PRESS ALERT: A Corporate Takeover of Government: Experts Available to Explain How Trump’s Campaign Rhetoric Has Not Matched His First 100 Days
April 25, 2017
PRESS ALERT: A Corporate Takeover of Government: Experts Available to Explain How Trump’s Campaign Rhetoric Has Not Matched His First 100 Days
On ‘Draining the Swamp,’ Protecting Health Care, Improving Access to Meds and Much More, Trump’s Promises Go Unfulfilled
As Trump’s 100-day mark looms, Public Citizen can provide you with experts from a wide range of issue areas to assess and comment on the administration. Not only has Trump not “drained the swamp,” but he has allowed corporate elites to set policy. Trump’s conflicts of interest are unprecedented. And his early actions on health care, prescription medication prices, energy and climate change policy, the regulatory system, congressional relations, financial reform and trade highlight the influence that corporations are exerting over the White House.
Resources:
“For-Profit President; The First 100 Days of Donald Trump’s Presidency: Enriching His Private Business, Carrying Out a Corporate Takeover and Putting Profits Before People.” A report on Trump’s first 100 days, highlighting – day-by-day – the conflicts of interest and corporate influences.
“Corporate Executives Swamp the White House; Trump Has Met With Nearly 200 Corporate Execs Since His Inauguration – An Average of More Than Two a Day.” A report highlighting the many meetings Trump has had with corporate executives.
“The Unruly Transition.” This retrospective shows that Trump’s transition team failed to follow nearly all the good governance recommendations that Public Citizen made in April 2016. As you analyze the first 100 days of the Trump administration, it is helpful to look back at the principles that guided the transition.
Experts:
-Robert Weissman, president
Weissman is a national public interest advocate with an expertise on corporate and government accountability. He can discuss how Trump’s administration is one of the most ethically conflicted in history (including Trump’s promotion of Mar-a-Lago and his continued ownership of his family business) and can explain the corporate influence over the Trump White House, and why it is damaging to democracy. Weissman also can discuss the unprecedented use of the Congressional Review Act to roll back key safeguards and protections that industry doesn’t want, as well as the Trump’s administration’s retreat from open government.
-Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs
Gilbert is an expert in government transparency and integrity, financial reform, civil justice, consumer protection, good government, ethics and campaign finance reform. She can speak about Trump’s draconian budget, his use of the Congressional Review Act to roll back key safeguards and protections that industry doesn’t want, his conflicts of interest, his relations with Congress and his missteps on health care reform.
-Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch
Wallach, an internationally recognized expert on trade agreements, is well informed about the trade debate’s influence on the 2016 election and what it means for Trump. She is closely tracking Trump’s many promises on trade, an issue that was critical in his victory. She can explain how, despite Trump’s campaign promises to punish firms that offshore American jobs, the flow of federal contract awards to major offshorers has continued unabated since Trump’s inauguration. She also can speak about Trump’s approach to NAFTA (he appears to have broken his campaign promise to make NAFTA better for working Americans), Buy American policy (Trump has not taken actions within his authority to expand it), and China trade and currency issues.
-David Arkush, managing director of Public Citizen’s Climate Program
Arkush is an expert on climate change and clean energy, and has advocated and lobbied extensively before the Congress and federal regulatory agencies. He can discuss Trump’s rollback of rules designed to curb catastrophic climate change.
-Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program
Slocum is an expert in issues dealing with energy market regulation, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He can talk about the revolving door between the energy industry and the federal government, conflicts of interest in the Trump administration, proposed subsidies for nuclear and coal power plants, and the perils of the Department of Interior’s opening of new, fragile areas for oil, gas and coal development.
-Dr. Michael Carome, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group
Carome is an expert on drug and medical device safety, pharmacy compounding, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight, health care policy and the protection of human research subjects. He can discuss the conflicts of interest of Trump’s FDA nominee Scott Gottlieb.
-Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines Program
Maybarduk works for legislative and policy change to make medicines affordable and to overcome pharmaceutical monopolies. He is an intellectual property expert and is available to discuss Trump’s mixed messages when it comes to drug pricing and Big Pharma.
-Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist
Holman is Public Citizen’ Capitol Hill lobbyist on ethics, lobbying and campaign finance rules. He is an expert on campaign finance reform, governmental ethics, lobbying practices and the impact of money in politics. Holman can discuss Trump’s conflicts of interest and lack of ethics.
-Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate
Narang is an expert on issues related to the federal regulatory process and can discuss the GOP’s use of the Congressional Review Act to eradicate more than a dozen key safeguards. He also can discuss legislative proposals backed by corporate interests to rig the regulatory process against protecting the public.
-Bart Naylor, financial policy advocate
Naylor is an expert on corporate governance, financial markets and shareholder rights. He can discuss Trump’s plans to roll back key Wall Street reforms, and how doing so invites another 2008 global market crash.
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