

  • Turnberry Solutions employs former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Jason Osborne, who was a senior Trump campaign advisor.
  • Avenue Strategies has original campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and was co-founded by senior campaign advisor Barry Bennett.
  • Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck's D.C. office is run by Marc Lampkin, a major 2016 campaign fundraiser.
  • Holland & Knight has Scott Mason, who ran congressional relations for the campaign, and Lauren Maddox, a member of the Trump transition team.

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Ethics & Leadership

Hypocrisy in Leadership Corrodes Democracy

ICE Shooting of Renee Good Revives Kent State’s Stark Warning
Democracy

ICE Shooting of Renee Good Revives Kent State’s Stark Warning

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John Adams and the Line a Republic Must Not Cross

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Chicago’s First Environmental Justice Ordinance Faces Uncertain Future in City Council

David Architectural Metals, Inc. is a longtime Chicago metal fabrication company for commercial and industrial construction. The company is situated in the same area as the other sites.

Chicago’s First Environmental Justice Ordinance Faces Uncertain Future in City Council

CHICAGO— Chicago’s first environmental justice ordinance sits dormant in the City Council’s Zoning Committee. Awaiting further action, some activists and alders have been pushing to get it passed, while others don’t want it passed at all.

At a Nov. 3 rare special committee meeting, Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th Ward), chair of the City Council’s Zoning Committee, said he would not call for a vote on the ordinance. His decision signaled the measure may lack enough support to advance, but its sponsors think there is enough community support to push it forward.

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Democrats' Affordability Campaign Should Focus on Frozen Wages
fan of 100 U.S. dollar banknotes
Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

Democrats' Affordability Campaign Should Focus on Frozen Wages

Affordability has become a political issue because the cost of basic necessities - food, health and child care, transportation, and housing - for 43% of families today outruns their wages.

Inflation is one factor. But the affordability issue exists primarily because inflation-adjusted (real) wages for 80% of working- and middle-class men and women have been essentially frozen for the past 46 years.

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Silence, Signals, and the Unfinished Story of the Abandoned Disability Rule

Waiting for the Door to Open: Advocates and older workers are left in limbo as the administration’s decision to abandon a harsh disability rule exists only in private assurances, not public record.

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Silence, Signals, and the Unfinished Story of the Abandoned Disability Rule

We reported in the Fulcrum on November 30th that in early November, disability advocates walked out of the West Wing, believing they had secured a rare reversal from the Trump administration of an order that stripped disability benefits from more than 800,000 older manual laborers.

The public record has remained conspicuously quiet on the matter. No press release, no Federal Register notice, no formal statement from the White House or the Social Security Administration has confirmed what senior officials told Jason Turkish and his colleagues behind closed doors in November: that the administration would not move forward with a regulation that could have stripped disability benefits from more than 800,000 older manual laborers. According to a memo shared by an agency official and verified by multiple sources with knowledge of the discussions, an internal meeting in early November involved key SSA decision-makers outlining the administration's intent to halt the proposal. This memo, though not publicly released, is said to detail the political and social ramifications of proceeding with the regulation, highlighting its unpopularity among constituents who would be affected by the changes.

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