LEVER WEEKLY: Secrets, Lies, And Audiotape

This is Lever Weekly, a recap of our work from the past week. If you only read one email from us all week, this should be it.

Here’s what The Lever published this week:

CEO Says Trump’s IRS Pick Promised Big Benefits. Recordings reveal a finance executive claiming he offered Trump’s IRS nominee, Billy Long, an inauguration ticket — and was promised tax benefits if confirmed.

Senators Probe Cash Funneled To Trump IRS Nominee. Citing The Lever’s reporting, top Senate Dems say “unusually timed contributions” to Trump’s stalled IRS nominee Billy Long “potentially violate federal bribery laws.”

Senators Turn To The Lever To Challenge Billy Long’s Nomination. Senators are challenging Trump’s IRS pick Billy Long, repeatedly citing The Lever’s reporting on his shady industry donors and plans to weaponize the IRS against his political enemies.

Trump’s Social Security Chief Just Scored A Mammoth Tax Break. Financial disclosures reveal that new Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano won an indefinite tax break on an estimated $484 million windfall.

The New War On State Regulators. After kneecapping and culling federal agencies, corporate interests have a coordinated plan to defang government protections, state by state.

Live And Let Dividend. Trump’s U.K. ambassador helped negotiate a trade deal that stands to benefit his investments.

Big Tech’s Big, Beautiful Bill. The tech industry is boldly asking the White House for favors — including provisions which ended up in Republicans’ budget bill.

A Crypto Giant Buried A Data Scandal Then Made It Too Late To Sue. Coinbase waited months to inform consumers it had sold their data to criminals while changing its terms of service to limit future class-action lawsuits.

The Endangered Species Act Is At Risk Of Extinction, Thanks To Trump. The Trump administration is seeking to gut the Endangered Species Act by redefining what it means to harm at-risk animals.

We’re Part Of The Zeitgeist. Taxes are having a moment for all the wrong reasons — we explain why.

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Not yet reading Lever Daily? You’re missing out on news like this:

👊 Shifting conversations and inspiring policy. Citing The Lever’s reporting, congressional Democrats are now pressing federal regulators to investigate how companies are using Trump’s tariffs to price-gouge consumers.

👴🏻 MAGA dominance, brought to you by aging Dems. The House just passed Republicans’ budget narrowly by a 215-to-214 vote — meaning Democrats could have blocked the bill from moving to the Senate if three of their voting members hadn’t died this session. That includes Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, who passed at 75 yesterday, just hours before the vote. He’s joined by Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, 77, and Rep. Sylvester Turner of Texas, 70. (Turner passed after succeeding longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died in office last year at 74.) Eight members of Congress have died in office since November 2022 — and all were Democrats. 

👍 Getting evicted is good for you. President Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget includes $26 billion in sweeping cuts to federal rental assistance programs that help keep the most vulnerable Americans housed. Federal housing funding would be slashed by 40 percent, while Section 8 and other public housing voucher programs would be essentially shuttered. But if you ask the administration, gutting their social welfare is actually helping poor Americans, because states’ rights. “The Budget empowers States by transforming the current Federal dysfunctional rental assistance programs into a State-based formula grant… allowing States to design their own rental assistance programs based on their unique needs,” the document reads.

✈️ Southwest flies free — but your bags won’t anymore. The Trump administration has dropped a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines after the Department of Transportation under President Biden sued the airline for $140 million — the highest fine in agency history — for purposely overscheduling flights that the company knew it would have to delay or cancel. This comes as the airline is canceling several customer-favorite promotions, most notably its famous free checked baggage policy, which ends on May 28.

Every week, our paid subscribers receive a newsletter full of policy wins, environmental victories, and social initiatives improving their lives. 

A taste of this week’s good news:

• It’s a sunny day on Sesame Street.
• More states hold Big Oil’s feet to the fire.
• The data center boom faces real pushback.
• A judge saves peacemakers.

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Why is This Happening? — Senior Podcast Producer Arjun Singh appeared on Chris Hayes’ podcast to discuss the Tax Revolt audio miniseries.

Democracy Now! — Singh joined Amy Goodman to explore the roots of Trump’s tax cuts.

Your Call — News Editor Lucy Dean Stockton joined the Bay Area public radio program to discuss the budget reconciliation bill. 

Project on Government Oversight — The watchdog group reported on a new Senate probe of Trump’s IRS chief nominee, inspired by The Lever’s reporting.

Washingtonian — The D.C.-focused outlet highlighted our revelations on audio recordings incriminating Trump nominee Billy Long.

• The Missouri Independent also referenced our discovery of the recordings.

Common Dreams — The independent news outlet covered our reporting on tariff price-gouging and the resulting Senate investigation into the matter.

• The outlet also called out our report on how the new federal budget aims to limit state-level AI regulation.

Benzinga — The financial news outlet reported on our story exposing how Trump’s Social Security chief scored a mammoth tax break.

Financial Fortune — The outlet called attention to our reporting on how Trump’s U.K. ambassador helped negotiate a trade deal that could benefit his investments.   

The New Republic — The magazine highlighted our breaking story on Trump tapping funds for at-risk refugees to resettle white South Africans in the United States. 

The Guardian — The newspaper called out our investigation into workers overheating and dying under the watch of Trump’s pick for workplace safety.