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Tulsi Gabbard, the new director of national intelligence, takes on a crucial position amid scrutiny over her political fundraising activities and statements about U.S. adversaries that critics say align with Russian positions. Let's follow the money.

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Kash Patel has been confirmed as FBI director.

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1/6 With Sen. Mitch McConnell announcing he will not seek re-election in 2026, we took a look at his fundraising history. A thread:

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Join us in following the money: Sign up for our free weekly newsletter at www.opensecrets.org/newsletter/s...

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The Senate has advanced Kash Patel's nomination to head the FBI. We break down his financial history, his ties to President Trump and how that background might impact his job. =

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Of the three Senate and 11 House candidates who ousted incumbents in 2024, nine received donations after Election Day from corporate, union and trade association PACs that had supported their opponents during the campaign.

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As TikTok came under fire from the U.S. government, parent company ByteDance increased its spending on lobbying 3,752% over six years, from $270,000 in 2019 to $4.9 million in 2022 to $10.4 million in 2024. More from the latest lobbying data at www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/02...

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The pharmaceutical industry has been the top spender since 1999 and has spent over $6.1 billion from 1999 until 2024 on federal lobbying. www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/02...

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In 2024, lobbying spending reached a record-breaking $4.4 billion, according to a new analysis by OpenSecrets. The $150 million increase in lobbying continues an upward trend that began in 2016.

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1/11 President Trump has instructed the Treasury to stop minting pennies. “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump posted on Sunday night. Before we get to the lobbying data, some background.

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President Trump told FEC Chair Ellen Weintraub that she's been removed from office. She said it doesn't work that way. Let's break down what happened and what it means for the FEC.

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Year-end 2024 lobbying data is now available at www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying. This comprehensive data includes detailed information on lobbying activities, expenditures, and the top firms, industries and issues involved.

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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem raised $35M for her eight elections. Her two gov. races brought in more than $24M; about half the donations came from out of state. The Republican Governors Assn. gave $2.9M in her last gov. race, more than double her first. www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/02...

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Open data is liberty - a statement from OpenSecrets.

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Tulsi Gabbard faces the Senate Intelligence Committee today in her bid to be director of national intelligence. You can review her campaign fundraising and spending history on OpenSecrets. www.opensecrets.org/members-of-c...

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RFK Jr. testified in the first of two confirmation hearings Wednesday. While senators questioned him about his views on vaccines, abortion and more, OpenSecrets examined his political $ history and how it might give insight into his leadership of HHS. www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/01...

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As RFK Jr. answers questions from senators this week, you can use OpenSecrets to better understand how he raised and spent campaign money last year. www.opensecrets.org/2024-preside...

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Linda McMahon, Trump's nominee to be secretary of education, is a prolific donor and successful businesswoman who served as CEO of WWE. While McMahon has worked in government (she led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term), she has limited education leadership experience.

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Fifteen years ago, the role of money in politics changed dramatically. On Jan. 21, 2010, the Supreme Court issued its decision in #CitizensUnited. Since then, election spending has reached unprecedented heights and the public has less insight into the sources of that money. Let's dig into the data.

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Who is Elise Stefanik, President Trump's pick to be U.N. ambassador? The youngest woman every elected to Congress, her fundraising successes can be traced back to her support for Trump and Israel. www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/01...

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President-elect Trump tapped former North Dakota Gov. (and one-time presidential rival) Doug Burgum to be secretary of the interior and energy czar. We break down his campaign fundraising history and his financial ties to industries that will fall under his purview.

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The Senate has begun confirmation hearings for #PeteHegseth. Who is Trump's choice for secretary of defense? We follow the money to answer that question. www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/01...

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I'm looking at campaign finance data today, aggregating total campaign expenditures for federal candidates as a proportion of GDP. Why did we spend so much more on campaigns in 2020? (data sources @opensecretsdc.bsky.social and the Fed.) (Complied by me, graphed by ChatGPT)

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President-elect Trump nominated Pam Bondi to be attorney general after his original pick, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration. A lobbyist and former Florida AG, Bondi has past financial ties to Trump and is familiar with the revolving door. www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/12...

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As the Senate prepares to vote on Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees, OpenSecrets is examining their financial ties to Trump, other candidates and officials, and relevant industries. Next up is Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick to be secretary of defense.

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Political ads on Google, Meta surged in the run-up to the election, per study by @brennancenter.bsky.social @wesmediaproject.bsky.social & us. Political advertising topped $1.35B on those platforms, with more spent 9/1 to Election Day than in the prior 20 months. www.opensecrets.org/news/reports...

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"“The patterns we’ve seen throughout the decades that we’ve been following money in politics is that most often, the influence of money does have an impact on policy decisions" - OpenSecrets Executive Director Hilary Braseth www.politico.com/newsletters/...

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Personal/personnel news: I'm thrilled to be joining @opensecretsdc.bsky.social as director of communications and marketing, helping inform the public about the role of money in politics. Reporters/editors, let's catch up in January, when I start the new gig.

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The delayed passage of the #farmbill extended the window for organizations interested in impacting the nation’s food assistance programs, ramping up corporate #lobbying on nutrition issues. www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/12...

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OpenSecrets is excited to be teaming with Amazon Web Services to improve our data on money in politics through a transformative machine learning solution. Thanks to this grant, we will set a new standard for data accuracy in political transparency. www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/12...

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NEW: Big money, big stakes in the 2024 elections! From record-breaking campaign cash to unprecedented dark money, here are the 5 things every voter needs to know about the $$$ shaping U.S. politics: www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/11...

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🚨 New OpenSecrets projection: State candidates, party committees and ballot measure committees are projected to raise $4.6 billion for 2023 and 2024 elections — bringing the total cost of state and federal elections to $20 BILLION. www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/11...

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More than 11,000 political groups from super PACs backed by billionaires to special interest groups are projected to spend $14.7 billion on 2024 federal elections. The top 100 groups account for over 64% of that money — totaling billions of dollars. www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

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🚨 NEW: Outside spending on 2024 federal elections has shattered records, nearing $4.5 billion ahead of Election Day — with over $1 billion of that fueled by “dark money” from groups and shell companies that don’t fully disclose donors. Read the full report: www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/11...

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