Merkley, Colleagues Launch New Anti-Corruption Initiative to Expose Trump’s Self-Dealing & Stop Presidential Profiteering

New Senate Democratic Working Group to Expose the Cost of Corruption for American Families, Develop Legislation to Stop Presidential Profiteering Releases New Report: "The Cost of Corruption: How Trump Turns Power into Profit at Americans' Expense"

Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley joined his colleagues to launch a new Senate Democratic anti-corruption initiative aimed at exposing President Trump's rampant self-dealing, showing how his corruption costs American families, and developing legislation to prevent presidents from using public office for personal profit.

The initiative includes a new Senate Democratic anti-corruption working group and the release of a report, "The Cost of Corruption: How Trump Turns Power into Profit at Americans' Expense." The working group will expose the Trump Administration's abuses, identify the financial harm inflicted on taxpayers and working families, and develop reforms to stop future presidents from exploiting the power of the White House for their own enrichment.

"The Trump swamp of corruption is a mile deep and MEGA-wide," said Merkley. "Trump and his family use his office and official connections to rake in billions for themselves at every turn. Not only is this making life more expensive for hard-working Americans, it's a threat to government 'by and for the people.'"

On the campaign trail, President Trump promised to "end government corruption and to take our country back from the special interests." But his presidency has done the opposite: using the presidency to advance his own financial interests, reward wealthy donors and corporate allies, and direct taxpayer resources toward vanity projects and political favors.

The new report details how Trump has used public power to benefit himself, his family, his friends, and his supporters-and how ordinary Americans have paid the price. The report documents the Trump Administration's efforts to:

• Weaken the agency charged with protecting consumers from financial abuse
• Undermine wages, workplace protections, and workers' bargaining power
• Cut food assistance and other basic support to finance tax breaks for the wealthy
• Waste taxpayer money on Trump's vanity projects
• Reward corporations, donors, and political allies with favorable government treatment
• Create opportunities for foreign governments and private interests to curry favor with the president through his family's businesses and financial ventures

The full report is available by clicking here.

The launch of the Senate Democratic anti-corruption working group was led by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). In addition to Merkley, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Andy Kim (D-NJ) are members of the group.

Merkley has led the charge to hold the Trump Administration accountable for its corruption-including putting Trump's face on U.S. currency, park passes, and the U.S. passport-and wasting federal dollars on vanity projects. He has also been a long-time leader in the push to end public corruption-including preventing lawmakers from trading stocks, banning cryptocurrency-related corruption by elected officials at the highest levels of the federal government, and cracking down on the dangers that prediction markets pose to our democracy.

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