Capture lane

Regulatory Capture

The Regulatory Capture capture lane traces 1573 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.

1573 events From Jan 1, 1819 To Jun 10, 2026 Open in filter view →
Top 10 actors in this lane 10 actors · 1819–2026
Top actors in Regulatory Capture182018251830183518401845185018551860186518701875188018851890189519001905191019151920192519301935194019451950195519601965197019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025WatergateReaganIran-Contra9/11Citizens UnitedTrump 1.0Trump 2.0Donald Trump1415 eventsTrump Administration363 eventsSecurities and Exchange Commission77 eventsFederal Trade Commission69 eventsDepartment of Justice337 eventsGeorge W. Bush72 eventsU.S. Congress228 eventsElon Musk186 eventsFood and Drug AdministrationFederal Reserve
Capture lanecorruptiondemocraticexecutivefinancialintelligencejudiciallaborlegislativemediamilitaryotherregulatory Status confirmed alleged disputed
DateEventLanesStatus
2025-03-17Trump's World Liberty Financial Raises $550 Million in Crypto Token Sales 5 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · World Liberty Financial · Justin Sun
confirmed
2025-03-16Top broadband official exits Commerce Department with sharp Musk warning 5 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-03-15Trump Administration Used Diplomatic Pressure to Advance Starlink in Gambia 4 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Elon Musk · Marco Rubio
confirmed
2025-03-13Top Trump official's crypto ties raise red flags as the administration touts digital assets 4 src
Donald Trump · Howard Lutnick · Elizabeth Warren · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-03-12EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin Announces Historic Rollback of 31 Pollution Rules 5 src
Lee Zeldin · Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Donald Trump · +1
confirmed
2025-03-12Justice Department Significantly Downsizes Public Corruption Investigation Unit 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Pam Bondi · Eric Adams
confirmed
2025-03-12Trump Raises Steel and Aluminum Tariffs to 25% on All Countries, Eliminating All Exemptions; EU and Canada Retaliate 5 src
Donald Trump · European Commission · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-03-11DHS Awards $200 Million Ad Contract to Republican Firms Without Full Competitive Bidding 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Kristi Noem
confirmed
2025-03-11SEC Revokes Staff's Investigative Authority, Requiring Direct Commissioner Approval 3 src
Donald Trump · Mark Uyeda
confirmed
2025-03-10Amazon pays $40 million for Melania documentary in apparent quid pro quo arrangement 3 src
Amazon · Jeff Bezos · Melania Trump · Donald Trump
confirmed
2025-03-10It's 'shoot first and ask questions later' as DOGE tries to dismantle CFPB: Official 7 src
Department of Government Efficiency · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · Donald Trump · Trump Administration · +1
confirmed
2025-03-10Legal Resistance Network Litigation Summit 3 src confirmed
2025-03-09Chinese Investors Secretly Invest Millions in Elon Musk's Private Companies 3 src
Elon Musk · SpaceX
confirmed
2025-03-08Trump's Justice Department fires head of organized crime drug task force 3 src
Donald Trump · Todd Blanche
confirmed
2025-03-07Crypto giant Tether CEO on cooperating with Trump administration: ‘We’ve never been shady’ 5 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-03-05Trump issues ethics waiver allowing crypto czar David Sacks to retain investments 4 src
David Sacks · White House · Elizabeth Warren · Craft Ventures · +1
confirmed
2025-03-04DAEO Ethics Waiver Abrogates Patel's One-Year Qatar Recusal 12 Days After FBI Confirmation 6 src
Kash Patel · Department of Justice · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Office of Government Ethics · +2
confirmed
2025-03-03Consumer watchdog payouts in limbo as agency is defanged by Trump administration 4 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Russell Vought
confirmed
2025-03-02Treasury announces suspension of Corporate Transparency Act enforcement against U.S. citizens and domestic reporting companies 6 src confirmed
2025-03-01Commerce Department changes broadband policies benefiting Starlink up to $20B 4 src
Howard Lutnick · U.S. Department of Commerce · Elon Musk · Starlink
confirmed
2025-03-01FAA approves 4,000 Starlink terminals worth $400 million 4 src
Federal Aviation Administration · Starlink · Tesla · State Department · +1
confirmed
2025-03-01Investigation Finds 58% of Accounts Supporting Far-Right Portuguese Parties Were Fake 3 src confirmed
2025-03-01Project 2025 Authors Fill Key Administration Positions 3 src
Brendan Carr · Tom Homan · Linda McMahon · Karoline Leavitt · +2
confirmed
2025-03-01SEC offers $50,000 buyouts to staff investigating Elon Musk 4 src
Securities and Exchange Commission · Elon Musk
confirmed
2025-02-28Trump Misses Transition Donor Disclosure Deadline, Declines Federal Funding 4 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Susie Wiles · General Services Administration
confirmed
2025-02-27CFPB Drops Major Lawsuits Against Capital One and Other Financial Firms 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Russell Vought
confirmed
2025-02-27SEC Declares Meme Coins Not Subject to Securities Regulations 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Securities and Exchange Commission
confirmed
2025-02-27US SEC, Tron founder Justin Sun explore resolution of civil fraud case 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Justin Sun · Securities and Exchange Commission
confirmed
2025-02-26Musk's DOGE leads systematic CFPB shutdown, raising regulatory conflict concerns 4 src
Donald Trump · Elon Musk · Russell Vought · Elizabeth Warren · +4
confirmed
2025-02-24SEC Closes Investigation into Robinhood Crypto Division Without Enforcement Action 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-02-21CFPB Drops Lawsuit Against Solo Funds, Signaling Regulatory Capture 3 src
Donald Trump · Russell Vought
confirmed
2025-02-21Coinbase says SEC intends to drop lawsuit against crypto exchange 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Securities and Exchange Commission
confirmed
2025-02-21DOGE put him in the Treasury Department. His company has federal contracts worth millions 5 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-02-21DOJ drops immigration discrimination case against SpaceX 4 src
Department of Justice · Elon Musk · SpaceX · Tesla
confirmed
2025-02-20Consensys SEC case dropped after $100,000 inauguration donation 5 src
Donald Trump · Securities and Exchange Commission
confirmed
2025-02-20Study Finds 50% Spike in Pregnancy-Related Sepsis and Deaths in Texas After Abortion Ban 3 src confirmed
2025-02-19SpaceX Engineers Onboarded to FAA During Mass Staff Firings 3 src
Donald Trump · Elon Musk · Sean Duffy
confirmed
2025-02-18Trump Administration Terminates Critical Privacy Officials at OPM, Blocking Public Information Access 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Elon Musk · Department of Government Efficiency
confirmed
2025-02-18Trump Signs Order to Claim Power Over Independent Agencies 4 src
Donald Trump · Federal Trade Commission · Securities and Exchange Commission · Federal Communications Commission · +2
confirmed
2025-02-15Attorney General Bondi Establishes 'Weaponization Working Group' to Target Prosecutors 3 src
Pam Bondi · Department of Justice · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-02-15Capital One CFPB case dropped after $1 million inauguration donation 6 src
Donald Trump · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
confirmed
2025-02-15CFPB ordered to close offices and cease all work 3 src
Russell Vought · Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-02-15Federal Courts Grapple with Unprecedented Emoluments Enforcement Challenge 3 src
U.S. Supreme Court · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-02-15Federal Judges Address Escalating Threats to Judicial Independence 3 src
John Roberts · Federal Judiciary · U.S. Supreme Court · U.S. Marshals Service
confirmed
2025-02-15Supreme Court Confronts Unprecedented National Guard Federalization Crisis 3 src
U.S. Supreme Court · Trump Administration · State Governors
confirmed
2025-02-15Trump Administration Systematically Removes DOJ Prosecutors 3 src
James McHenry · Jack Smith · Donald Trump · Department of Justice · +1
confirmed
2025-02-15Trump systematically fires federal officials investigating Elon Musk's companies 3 src
Donald Trump · Elon Musk
confirmed
2025-02-14DOE Resumes LNG Export Approvals: Commonwealth LNG First Permit, Five Major Facilities Approved by September 7 src
Chris Wright · Department of Energy
confirmed
2025-02-14DOJ Public Corruption Division Systematic Dismantling Coordinated Across Agencies 5 src
Emil Bove · Danielle Sassoon · Eric Adams · Dale Ho
confirmed
2025-02-14DOJ Public Integrity Section Gutted After Mass Resignations Over Adams Case 3 src
Department of Justice · Emil Bove · Eric Adams · Danielle Sassoon
confirmed
2025-02-14How Trump's Justice Department has Gutted the Government's Ability to Chase Public Corruption 4 src
Donald Trump · Pam Bondi · Todd Blanche · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-02-13How the Trumps Turned Social Media Platform Litigation into a Profitable Strategy 3 src
Donald Trump · Google · YouTube · Elon Musk · +3
confirmed
2025-02-13OPM Orders Mass Firing of Nearly 25,000 Probationary Federal Employees Across All Agencies 4 src
Office of Personnel Management · Donald Trump · DOGE · Department of Veterans Affairs · +3
confirmed
2025-02-13Seven SDNY Prosecutors Resign in 36 Hours Rather Than Drop Adams Corruption Charges: 'Thursday Afternoon Massacre' 6 src
Danielle Sassoon · Emil Bove · Eric Adams · Pam Bondi · +1
confirmed
2025-02-12DOJ Moves to Undermine Independence of Regulatory Agencies 4 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-02-12State Department Plans $400 Million Purchase of Tesla Cybertrucks 4 src
State Department · Tesla · Elon Musk
confirmed
2025-02-11Trump Administration Explores Consolidating Banking Regulators 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Office of the Comptroller of the Currency · Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
confirmed
2025-02-11Trump Administration Halts CFPB Operations, Freezing Consumer Protection Investigations 3 src
Donald Trump · Russell Vought · Elizabeth Warren
confirmed
2025-02-11Trump Administration Systematically Halts Regulatory Investigations into Musk's Business Empire 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Elon Musk
confirmed
2025-02-11White House will not release visitor logs during Trump's second term 4 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-02-10EPA Administrator Zeldin Plans 65% Workforce Cut While Terminating $20 Billion Climate Grants 3 src
Lee Zeldin · Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
confirmed
2025-02-07Trump Air Force nominee arranged satellite contract in manner that favored Musk's SpaceX 4 src
Elon Musk · SpaceX · National Reconnaissance Office · Donald Trump · +3
confirmed
2025-02-07Trump Purges Inspectors General Investigating Musk's Businesses 4 src
Donald Trump · Elon Musk · Robert Storch · Chuck Grassley · +2
confirmed
2025-02-06Attorney General Bondi Dramatically Narrows FARA Prosecutorial Scope 3 src
Pam Bondi · Donald Trump · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-02-06Trump Administration Disbands Task Force Targeting Russian Oligarchs 4 src
Pam Bondi · Department of Justice · Russian Oligarchs
confirmed
2025-02-05McMahon OGE Form 278e (Nominee) Certified, Disclosing TMTG Independent-Director Employment Agreements — 25,946 DJT RSUs, $55,200 Cash Retainer, $18,400/Quarter Forward 6 src
Linda McMahon · Office of Government Ethics · Trump Media & Technology Group · America First Policy Institute
confirmed
2025-02-0425-Year-Old Musk Aide Given Write Access to $6 Trillion Treasury Payment System 3 src
Elon Musk · Scott Bessent · Donald Trump · J.D. Vance
confirmed
2025-02-04Trump implements massive tariffs as concerns mount over market manipulation 4 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Senate Democrats · Chuck Schumer · +3
confirmed
2025-02-02Trump administration purges 8,000+ climate web pages from federal agencies 4 src
Trump Administration · Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) · NOAA · Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
confirmed
2025-02-01ALEC Publishes 'Essential Policy Solutions 2025' Playbook - State-Level Corporate and Income Tax Elimination Agenda, Coordination with Federal Project 2025 54 src
American Legislative Exchange Council · Lisa Nelson · Arthur Laffer · State Policy Network · +5
confirmed
2025-02-01Commerce Secretary Lutnick faces 106 conflicts of interest requiring recusal 3 src
Howard Lutnick · U.S. Department of Commerce · Cantor Fitzgerald
confirmed
2025-02-01DOJ and FBI gut public corruption enforcement teams 5 src
Pam Bondi · Kash Patel · Department of Justice · Federal Bureau of Investigation
confirmed
2025-02-01Energy Secretary Wright owns $54 million in fracking company stock 3 src
Chris Wright · Department of Energy
confirmed
2025-02-01Trump Announces 25% Tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Opening Salvo of Trade War; Canada Retaliates; 30-Day Pause After 3 Days 6 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-02-01Trump fires the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 3 src
Donald Trump · Rohit Chopra · Scott Bessent
confirmed
2025-02-01VA Secretary Doug Collins Announces 72,000 Job Cuts While Claiming "No Cuts to Benefits" 5 src
Doug Collins · Department of Veterans Affairs
confirmed
2025-01-31Federal Prosecutors Withdraw from Andy Ogles Criminal Investigation 4 src
Department of Justice
confirmed
2025-01-31Russian Oligarch Held SpaceX Stake While Under U.S. Sanctions 4 src
SpaceX · Elon Musk · Citigroup
confirmed
2025-01-30CBP Journalist Watchlist and Border Surveillance Program Documented 3 src
U.S. Customs and Border Protection · DHS (Department of Homeland Security) · Committee to Protect Journalists · Electronic Frontier Foundation
confirmed
2025-01-29DOJ moves to drop charges against former GOP lawmaker in case criticized by Trump 3 src
Donald Trump · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-01-27Palantir Veteran Gregory Barbaccia Named Federal CIO, Controls $100B+ IT Budget 5 src
Palantir Technologies · Peter Thiel · Office of Management and Budget · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-01-27Trump DOJ Fires Jack Smith Special Counsel Team in Systematic Purge 3 src
James McHenry · Jack Smith · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-01-26DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Secretly Received $80,000 Dark Money Cut While Governor 4 src
Kristi Noem · U.S. Department of Homeland Security
confirmed
2025-01-25DNI Tulsi Gabbard's Secret Assad Meeting and Russian Ties Alarm Intelligence Allies 5 src
Tulsi Gabbard · Russian Intelligence · Senate Republicans
confirmed
2025-01-24NSA Waltz Made $92 Million from Defense Contracting While Advocating Forever Wars 4 src
National Security Council
confirmed
2025-01-24Pete Hegseth confirmed as Defense Secretary in historic VP tiebreaker vote 3 src
Pete Hegseth · J.D. Vance · U.S. Senate · Mitch McConnell · +3
confirmed
2025-01-24Trump fires 18 Inspectors General in unprecedented purge of government watchdogs 7 src
Donald Trump · Robert Storch
confirmed
2025-01-23DOJ Expands Surveillance of Journalists Covering Administration 3 src
U.S. Department of Justice · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Journalists
confirmed
2025-01-23Interior Secretary Doug Burgum Signs Ethics Agreement to Divest Oil and Gas Interests 5 src
Doug Burgum · Department of Interior · Microsoft
confirmed
2025-01-23Supreme Court stays Fifth Circuit's nationwide injunction of Corporate Transparency Act in McHenry v. Texas Top Cop Shop (shadow-docket order) 6 src confirmed
2025-01-22Sacks Sells $74K Bitwise ETF Position One Day After Inauguration — 44 Days Before EO Designating Same Five Assets 7 src
David Sacks · Craft Ventures · Elizabeth Warren
confirmed
2025-01-21AG Pam Bondi Eliminates DOJ KleptoCapture Unit and Foreign Influence Task Force 3 src
Pam Bondi · Department of Justice · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-01-21Surveillance State Expansion: Constitutional Concerns and Section 702 Reauthorization 3 src
Intelligence Community · National Security Agency · Federal Bureau of Investigation · White House · +4
confirmed
2025-01-20Chief of Staff Susie Wiles Brings 42 Corporate Lobbying Clients into White House 3 src
Susie Wiles · Trump Administration
confirmed
2025-01-20Commerce Secretary Lutnick Maintains $600 Million Tether Stake Despite DOJ Investigation and Senate Scrutiny 5 src
Howard Lutnick · Cantor Fitzgerald · Department of Justice · U.S. Department of Commerce · +1
confirmed
2025-01-20Coordinated Federal Workforce Purge: Schedule F and DOJ Personnel Removal 4 src
Donald Trump · Office of Personnel Management · National Treasury Employees Union · American Federation of Government Employees
confirmed
2025-01-20Ed Coristine, 19, given access to critical government systems despite cybercrime links 3 src
Edward Coristine · Elon Musk · Department of Government Efficiency · State Department · +2
confirmed
2025-01-20HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Confirmed with Ongoing Vaccine Litigation Referral Fees 6 src
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services · National Institutes of Health (NIH) · Merck · +1
confirmed
2025-01-20Initial Rescissions order revokes 78 Biden-era executive orders 4 src
Donald Trump · White House
confirmed
2025-01-20J.D. Vance Inaugurated as 50th Vice President 3 src
J.D. Vance · Donald Trump · Peter Thiel · Republican Party
confirmed