SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Sen. Elizabeth Warren's "Drain the Swamp Report Card" outlines how President Donald Trump has "handed his administration over to corporate insiders and Beltway lobbyists." (Image: Offices of Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse)
Warren Flunks Trump: Report Card Details Broken Promise to 'Drain Swamp'
'Instead of turning away lobbyists and Washington insiders, he welcomed them into the White House with open arms'
Jul 20, 2017
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a former law professor, just flunked President Donald Trump.
"This report makes it clear: Trump's army of lobbyists are more interested in lining the pockets of their long-time employers and corporate buddies than in making life better for working families."
--Sen. Elizabeth Warren"President Trump broke his promise to 'drain the swamp,'" said Warren who, along with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and in honor of the president's six months in office, released a report card on Thursday tracking 193 former lobbyists and corporate insiders who have worked for Donald Trump since the election.
"Instead of turning away lobbyists and Washington insiders, he welcomed them into the White House with open arms," Warren said on Facebook. "This report makes it clear: Trump's army of lobbyists are more interested in lining the pockets of their long-time employers and corporate buddies than in making life better for working families."
President Trump's Drain the Swamp Report Card follows a Public Citizen report released Wednesday that details how the president "has fully abandoned populism in favor of giveaways to industry," from automakers and bankers to Big Pharma and fossil fuel companies. Thursday's report concludes "President Trump's grade on his first Drain the Swamp Report Card is a big F."
The report card's four key findings were:
- Trump picked dozens of former lobbyists to fill his transition team and administration: Since his election, at least 160 current and former lobbyists advised or worked for the president.
- Trump has also filled his administration with dozens of corporate insiders: "This report highlights 37 of these swamp-dwellers who either advised the president during the transition period or were hired by or nominated by President Trump to staff his administration"--including the former Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn, who now runs the National Economic Council.
- Trump has undermined key ethics rules: After taking office, Trump touted an executive order that he claimed would close "loopholes." However, his order actually weakened rules enacted by former President Barack Obama and enabled more than two dozen former lobbyists to advise or work at agencies they have lobbied within the past two years. The admininstration also uses waivers to work around Trump's executive order.
- Trump's industry insiders have developed policies that harm ordinary Americans: The administration has already supported and enacted policies that favor corporate interests over those of the public. The report describes examples in the Education and Labor Departments and well as the president's Drug Pricing Working Group. It also examines financial policies harmful to retirees, frightening environmental policies, and "a big handout to Wall Street."
As Warren said on Twitter:
In a Facebook video on Thursday, Whitehouse compared Trump to a popular monster truck.
"If you know a little bit about monster trucks, you know that one of them is called 'Swamp Thing'--that's Trump," Whitehouse said. "He is the Swamp Thing, after all those phony promises about draining the swamp. Lobbyists for special interests swarm into Trump administration positions. Special interest billionaires advise the Trump administration in money-making ways and stock the Trump Cabinet....The swamp and its reptiles control the administration."
Watch Whitehouse's address below:
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a former law professor, just flunked President Donald Trump.
"This report makes it clear: Trump's army of lobbyists are more interested in lining the pockets of their long-time employers and corporate buddies than in making life better for working families."
--Sen. Elizabeth Warren"President Trump broke his promise to 'drain the swamp,'" said Warren who, along with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and in honor of the president's six months in office, released a report card on Thursday tracking 193 former lobbyists and corporate insiders who have worked for Donald Trump since the election.
"Instead of turning away lobbyists and Washington insiders, he welcomed them into the White House with open arms," Warren said on Facebook. "This report makes it clear: Trump's army of lobbyists are more interested in lining the pockets of their long-time employers and corporate buddies than in making life better for working families."
President Trump's Drain the Swamp Report Card follows a Public Citizen report released Wednesday that details how the president "has fully abandoned populism in favor of giveaways to industry," from automakers and bankers to Big Pharma and fossil fuel companies. Thursday's report concludes "President Trump's grade on his first Drain the Swamp Report Card is a big F."
The report card's four key findings were:
- Trump picked dozens of former lobbyists to fill his transition team and administration: Since his election, at least 160 current and former lobbyists advised or worked for the president.
- Trump has also filled his administration with dozens of corporate insiders: "This report highlights 37 of these swamp-dwellers who either advised the president during the transition period or were hired by or nominated by President Trump to staff his administration"--including the former Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn, who now runs the National Economic Council.
- Trump has undermined key ethics rules: After taking office, Trump touted an executive order that he claimed would close "loopholes." However, his order actually weakened rules enacted by former President Barack Obama and enabled more than two dozen former lobbyists to advise or work at agencies they have lobbied within the past two years. The admininstration also uses waivers to work around Trump's executive order.
- Trump's industry insiders have developed policies that harm ordinary Americans: The administration has already supported and enacted policies that favor corporate interests over those of the public. The report describes examples in the Education and Labor Departments and well as the president's Drug Pricing Working Group. It also examines financial policies harmful to retirees, frightening environmental policies, and "a big handout to Wall Street."
As Warren said on Twitter:
In a Facebook video on Thursday, Whitehouse compared Trump to a popular monster truck.
"If you know a little bit about monster trucks, you know that one of them is called 'Swamp Thing'--that's Trump," Whitehouse said. "He is the Swamp Thing, after all those phony promises about draining the swamp. Lobbyists for special interests swarm into Trump administration positions. Special interest billionaires advise the Trump administration in money-making ways and stock the Trump Cabinet....The swamp and its reptiles control the administration."
Watch Whitehouse's address below:
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a former law professor, just flunked President Donald Trump.
"This report makes it clear: Trump's army of lobbyists are more interested in lining the pockets of their long-time employers and corporate buddies than in making life better for working families."
--Sen. Elizabeth Warren"President Trump broke his promise to 'drain the swamp,'" said Warren who, along with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and in honor of the president's six months in office, released a report card on Thursday tracking 193 former lobbyists and corporate insiders who have worked for Donald Trump since the election.
"Instead of turning away lobbyists and Washington insiders, he welcomed them into the White House with open arms," Warren said on Facebook. "This report makes it clear: Trump's army of lobbyists are more interested in lining the pockets of their long-time employers and corporate buddies than in making life better for working families."
President Trump's Drain the Swamp Report Card follows a Public Citizen report released Wednesday that details how the president "has fully abandoned populism in favor of giveaways to industry," from automakers and bankers to Big Pharma and fossil fuel companies. Thursday's report concludes "President Trump's grade on his first Drain the Swamp Report Card is a big F."
The report card's four key findings were:
- Trump picked dozens of former lobbyists to fill his transition team and administration: Since his election, at least 160 current and former lobbyists advised or worked for the president.
- Trump has also filled his administration with dozens of corporate insiders: "This report highlights 37 of these swamp-dwellers who either advised the president during the transition period or were hired by or nominated by President Trump to staff his administration"--including the former Goldman Sachs President Gary Cohn, who now runs the National Economic Council.
- Trump has undermined key ethics rules: After taking office, Trump touted an executive order that he claimed would close "loopholes." However, his order actually weakened rules enacted by former President Barack Obama and enabled more than two dozen former lobbyists to advise or work at agencies they have lobbied within the past two years. The admininstration also uses waivers to work around Trump's executive order.
- Trump's industry insiders have developed policies that harm ordinary Americans: The administration has already supported and enacted policies that favor corporate interests over those of the public. The report describes examples in the Education and Labor Departments and well as the president's Drug Pricing Working Group. It also examines financial policies harmful to retirees, frightening environmental policies, and "a big handout to Wall Street."
As Warren said on Twitter:
In a Facebook video on Thursday, Whitehouse compared Trump to a popular monster truck.
"If you know a little bit about monster trucks, you know that one of them is called 'Swamp Thing'--that's Trump," Whitehouse said. "He is the Swamp Thing, after all those phony promises about draining the swamp. Lobbyists for special interests swarm into Trump administration positions. Special interest billionaires advise the Trump administration in money-making ways and stock the Trump Cabinet....The swamp and its reptiles control the administration."
Watch Whitehouse's address below:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy