On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s efforts to evade compliance with a federal court’s order to lift the freeze on billions of dollars in foreign assistance, a glimmer of hope as the new administration moves at great speed to reduce the size and effectiveness of the federal government.
“Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court confirms that the Administration cannot ignore the law,” Lauren Bateman, attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel in the case, said in a statement. “To stop needless suffering and death, the government must now comply with the order issued three weeks ago to lift its unlawful termination of federal assistance.”
However, the court didn’t say when the money needs to be released, allowing the Trump administration to continue to argue the issue in lower courts.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has dropped or halted more than one out of five investigations into and enforcement actions against corporations in its first six weeks in office, according to a new report from Public Citizen, a public interest organization. Whole categories of corporate crime enforcement have come to a halt just weeks into President Donald Trump’s second term, the report found.
“Trump is handing out ‘get out of jail free’ cards to corporate lawbreakers,” Rick Claypool, research director for Public Citizen and author of the report, said in a statement. “The consequences for the public when corporations face a diminished threat of enforcement are disastrous.”
In addition, honest businesses that aren’t Trump administration insiders – or that refuse to play along with the MAGA agenda – may face serious disadvantages from Trump’s politicized approach to enforcement, Claypool said.
The Trump administration has already halted or moved to dismiss enforcement investigations and cases against 89 corporations. This includes:
- All 42 cases at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
- At least 20 investigations and cases under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
- At least 15 cases brought by the Civil Rights and Environment and Natural Resource divisions at the U.S. Department of Justice.
- At least six Equal Employment Opportunity Commission cases defending transgender and gender non-conforming workers from workplace abuse and discrimination.
- At least seven cases at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission against cryptocurrency corporations.
At least 34 corporations facing enforcement actions contributed more than $34 million to Trump’s inauguration, according to the report. These 34 corporations are facing a total of 60 separate federal investigations and lawsuits. The corporations facing the greatest number of investigations and cases are Tesla, eight; Amazon, seven; Pfizer, five; Wells Fargo, four; SpaceX, four; and UnitedHealthcare, four.
“Donald Trump, Pam Bondi, and Kash Patel bloviate about how tough they are on crime,” said Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, “but the reality is the Trump administration by its actions is inviting a corporate crime spree.”
Weissman said the wholesale abandonment of cases against alleged corporate wrongdoers will let bad actors off the hook, while inviting – and virtually guaranteeing – a surge in consumer rip offs, endangerment of workers, poisoning of the air and water, discriminatory employment practices, and more.
