President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee failed to report a $1 million in-kind donation from Elon Musk’s X Corp. in its original Federal Election Commission filing, and in multiple amendments. Six months later, a wave of new disclosures reveal the gift and show Musk’s money still flowing into politics, even as his alliance with Trump grows more strained.

What’s New

A Jan. 15 in-kind contribution from X Corp., the social media company previously known as Twitter and owned by Musk, never appeared in any of the Trump inaugural committee’s original disclosure or in multiple amendments.

The donation only appeared in a supplemental FEC filing on July 18 — just days before a key federal lobbying deadline when lobbyists are legally required to report political contributions from their clients.

On July 30, a new lobbying disclosure filed by X Corp. confirmed the $1 million contribution.

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More Musk Money

Despite announcing plans to step back from political spending in May, new campaign finance reports filed July 31 reveal Musk kept making political contributions into at least June — even as his tension with Trump escalated.

Musk gave $45 million to his own pro-Trump super PAC, America PAC, with contributions into at least late June.

But Musk didn’t just give to his own super PAC.

Despite a dramatic falling out with Trump after his departure from DOGE, Musk gave $5 million to Trump’s main super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., on June 27, according to new FEC filings first reported by Politico.

That same day, Musk poured another $10 million to the main super PACs backing House and Senate Republicans — with $5 million of that to Congressional Leadership Fund, which is aligned with House Republican leadership, and another $5 million to the allied Senate Leadership Fund.

Musk’s multimillion-dollar contributions made him the largest individual donor to both super PACs allied with congressional leadership during the first six months of 2025.

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The Inauguration’s Hidden Financiers

Musk’s contribution is just one example of how millions flowed into Trump’s inauguration with little transparency.

Other examples include:

• The Tang Family Trust gave $2 million, making it one of the inauguration's top 10 donors.

  • The trust has little public-facing presence, but the listed address matches the Beverly Hills home of Donald Wei Tang — CEO of fast fashion giant Shein, which has clashed with the Trump administration over tariffs and other issues.

• Quantum Legal Consulting LLC, which gave $1 million, is linked to Blackwater founder Erik Prince.

  • The limited liability company has little paper trail but incorporation records show it changed names just weeks before the contribution, and again after (more from me for the Brennan Center).

• A $1 million donation originally attributed to Wipfli LLP was quietly changed to Palantir CEO Alexander Karp, a change in one of the inauguration’s amendments first spotted by Issue One’s Michael Beckel.

  • Since the inauguration, Karp has more openly embraced political giving — pouring more than $1.3 million into federal political committees in the first six months alone, according to new campaign finance reports first flagged by New York Times’ Teddy Schleifer.

• Amazon’s lobbying disclosures revealed an extra $888,893.52 contribution to Trump’s inauguration that hasn’t appeared in any inaugural report (first reported by Dave Levinthal in NOTUS).

  • Similarly Microsoft reported donating $1 million but the inaugural committee has only acknowledged $750,000.

These gaps highlight how tens of millions flowed into Trump’s inauguration with limited transparency — and contributions went entirely unreported for several months.

What to Watch

🗓️ More undisclosed donors? Trump’s inaugural committee quietly amended its disclosures yet again on July 31.

📅 A major FEC deadline. Super PACs and political committees reported six months of fundraising and spending on July 31. I’m digging in to see what the filings reveal… and what they don’t.

🧭 Musk isn’t done. Even after stepping back publicly, his money is still moving — and could reshape the 2026 midterms.

📬 Did this help connect the dots? Share it with someone who follows political money, campaign finance, or corporate influence.

👉 Subscribe to Influence Brief to support original investigative reporting and get early access to each Flash Brief before it makes the news.

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Today’s White House meeting between President Donald Trump and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele isn’t just another international handshake — it’s the capstone of a multi-million-dollar foreign lobbying blitz aimed at building deep ties with Trumpworld and reshaping U.S. policy toward El Salvador. This meeting was years in the making—and it didn’t come cheap.

Bukele has attracted criticism from a range of civil society organizations and rights groups over claims of various abuses, extrajudicial killings, and the alleged detainment of thousands of people without due process as part of a sweeping anti-gang crackdown.

Bukele denies the mounting human rights abuse allegations, and he has gotten a boost from individuals in Trump’s inner circle.1

So how did the self-described "world's coolest dictator” win over so many in the MAGA movement and Trump’s inner circle? The answer may lie in lobbying.

Bukele’s $1.5M Backchannel: Damian Mathías Merlo Denebardi, a Bukele advisor who was a key architect of El Salvador’s strategy to attract the Make America Great Again movement in the United States, registered with the U.S. Justice Department as foreign agent of El Salvador’s government in January 2022.

• Since the start of 2022, the Office of the President of El Salvador paid Merlo’s firm about $1.5 million for lobbying and influence operations targeting the U.S., an analysis of Foreign Agents Registration Act filings shows.

• With strategic MAGA outreach and high-profile backchanneling, Bukele has turned a controversial strongman into “one of the biggest right-wing icons in the world,” per the Wall Street Journal — all while dodging growing human rights allegations and media scrutiny.

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Courting Trumpworld: FARA records detail the role of Merlo’s firm Bukele courting a growing number of Trump allies, U.S. officials, and media figures.

• Merlo’s lobbying and influence campaign has involved direct outreach to Trump-aligned members of Congress — including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado), and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).

• Gaetz founded the El Salvador Caucus that launched in 2024, alongside co-chair, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas). Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), another member of Congress who met with Merlo, became the caucus chair upon Gaetz’s departure.

• Several U.S. political figures — including Gaetz, Donald Trump Jr.,and conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson — attended Bukele’s lavish inauguration ceremony at the Salvadoran National Palace last year as part of an “unofficial MAGA delegation.”

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Bipartisan Buy-In: Gonzalez and another Democrat, Rep. Lou Correa (D-California), also attended Bukele’s inauguration last year and has had multiple contacts with Merlo’s firm.

• As top Democrat on the House Border Security and Enforcement Subcommittee, Correa has notably broken with his party on some issues, aligning himself with Bukele on immigration and anti-gang measures.

Crypto Connections: Trump and Bukele share a love for cryptocurrency, attracting buzz among crypto proponents ahead of the White House meeting, though the two leaders did not publicly discuss the issue.

• In March, Trump signed an executive order to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

• In 2021, Bukele went a step further by making El Salvador the first country in the world to introduce Bitcoin as legal tender.

• Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin, also has a history of paying Merlo for lobbying through his corporate consulting firm.

Setting the Scene: Bukele’s White House meeting with Trump comes as the U.S. ramps up its deportations to the Central American nation.

• Bukele’s strategies have been seen as key in managing Central American migration, with U.S. lawmakers increasingly viewing him as a partner.

• The Trump administration has sent hundreds of migrants to the Salvadorian Center for Terrorism Confinement mega-prison.

• At the White House, Bukele claimed he can't return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a deported Maryland resident and Salvadorian national accused of being a member of MS-13.

• The U.S. Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return but Attorney General Pam Bondi countered that El Salvador must facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return, clarifying that the country would need to “provide a plane."

Soft Power, Hard Cash: What’s playing out with Bukele is bigger than El Salvador – it’s a test case for how political branding, lobbying, and identity politics are transforming foreign relations.

• Embassies and press releases are just the start of the story. Today, foreign governments can effectively buy high-level access, shape partisan narratives, and shift U.S. policy through backchannels and six-figure contracts.

• This kind of foreign influence operation is not only legal, it’s increasingly common and largely unchecked under the new administration — raising questions about how foreign operatives are shaping U.S. politics behind the scenes.

Want to Learn More or Cross-Publish?

I’m available for interviews and would be happy to discuss the insights shared in this article. If you’re interested in collaborating or cross-publishing, please reach out.

Let’s keep the conversation going.

For years, I’ve had the honor of working with a team of dedicated colleagues to shine a light on the forces wielding financial power to shape our political system. I’m immensely proud of what we accomplished at OpenSecrets.

But integrity and accountability aren’t mere professional ideals to me — they’re at the core of who I am. They guide my work and the impact I want to have. Staying true to these values sometimes means taking bold steps, no matter how hard and no matter how scary. That’s why I’ve made the tough but necessary decision to move on from my role at OpenSecrets and carve out a new path.

What’s Next?

As I step into this next chapter as an independent expert and freelance investigative journalist, my commitment to uncovering the truth remains unwavering.

I’m excited to announce that I’m already working with the Sunlight Research Center as Director of Investigations. In this capacity, I’ll be working alongside an incredible team to equip journalists across the country with research support and advanced training, empowering them to elevate their investigations into political influence, corruption and other topics that are important to their local audiences.

I also have some really exciting projects in the works with other organizations that I hold in the highest regard, tackling some of the most pressing issues in transparency and accountability.

These projects are only the beginning.

The investigations I lead — and the work I support — will continue to expose the powerful interests seeking to influence our political system. Whether through political donations, lobbying, digital media, or other more opaque channels, my goal is to uncover the hidden power structures that often go unnoticed.

But I’m going beyond just crunching numbers.

I’ll be diving even deeper into the powerful forces shaping our political processes and trying to sway our opinions from the shadows, as well as the systems that allow corruption, power manipulation, and hidden influence to thrive.

Every investigation will be grounded in rigorous, fact-based analysis. I’m committed to finding answers to the tough questions and providing access to authenticated information to help you to make informed, meaningful decisions.

Introducing Influence Brief

To that end, I’m thrilled to announce that I am launching Influence Brief, a newsletter dedicated to providing research-driven investigations and breaking news on key levers of political influence.

Starting in the new year, Influence Brief will deliver research-driven insights, guides, and deep dives into the issues that impact the core of responsive governance. Influence Brief is more than a traditional political newsletter —- I hope to build a go-to resource for understanding and exposing the most important stories in political influence, corruption, and power across the political spectrum.

Influence Brief will go beyond just data and numbers, offering:

• In-depth, data-driven analysis on political donations, lobbying, and campaign finances, breaking down complex data into understandable and actionable insights.

• Exclusive investigative reports that uncover corruption, hidden money flows, and influence operations that often escape public scrutiny.

• Real-time updates on lobbying, digital ad spending, and the organizations and individuals shaping policy decisions.

• Expert commentary on how these financial forces impact elections, governance, and public policy.

• Interactive content and opportunities for engagement, enabling subscribers to dive deeper into the issues and participate in discussions that matter.

• Tools, tips, resources, and training for journalists, policymakers, advocates, academics, independent researchers and anyone else who is interested in seeking to understand campaign finance, political influence, and accountability journalism.

Above all, my goal is to build a home for in-depth, fact-based insights you need to make informed decisions in an increasingly complex political environment.

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Transparency has never been more critical. But in a world inundated with deceptive and manipulated content, it’s harder than ever to tell fact from fiction.

That’s why Influence Brief goes beyond just reporting — it ensures the information you receive is reliable, accurate, and rigorously verified.

Without conscientious and thorough vetting, even well-intentioned efforts to increase transparency can inadvertently fuel conspiracy theories or spread distrust. Lack of proper safeguards to ensure quality and accuracy of data or other information can have far-reaching real life consequences, potentially eroding trust in institutions rather than strengthening it.

That’s why Influence Brief isn’t just about breaking news — it’s about ensuring that the information you receive is the full, accurate story. Whether you’re a journalist, advocate, researcher, or just someone who cares deeply about the truth, subscribing to Influence Brief gives you access to trusted, in-depth analysis that uncovers the hidden forces behind power and influence — and gives you the tools to do so yourself.

Influence Brief will help you stay ahead of the curve when it comes to understanding the complex forces at play in our political system by providing access to fact-based analysis. Above all, my goal is to create a hub for in-depth, fact-based insights that empower you to navigate the complexities of today’s political and information landscape.

I won’t just provide the latest scoop, I’ll walk you through the process of verifying the facts. And if you’re a journalist working on a story, segment, or investigation of your own, please don’t hesitate to reach out for data, insights, on commentary on political influence and government accountability as well.

The Road Ahead

I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported me on this journey. Leaving OpenSecrets hasn’t been easy, but I’m heartened by the opportunities ahead.

This is a moment to build something new, something impactful — and I’d love for you to be part of it.

If this interests you or you just want to follow along, please consider subscribing to Influence Brief to stay updated on my latest work as well as new training tools and other opportunities.

By subscribing, you’re not just helping my work continue — you’ll gain access to the expert analysis, cutting-edge investigation, and resources to help you navigate the complexities of political influence, election integrity, government accountability, and financial transparency.

Whether you’ve been following my work for years or are just discovering it, I’m excited to see what we can build together in this next chapter.

The best is yet to come.