Portside

Lobbying firms have disguised their influence so well that it’s often barely visible even to savvy Washington insiders.

Greased by lobbying and campaign cash, tax breaks for retirement savings are one thing Congress agrees on. But they also blow out the deficit and add to income inequality.

The pharma lobby gave more than $16 million in 2022 to advocacy groups, many of them ostensibly “grassroots,” that are battling the Medicare drug price negotiations now underway.

But Is It Truly the Arsenal of Democracy?

And the grift that just keeps giving (or is it taking?) The fullest accounting yet shows how Thomas has secretly reaped the benefits from a network of wealthy and well-connected patrons that is far more extensive than previously understood.

Bank lobbyists believe the Fed may now be encouraged to press ahead with tougher rules that it was just beginning to discuss before SVB’s meltdown.

Lawmakers have tried to introduce legislation seeking to advance antitrust reform. Google, Amazon, and Meta have spent millions fighting it.

Current and former government officials, now lobbyists, among the most glorified and vilified characters of these tumultuous years have forged a peace—working together to ensure the world’s wealthiest and most powerful players thrive amid the turmoil

Reader Comments: Kidnapping Immigrants; Railroad Workers and Railroad Profits; Religion; Ukraine War; Sweden; My Revolutionary Inspiration, Barbara Ehrenreich; New Book: Frank Emspak, Troublemaker; The Worker-Led Upsurge: Amazon and Starbucks; more

Trump's candidacy and his administration were shaped, in no small part, by Jones Day, one of the most politically connected law firms in DC.