First published 2018
David Cay Johnston has tracked Donald Trump since 1988. Now he reveals how the Trump administration systematically dismantled government institutions from within. Johnston shows how cabinet appointments contradicted campaign promises. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin brought Wall Street expertise from Goldman Sachs and foreclosure profits. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos prioritized banking interests over student debt relief. EPA head Scott Pruitt secretly met with industry executives to identify environmental regulations for elimination. Johnston documents how Trump's border wall funding shifted costs to American consumers through Mexican import tariffs. He traces conflicts of interest as Trump properties became taxpayer-funded venues for official business. The Trump International Hotel emerged as the preferred location for those seeking administration access. Johnston argues that rather than draining the swamp, Trump filled his cabinet with millionaires and billionaires who served corporate interests over public welfare.
Genres: political-science, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: abuse-of-power, corruption
Setting: United States, Trump International Hotel
Period: 2010s
320 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster