As the Senate prepares to consider President-elect Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees, OpenSecrets is diving into their financial ties to Trump, other officials and candidates, and industries.

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Pete Hegseth to be secretary of defense, a choice that caught many in Washington off guard. Hegseth, 44, is a Fox News personality, author and Army National Guard veteran who deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. While he is celebrated for earning two Bronze Stars, Hegseth’s political and financial controversies have raised concerns ahead of his Senate confirmation.

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Pamela J. Bondi to lead the Department of Justice, just hours after his original pick, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), withdrew his name from consideration. Bondi, a corporate lobbyist and former two-term attorney general of Florida, is a longtime Trump loyalist who served on his first impeachment team. 

Harris Super PAC Leaders Profited From Spending Splurge (Sludge)

Trump Breaks Tradition By Redirecting Inaugural Swag Funds To His PAC (Forbes)

How Does the Citizens United Decision Still Affect Us in 2025? (Campaign Legal Center)

Trump Has Reeled in More Than $200 Million Since Election Day (The New York Times)

Why Regulating Alcohol Industry Is Tall Order Even After Surgeon General’s Cancer Warning (MarketWatch)

In 2023, total lobbying spending for the beer, wine, and liquor industry reached $29 million, roughly the same as the tobacco industry, according to research group OpenSecrets.

The Democrats and Republicans Best Positioned — Right Now — for 2028 (Politico)

According to data compiled by OpenSecrets, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the fourth biggest fundraiser among Democratic House candidates in the 2023-2024 cycle, eclipsed only by Hakeem Jeffries (House Minority Leader), Eugene Vindman (Trump administration whistleblower) and Adam Frisch (Coloradan who nearly knocked off far-right Rep. Lauren Boebert in 2022). Many presidential wannabes wish they had already built that much political infrastructure.

Here’s why business leaders are spending big on Trump’s inaugural committee (CNBC)

Trump’s inaugural committee presents a “unique opportunity,” said Brendan Glavin, director of research for the money-in-politics nonprofit OpenSecrets, in an interview.