A new watchdog report warns that the Trump administration is "going soft" on corporations that break the law by moving to pause or drop investigations of companies accused of foreign bribery, safety violations, unfair labor practices and environmental crimes.
The changes in enforcement across a handful of agencies come as President Trump has sought to align the federal government to his priorities, including pursuing border and national security interests, for example, above other areas.
In a little more than a month, the new administration has halted or tried to dismiss cases or investigations against at least 89 companies, according to a report by the nonprofit group Public Citizen obtained exclusively by NPR. That's a quarter of the prominent investigations and enforcement the group was tracking at the end of the Biden administration.
"Trump is handing 'get out of jail free' cards to corporate lawbreakers," said Rick Claypool, research director at Public Citizen. "The consequences for the public when corporations face a diminished threat of enforcement are disastrous."
New officials in place at the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have acted swiftly to change priorities.
"The Department of Justice remains committed to vigorously enforcing federal law and holding criminals accountable," a spokesperson there said in a written statement to NPR.
Last month, the president signed an executive order pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, asserting the post-Watergate law that forbids American businesses from bribing foreign officials gets in the way of U.S. national security interests.
In another sweeping move, the new SEC is moving away from policing cryptocurrency businesses. Just on Monday, Kraken, a large cryptocurrency exchange, said the SEC, without any penalties, had agreed in principle to abandon a case that accused it of acting as an unregistered securities exchange.
"We appreciate the new leadership both at the White House and the Commission that led to this change," Kraken said in a statement online.
Last week, the administration agreed to dismiss a case against Coinbase, another crypto exchange that had spent millions of dollars on political donations during the 2024 election cycle.
Past cases labeled as "weaponization"
Trump has cast crypto businesses as victims of the "weaponization" of the government due to the previous administration's cases against them.
Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget and now acting director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, used similar rhetoric recently, writing, "More to come but the weaponization of 'consumer protection' must end," when the administration moved to dismiss a case against SoLo Funds.
SoLo is an online lender that had been accused of lying to consumers and deceiving them into paying high fees. A news release when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau brought the case last year is no longer available online.
SoLo said it was pleased the agency had agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it could not be filed again.
Claypool, of Public Citizen, said, "Punishing corporations for violating the law isn't 'weaponization' — it's how agencies protect the public from rip-offs, pollution, illegal firings and workplace retaliation and the full range of dangers that stem from corporate greed."
Public Citizen also is paying close attention to companies with ties to Trump's inner circle, especially Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX. Musk is attempting to overhaul the federal civil service, sometimes blurring the line between his roles in government and business.
Tuesday's report comes on the heels of a series of actions by Trump's Justice Department in cases involving people close to Trump or loyal to his top priorities. Veteran prosecutors said the department seems to be cutting a break to those defendants.
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