[link removed] [[link removed]] AUGUST 14, 2025
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Trump’s political operation is sitting on nearly $240 million
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President Donald Trump may not be eligible to seek another term, but his political organizations spent the first half of 2025 refilling their coffers with the midterm elections looming, reports Brendan Glavin .
OpenSecrets’ analysis of federal financial disclosure reports show Trump-affiliated political organizations are sitting on $237.3 million that can be spent on future elections. The vast majority of the money — $196.1 million — is held by MAGA, Inc., a new super PAC formed this year to support Trump and his agenda. Make America Great Again, Inc, the super PAC that supported Trump’s 2024 campaign, transferred [[link removed]] its remaining funds, $10.6 million, to MAGA, Inc. and was shut down.
Table showing the top lobbying firms of the second quarter of 2025 [[link removed]]
Never Surrender [[link removed]] , previously Trump’s 2024 campaign committee, was converted into a political action committee immediately after the election. It spent $471.5 million in 2024 and now has $38.5 million on hand. It can donate that money directly to candidates and other PACs, including to super PACs.
Save America [[link removed]] PAC has been Trump's primary mechanism for funding his long-running legal battles. This ramped up particularly in the 2024 cycle as Trump's legal costs skyrocketed. Reviews of Save America’s Federal Election Commission filings show that it spent at least $82 million on legal fees in 2023-24. In the first six months of 2025, it spent $4 million on legal costs.
The top donors to MAGA Inc. include:
* Jeff Yass, the billionaire founder of the trading firm Susquehanna International Group, who donated $16 million.
* Tech billionaire Elon Musk, the single biggest donor during the 2024 election, who has given $5 million this year. Musk has had an on-again/off-again relationship with Trump since leaving his role as special government employee earlier this year.
* Securing American Greatness [[link removed]] , a dark money group that supported Trump in 2024 [[link removed]] , which contributed $13.8 million.
* Energy Transfer LP [[link removed]] , which donated $12.5 million. Its chairman and co-founder, Kelcy Warren, gave $12.5 million himself.
Table showing the top contributors to MAGA Inc. [[link removed]]
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Fifteen years after Citizens United, the Montana Plan poses the latest challenge to dark money
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Voters in Montana will have the opportunity this fall to ban corporate political spending and dark money in federal, state and local elections. The proposal takes direct aim at the landmark Citizens United ruling that opened the door to unlimited corporate involvement in elections and a flood of undisclosed political contributions, Natalie Jonas reports .
The so-called Montana Plan, designed by the Transparent Election Initiative, opposes the ability of “artificial” entities to spend on politics. It would ban corporations from “spend[ing] money or anything of value on elections or ballot issues,” according to the TEI’s ballot statement [[link removed]] . The proposed amendment to the state Constitution was filed with the Montana Secretary of State’s office on Aug. 1. If the amendment passes review and signature gathering early next year, it is expected to appear on the ballot in 2026 and potentially take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
If passed by a simple majority vote in the state, the Montana Plan would prohibit companies from using money to influence politics by targeting Montana’s corporate chartering authority, to revoke limited liability or tax advantages “if an entity oversteps its authority” by trying to use monetary influence to sway politics in the state, according to TEI.
The Montana Plan would also fully ban dark money from state politics by disallowing 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporations from funneling donations from anonymous donors.
“We can’t overrule the Supreme Court, but we can change the law to say exactly which powers we do mean to hand out, and make sure that political spending isn’t one of them,” TEI noted in its Montana Constitutional Initiative [[link removed]] .
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What else we're reading
DNC chair takes steps to restrict corporate and dark money in 2028 primaries [[link removed]] (CNN )
Tariff lobbying shows little success [[link removed]] (Politico)
Donor List Suggests Scale of Trump’s Pay-for-Access Operation [[link removed]] (The New York Times)
House Dem Kept His Bitcoin-Linked Stock Position Secret While Helping to Pass Key Crypto Bills [[link removed]] (Sludge)
OpenSecrets in the News
See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:
Sherrod Brown Plans to Try for a Senate Comeback in Ohio [[link removed]] (The New York Times)
He lost a re-election bid in 2024 as Ohio continued to turn increasingly Republican. Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican, won 50 percent of the vote to Mr. Brown’s 46.5 percent. That race was the most expensive Senate contest in the nation last year, with more than $451 million spent by candidates and outside groups, according to OpenSecrets.
Harrison Butker’s PAC is low on cash. But so far, none has gone to candidates [[link removed]] (The Kansas City Star)
Butker’s PAC operates as a “hybrid PAC” or “Carey committee,” meaning that it may raise limited amounts of money for political campaigns and committees or raise unlimited amounts of money to promote candidates as long as the money doesn’t directly go to the candidate, according to OpenSecrets, which first reported the PAC’s most recent report.
Killer robots, China and Peter Thiel: Ted Cruz’s campaign to keep government out of AI [[link removed]] (Houston Chronicle)
Thiel doesn’t appear to have donated money to Cruz in the years since, at least not directly. Brendan Glavin, director of insights at the watchdog group OpenSecrets, said Thiel has “an ideological agenda that’s not strictly motivated by financial or business concerns.”
Mike Johnson Brings Palantir CEO To Exclusive GOP Donor Retreat [[link removed]] (The Daily Caller)
Palantir has already spent $3 million on lobbying in 2025, according to data from OpenSecrets. The tech giant recently announced a $10 billion contract with the U.S. Army to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and manage the military branch’s databases
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The OpenSecrets merch store is here!
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We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the OpenSecrets Merch Store [[link removed]] ! Now, you can support our mission while looking good doing it. Every purchase helps us provide comprehensive and reliable data, analysis and tools for policymakers, storytellers and citizens.
Our collection — initially featuring a hoodie, crewneck, t-shirt and hat — is designed to spread awareness and make a difference. Whether you're treating yourself or finding the perfect gift, every item you buy helps fuel our cause. And every item in our store was manufactured by a certified ethical and “sweat-free” company.
Join us in wearing your support — transparency has never been more comfortable!
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