Donald Trump is spending a special amount of time with a special kind of donor: Those who gave oodles of money to him and the GOP represent more than a third of his 200-some meetings since being elected. And many of them are interviewing for jobs. Isaac Arnsdorf writes:
Together the 73 donors contributed $1.7 million to Trump and groups supporting him, according to a POLITICO analysis of Federal Election Commission records, and $57.3 million to the rest of the party, averaging more than $800,000 per donor.
Donors also represent 39 percent of the 119 people Trump reportedly considered for high-level government posts, and 38 percent of those he eventually picked, according to the analysis, which counted candidates named by the transition and in news reports.
While campaign donors are often tapped to fill comfy diplomatic posts across the globe, the extent to which donors are stocking Trump’s administration is unparalleled in modern presidential history, due in part to the Supreme Court decisions that loosened restrictions on campaign contributions, according to three longtime campaign experts.
Remember how Trump "self-funded" his campaign and wouldn't be beholden to anyone?
“I'm turning down so much money,” Trump said. “But if [someone] put it up, I’d feel obligated, because I’m a loyal person.”
Many someones did put it up, and they're turning his administration into a plutocracy. Fully six of his cabinet positions are filled with top donors—more than "any recent White House," according to Politico.
If you want to swim in Trump's swamp, pay-to-play is the surest way to get there.