🔥 What’s Happening This Week as We Resist Trump and Republican Fuckery
Follow the money. Follow the power. Demand the receipts.
This week’s reporting raises serious questions about how public money, federal law enforcement, and presidential influence are being used under the Trump administration.
A politically connected defense company is receiving billions in federal support. Investigative reporting describes pressure on FBI personnel to pursue election-related allegations. And taxpayer-funded advertisements promoting Trump have prompted scrutiny of government spending and campaign-related messaging.
These are different stories, but they raise a common question: Are public institutions serving the American people, or are political relationships shaping decisions that should be governed by law, evidence, and the public interest?
Here is what the records and reporting show, what remains disputed, and what deserves closer examination.
💰 Billions for a Defense Company With Powerful Political Connections
On October 6, Trump announced a $6.6 billion shipbuilding initiative in Sparrows Point, Maryland, involving Anduril Industries, a defense technology company founded by major Republican donor Palmer Luckey.
The proposed project includes $2.9 billion in Navy funding and $3.7 billion in private investment, raising questions about how taxpayer dollars will be allocated and protected. The Guardian
Luckey has contributed millions to Republican causes and hosted fundraisers for Republican politicians, including Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also recently appointed Luckey as an adviser to a Pentagon initiative examining future warfare.
Trump described Luckey as a personal friend during the announcement.
The planned facility would manufacture submarine components, including parts for Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines. Anduril says production is not expected to begin until 2030.
Trump also claimed taxpayers would receive a 40% stake in the shipyard, but the precise ownership arrangement remains unclear.
The accountability check: Political contributions and government contracts do not, by themselves, establish corruption. But billions in public commitments warrant transparent procurement records, independent oversight, clear ownership disclosures, and measurable performance requirements.
Who determined the federal funding structure? How will taxpayers’ interests be protected? What safeguards address potential conflicts involving donors who also advise the Pentagon?
When public resources support private industry, the public deserves the receipts.
🗳️ Is the FBI Being Redirected Toward Trump’s Election Claims?
An October investigation raises serious questions about potential political pressure on the FBI, including concerns expressed by current and former federal law enforcement personnel about Director Kash Patel’s handling of election-related investigations. The Atlantic
Based on interviews with more than 40 people, the reporting describes White House interest in investigations involving the 2020 election, pressure to revisit allegations, and the reassignment of personnel to election-related work.
One reported effort involved approximately 260 FBI employees assigned to review Fulton County, Georgia, voting records. People familiar with that work told the publication it produced no substantive findings.
The FBI disputes the characterization of its work. Officials maintain that election security is a legitimate national security priority and that investigations follow authorized procedures. The White House denies directing charging decisions.
There is an important distinction between investigating credible election crimes and pursuing claims without sufficient evidence. The former protects democratic institutions. The latter raises questions about resource allocation and institutional independence.
The accountability check: What evidence justified these investigations? How much staff time and taxpayer money have been committed? Were ordinary investigative standards followed? Were employees subjected to improper pressure?
Those questions deserve documented answers, not assumptions about guilt or innocence.
📺 Taxpayer-Funded Trump Ads Spark Questions About Public Spending
Federal money used for advertisements promoting Trump’s administration is now receiving scrutiny from lawmakers and government ethics advocates.
The government reportedly spent at least $10 million airing the advertisements. Critics questioned whether the messaging crossed the line between legitimate public communication and political promotion.
Public Citizen has also challenged broadcasters’ decisions to air the advertisements and raised questions about applicable political advertising requirements. Democracy Now
The White House has defended the advertisements as government communications, and Trump has said that similar promotional messages have been used by previous presidents.
The proposed shift to privately funded advertising does not, by itself, resolve questions about spending that has already occurred.
The accountability check: Which agency authorized the advertisements? What appropriations supported them? Did federal officials obtain legal and ethics reviews? Will any public funds be reimbursed?
A government can inform people about its work. Whether these particular advertisements met legal spending requirements remains a question for oversight and appropriate review.
Taxpayer money must be accounted for, regardless of which political party controls the White House.
💚 Good News Worth Carrying With You
A Federal Court Stops Border Construction in Big Bend
On October 2, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone issued a preliminary injunction halting border barrier and related construction in Texas’s Big Bend region.
Conservation advocates and local residents challenged federal waivers of environmental protections that had allowed border construction to move forward in Texas’s Big Bend region, raising concerns about the potential harm to protected landscapes, wildlife, and surrounding communities. Inside Climate News
The court found sufficient grounds for preliminary relief while the lawsuit continues.
Why this matters: The injunction shows that communities can use the courts to challenge federal actions and obtain meaningful review before further potentially irreversible harm occurs.
It is not a final ruling resolving every issue in the case. But it demonstrates that judicial oversight remains an important check on executive authority.
🔍 Our Government. Our Right to Know. We Have The Power to Demand Answers.
Accountability begins with evidence.
Public contracts should disclose who receives taxpayer money, how recipients were selected, what they promised to deliver, and what protections exist against conflicts of interest.
Federal law enforcement must remain accountable to legal standards, documented evidence, and constitutional protections, regardless of political pressure.
Government advertising should be subject to the same financial transparency and legal scrutiny regardless of which administration is spending the money.
The questions are straightforward: Who authorized the decision? Who benefits? Who pays? Where are the records? And who is responsible for independent oversight?
👀 What We’re Watching
Defense contracting: Whether additional agreements explain the government’s financial stake in the Anduril shipyard, procurement terms, performance milestones, and oversight safeguards.
FBI independence: Whether congressional oversight or further reporting clarifies the scope, costs, legal basis, and leadership direction of election-related investigations.
Government advertising: Whether lawmakers, watchdogs, or relevant agencies obtain expenditure records and determine if existing federal advertising requirements were followed.
Big Bend litigation: Whether the injunction remains in effect and how the broader constitutional and environmental claims proceed.
📣 Take Action This Week
📞 Take Action» Find your representative and request congressional oversight
Ask for transparent reporting on federal defense spending, safeguards for independent law enforcement, and review of taxpayer-funded government advertising.
📋 Take Action» Find your senators and congressional contacts
Request clear answers about federal contracts, expenditure records, and the standards governing investigations involving elections.
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📢 Check out A Complete Guide: No Kings Vote Early - October 17, 2026
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❤️ One Thing to Carry With You
Public service is a duty, not a personal entitlement.
Every taxpayer dollar comes from someone’s hard work. Every public institution exists because the people entrusted it with authority. Every constitutional protection belongs to all of us, not to whichever administration happens to hold power at the moment.
That is why transparency matters. That is why evidence matters. And that is why independent oversight matters.
We do not have to assume wrongdoing to demand answers. We do not have to give up our freedoms to insist that government follow the law.
Keep asking questions. Keep examining the records. Keep showing up.
Power belongs to the people, and accountability belongs in every corner of government.
Freedom over fascism. Power to the people.
Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United
This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our rights, freedoms, rule of law, and democracy. Millions of Americans are already refusing to back down — in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.
The future is not lost. It is being built — by us, right now.