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The Intercept
10-07-2025
- Business
- The Intercept
The Private Prison Industry Looks Forward to Soaring Profits Thanks to Trump's Budget
The private prison industry saw its influence wane under Joe Biden, but it remains dominant in the business of immigration detention. So when President Donald Trump signed the so-called 'Big, Beautiful Bill' on July 4, dedicating $45 billion to immigration detention with a goal to double or triple the population behind bars, it was a huge payoff. The victory was in the works for years. A private prison company handed consulting and lobbying gigs to Trump's allies, its political action committee was the first to max out its donation to Trump, and industry executives had already made plans to reopen shuttered prisons — laying the groundwork for what they promised investors would be an incarceration bonanza. In the 2024 election cycle, employees and PACs affiliated with the publicly traded industry behemoths GEO Group and CoreCivic contributed overwhelmingly to Republicans and Trump. Republicans received 92 percent of $3.7 million in contributions affiliated with GEO Group and 96 percent of the $785,000 in contributions affiliated with CoreCivic, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research group that tracks official disclosures. When Trump won, the two companies gave $500,000 each to his inaugural committee. 'The private prison corporations were keenly aware of the implications of the then-Trump campaign's platform for mass deportations.' Even though the industry kept profiting from the Biden administration — despite a supposed ban on private prisons — one advocate said it was clear to her why companies went all-in on Trump. 'The private prison corporations were keenly aware of the implications of the then-Trump campaign's platform for mass deportations,' said Eunice Hyunhye Cho, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project. 'There is no doubt that these private prison companies were keenly aware of the potential profits to be made under such a scheme.' Before the federal budget bill passed, private prison executives on earnings calls with investors were exultant about their upcoming business opportunities under the law — and held regular meetings with the Trump administration to pitch new plans on how to lock people up. Now, the White House hopes to get the bill's funding out the door quickly, in order to expand the middle part of a deportation pipeline that stretches from arrests at Home Depots to flights abroad. In a statement, the White House rejected the idea that the budget bill or any of Trump's immigration policies were shaped by industry. 'The only people who influence the President's decision-making are the American people. But leave it to the Fake News Intercept to pathetically and desperately try to attack agenda that the American people voted for – deportations of criminal illegal aliens,' Abigail Jackson, an administration spokesperson, wrote in an email. Days after his inauguration in 2021, Biden made a splash by announcing that the federal Bureau of Prisons, or BOP, would no longer house incarcerated people in private prisons. The supposed ban only affected a few thousand of the BOP's roughly 150,000-person population, and the private prison companies soon managed to find workarounds. More importantly, Biden's order did not touch the much larger number of people held in immigration detention, which is reserved mostly for people accused of committing civil violations such as illegal presence in the U.S. Three years into Biden's administration, about 90 percent of people in immigration detention were housed in private facilities. There were about 40,000 people in immigration detention by the end of his term. Many were detained in facilities owned or operated by CoreCivic and GEO Group. Both companies also have subsidiaries profiting off other parts of the immigration system, ranging from an electronic monitoring company GEO Group bought in 2010 to a transportation company owned by CoreCivic. Although they continued doing business with the Biden administration, private prison companies bristled at his at his attitude toward the industry. In addition to the millions in campaign cash the private prison industry funneled to Trump and Republicans, there were jobs for major figures in Trump's orbit. Tom Homan, the former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had a consulting gig with GEO Group that was only made public this year. Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, picked up work as a lobbyist for the company in 2019, shortly before she joined Trump's defense team at his first impeachment. Trump in his second term tapped Homan to serve as 'border czar' and Bondi as U.S. attorney general. While many industries with government work try to cozy up to former officials, Lauren-Brooke Eisen, the senior director of the Brennan Center's Justice Program and author of a book on the industry, said private prisons cultivated unusually close relationships. 'There's sort of always a revolving door between the private sector and the government, but what we're seeing here is, we're also seeing people with super close ties,' she said. In a statement, GEO Group did not directly address questions about the donations to the Trump campaign or its ties to high-ranking administration officials. 'We are proud of the role our company has played for 40 years to support the law enforcement mission of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,' a company spokesperson wrote. 'Over the last four decades, our innovative support service solutions have helped the federal government implement the policies of seven different Presidential Administrations.' CoreCivic, meanwhile, said that it welcomed 'the opportunity to support any political leaders who are open to the solutions our company provides to serious national challenges, including providing safe, humane care for people going through the civil immigration process and helping those in our criminal justice system prepare to return to our communities with the skills they need to be successful.' The donation to the inaugural committee, CoreCivic spokesperson Ryan Gustin said, 'is consistent with our past practice of civic participation in and support for the inauguration process, including contributions to inauguration activities for both Democrats and Republicans.' The White House rejected out of hand the idea that campaign contributions, or the work that top officials conducted for the industry while out of office, had anything to do with crafting the specifics of the budget bill. 'The One, Big, Beautiful bill provides the funding necessary to fulfill the President's promise to carry out the largest mass deportation operation in history. CoreCivic and GEO Group have received contracts under both Democrat and Republican administrations,' Jackson wrote. After Trump's first term, Homan hung up a shingle for a consulting firm that told prospective clients it had a 'track record of opening doors,' resulting in big state and federal contracts. As border czar, Homan has said he will not be involved in making decisions about individual contracts. Bondi has promised to consult ethics officials if any conflicts of interest come up, and a Justice Department spokesperson said she 'played no role in the provisions for additional funding for immigration detention.' Such denials do not sway Cho, the ACLU lawyer whose work includes representing people in immigration detention. 'Whatever those responses are doesn't belie the fact that these companies clearly are purchasing influence in order to benefit politically and financially,' she said. Citing reporting from The Intercept, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in May called on Bondi to recuse herself from 'any and all' activities tied to immigration detention that could directly or indirectly benefit GEO Group. The administration has brushed off such critiques as it pushes ahead with its mass deportation plans. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, says the budget law will allow it to secure 80,000 new detention beds and bring its total population over 100,000. GEO Group said in November that Trump's plans could help it fill 18,000 empty beds, translating into $400 million in additional annual revenue. CoreCivic said in February that it had pitched the federal government on plans for housing an extra 28,000 people. The companies will face competition from states like Florida, which is relying on federal reimbursements to build tent camps at places such as the so-called 'Alligator Alcatraz' facility in the Everglades intended to house 3,000 people. 'The $45 billion represents such an unprecedented broadening for federal prison funding for immigration.' Cho said she does not think such state facilities pose a business threat to the private prison companies, in large part because there is so much money to go around. 'Even state detention systems often depend on private prison companies for operation,' she said. 'The $45 billion represents such an unprecedented broadening for federal prison funding for immigration.' In recent weeks, the major private prison companies have continued to make announcements about their growing capacity – for detention and profit. CoreCivic announced last month that it had spent $67 million on a detention center in Virginia that it expects to produce an extra $40 million in annual revenue. If Homan has his way, many of the new detention centers springing up to fill the administration's demand will be under looser state regulations instead of more stringent federal standards. 'It is really scary that we are seeing a reduction of oversight, along with this idea that we should loosen the standards, with this huge increase in funding.' Stories of suffering behind bars are already proliferating as the detention population grows. Eisen noted that one of the Trump administration's first actions at the DHS was to decimate an oversight office meant to investigate allegations of wrongdoing. 'It is really scary that we are seeing a reduction of oversight, along with this idea that we should loosen the standards, with this huge increase in funding,' she said.
Boston Globe
12-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Amazon's return-to-office mandate sparks disability complaints
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up GOVERNMENT Advertisement Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish Advertisement Former US Representative Billy Long of Missouri will take over an IRS undergoing massive change, including layoffs and voluntary retirements of tens of thousands of workers and accusations that then-Trump adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency mishandled sensitive taxpayer data. Andrew Harnik/Getty Former US Representative Billy Long of Missouri was confirmed on Thursday to lead the Internal Revenue Service, giving the beleaguered agency he once sought to abolish a permanent commissioner after months of acting leaders and massive staffing cuts that have threatened to derail next year's tax filing season. The Senate confirmed Long on a 53-44 vote despite Democrats' concerns about the Republican's past work for a firm that pitched a fraud-ridden coronavirus pandemic-era tax break and about campaign contributions he received after President Trump nominated him to serve as IRS commissioner. While in Congress, where he served from 2011 to 2023, Long sponsored legislation to get rid of the IRS, the agency he is now tasked with leading. A former auctioneer, Long has no background in tax administration. Long will take over an IRS undergoing massive change, including layoffs and voluntary retirements of tens of thousands of workers and accusations that then-Trump adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency mishandled sensitive taxpayer data. Unions and advocacy organizations have sued to block DOGE's access to the information. The IRS was one of the highest-profile agencies still without a Senate-confirmed leader. Before Long's confirmation, the IRS shuffled through four acting leaders, including one who resigned over a deal between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security to share immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and another whose appointment led to a fight between Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. — ASSOCIATED PRESS RETAIL GameStop's future is in trading cards, CEO says A GameStop store in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty GameStop Corp., the largest standalone video game retailer in the United States, will focus on growing its trading card business, chief executive Ryan Cohen said at the company's annual shareholder meeting Thursday. The business of Pokémon and sports trading cards 'is in line with our heritage,' Cohen said. 'It fits our trade-in model, it appeals to our core customer base and it's deeply embedded in physical retail.' GameStop workers regularly encounter lines of customers waiting outside for Pokémon card launches. Fans of the nearly 30-year-old card game trade and battle the cards against each other. At GameStop, collectors can sell rare cards for cash based on their quality. As of May, customers have brought one million trading cards in to a GameStop to be evaluated under the Professional Sports Authenticator system, which grades the cards. More than 1,360 GameStop stores offer that service, according to a company spokesperson. In June, GameStop will add 280 more. The most submitted cards are Pokémon. As consumers increasingly turn to digital stores to purchase video games, GameStop has grown its collectibles business. Collectibles made up 29 percent of revenue in the first-quarter. That business increased 55 percent, while sales of hardware and software fell, according to results released on Tuesday. — BLOOMBERG NEWS Advertisement LABOR The number of Americans filing for jobless claims last week remains at the highest level in 8 months Job seekers at a Diversity Career Group job fair in Los Angeles. Eric Thayer/Bloomberg US filings for jobless benefits were unchanged last week, remaining at the higher end of recent ranges as uncertainty over the impact of trade wars lingers. New applications for jobless benefits numbered 248,000 for the week ending June 7, the Labor Department said Thursday. Analysts had forecast 244,000 new applications. A week ago, there were 248,000 jobless claim applications, which was the most since early October and a sign that layoffs could be trending higher. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of US layoffs and have mostly bounced around a historically healthy range between 200,000 and 250,000 since COVID-19 throttled the economy five years ago, wiping out millions of jobs. However, in the past three weeks layoffs have been at the higher end of that range, raising some concern from analysts. — ASSOCIATED PRESS Advertisement LEGAL Tesla sues ex-Optimus engineer alleging theft of robotic trade secrets A Tesla Inc. Optimus robot at the Paris Motor Show. Nathan Laine/Bloomberg Tesla Inc. sued a former engineer with the company's highly secretive Optimus program, accusing him of stealing confidential information about the humanoid robot and setting up a rival startup in Silicon Valley. Zhongjie 'Jay' Li worked at Tesla between August 2022 and September 2024, according to a complaint filed in a San Francisco Federal Court late Wednesday. Li worked on 'advanced robotic hand sensors — and was entrusted with some of the most sensitive technical data in the program,' Tesla's lawyers said in the complaint. The suit, also filed against his company Proception Inc, alleges that in the weeks before his departure, Li downloaded Optimus-related files onto two personal smartphones and then formed his own firm. 'Less than a week after he left Tesla, Proception was incorporated,' according to the complaint. 'And within just five months, Proception publicly claimed to have 'successfully built' advanced humanoid robotic hands — hands that bear a striking resemblance to the designs Li worked on at Tesla.' Li, who lists himself as founder and CEO of Proception on LinkedIn, didn't respond to requests for comment sent outside of normal working hours on the platform. The company didn't immediately respond to an emailed message seeking comment or message sent through its website. Proception is based in Palo Alto, Calif. — BLOOMBERG NEWS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Mattel taps OpenAI to help it design toys, other products Barbie Dream Besties, from Mattel, displayed at the TTPM 2024 Holiday Showcase event in New York. Richard Drew/Associated Press Polly Pocket may one day be your digital assistant. Mattel Inc., the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, has signed a deal with OpenAI to use its artificial intelligence tools to design and in some cases power toys and other products based on its brands. The collaboration is at an early stage, and its first release won't be announced until later this year, Brad Lightcap, OpenAI's chief operating officer, and Josh Silverman, Mattel's chief franchise officer, said in a joint interview. The technology could ultimately result in the creation of digital assistants based on Mattel characters, or be used to make toys and games like the Magic 8 Ball or Uno even more interactive. 'We plan to announce something towards the tail end of this year, and it's really across the spectrum of physical products and some experiences,' Silverman said, declining to comment further on the first product. 'Leveraging this incredible technology is going to allow us to really reimagine the future of play.' — BLOOMBERG NEWS Advertisement
Boston Globe
12-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish
Advertisement Long will take over an IRS undergoing massive change, including layoffs and voluntary retirements of tens of thousands of workers and accusations that then-Trump adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency mishandled sensitive taxpayer data. Unions and advocacy organizations have sued to block DOGE's access to the information. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The IRS was one of the highest-profile agencies still without a Senate-confirmed leader. Before Long's confirmation, the IRS shuffled through four acting leaders, including one who resigned over a deal between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security to share immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and another whose appointment led to a fight between Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. After leaving Congress to mount an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate, Long worked with a firm that distributed the pandemic-era employee retention tax credit. That tax credit program was eventually shut down after then-IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel determined that it was fraudulent. Advertisement Democrats called for a criminal investigation into Long's connections to other alleged tax credit loopholes. The lawmakers allege that firms connected to Long duped investors into spending millions of dollars to purchase fake tax credits. Long appeared before the Senate Finance Committee last month and denied any wrongdoing related to his involvement in the tax credit scheme. Ahead of the confirmation vote, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles blasting the requisite FBI background check conducted on Long as a political appointee as inadequate. 'These issues were not adequately investigated,' Wyden wrote. 'In fact, the FBI's investigation, a process dictated by the White House, seemed designed to avoid substantively addressing any of these concerning public reports. It's almost as if the FBI is unable to read the newspaper.' Democratic lawmakers have also written to Long and his associated firms detailing concerns with what they call unusually timed contributions made to Long's defunct 2022 Senate campaign committee shortly after Trump nominated him. The IRS faces an uncertain future under Long. Tax experts have voiced concerns that the 2026 filing season could be hampered by the departure of so many tax collection workers. In April, The Associated Press reported that the IRS planned to cut as many as 20,000 staffers — up to 25% of the workforce. An IRS representative on Thursday confirmed the IRS had shed about that many workers but said the cuts amounted to approximately the same number of IRS jobs added under the Biden administration. Advertisement The fate of the Direct File program, the free electronic tax return filing system developed during President Joe Biden's Democratic administration, is also unclear. Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies had complained it was a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist, although they are hard to use. Long said during his confirmation hearing that it would be one of the first programs that come up for discussion if he were confirmed. Long is not the only Trump appointee to support dismantling an agency he was assigned to manage. Linda McMahon, the current education secretary, has repeatedly said she is trying to put herself out of a job by closing the federal department and transferring its work to the states. Rick Perry, Trump's energy secretary during his first term, called for abolishing the Energy Department during his bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.
San Francisco Chronicle
12-06-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Billy Long of Missouri was confirmed on Thursday to lead the Internal Revenue Service, giving the beleaguered agency he once sought to abolish a permanent commissioner after months of acting leaders and massive staffing cuts that have threatened to derail next year's tax filing season. The Senate confirmed Long on a 53-44 vote despite Democrats' concerns about the Republican's past work for a firm that pitched a fraud-ridden coronavirus pandemic-era tax break and about campaign contributions he received after President Donald Trump nominated him to serve as IRS commissioner. While in Congress, where he served from 2011 to 2023, Long sponsored legislation to get rid of the IRS, the agency he is now tasked with leading. A former auctioneer, Long has no background in tax administration. Long will take over an IRS undergoing massive change, including layoffs and voluntary retirements of tens of thousands of workers and accusations that then-Trump adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency mishandled sensitive taxpayer data. Unions and advocacy organizations have sued to block DOGE's access to the information. The IRS was one of the highest-profile agencies still without a Senate-confirmed leader. Before Long's confirmation, the IRS shuffled through four acting leaders, including one who resigned over a deal between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security to share immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and another whose appointment led to a fight between Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. After leaving Congress to mount an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate, Long worked with a firm that distributed the pandemic-era employee retention tax credit. That tax credit program was eventually shut down after then-IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel determined that it was fraudulent. Democrats called for a criminal investigation into Long's connections to other alleged tax credit loopholes. The lawmakers allege that firms connected to Long duped investors into spending millions of dollars to purchase fake tax credits. Ahead of the confirmation vote, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles blasting the requisite FBI background check conducted on Long as a political appointee as inadequate. 'These issues were not adequately investigated,' Wyden wrote. 'In fact, the FBI's investigation, a process dictated by the White House, seemed designed to avoid substantively addressing any of these concerning public reports. It's almost as if the FBI is unable to read the newspaper.' Democratic lawmakers have also written to Long and his associated firms detailing concerns with what they call unusually timed contributions made to Long's defunct 2022 Senate campaign committee shortly after Trump nominated him. The IRS faces an uncertain future under Long. Tax experts have voiced concerns that the 2026 filing season could be hampered by the departure of so many tax collection workers. In April, The Associated Press reported that the IRS planned to cut as many as 20,000 staffers — up to 25% of the workforce. An IRS representative on Thursday confirmed the IRS had shed about that many workers but said the cuts amounted to approximately the same number of IRS jobs added under the Biden administration. The fate of the Direct File program, the free electronic tax return filing system developed during President Joe Biden's Democratic administration, is also unclear. Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies had complained it was a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist, although they are hard to use. Long said during his confirmation hearing that it would be one of the first programs that come up for discussion if he were confirmed. Long is not the only Trump appointee to support dismantling an agency he was assigned to manage. Linda McMahon, the current education secretary, has repeatedly said she is trying to put herself out of a job by closing the federal department and transferring its work to the states. Rick Perry, Trump's energy secretary during his first term, called for abolishing the Energy Department during his bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.
The Hill
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Ex-congressman Billy Long confirmed as commissioner of the IRS, an agency he once sought to abolish
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Billy Long of Missouri was confirmed on Thursday to lead the Internal Revenue Service, giving the beleaguered agency he once sought to abolish a permanent commissioner after months of acting leaders and massive staffing cuts that have threatened to derail next year's tax filing season. The Senate confirmed Long on a 53-44 vote despite Democrats' concerns about the Republican's past work for a firm that pitched a fraud-ridden coronavirus pandemic-era tax break and about campaign contributions he received after President Donald Trump nominated him to serve as IRS commissioner. While in Congress, where he served from 2011 to 2023, Long sponsored legislation to get rid of the IRS, the agency he is now tasked with leading. A former auctioneer, Long has no background in tax administration. Long will take over an IRS undergoing massive change, including layoffs and voluntary retirements of tens of thousands of workers and accusations that then-Trump adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency mishandled sensitive taxpayer data. Unions and advocacy organizations have sued to block DOGE's access to the information. The IRS was one of the highest-profile agencies still without a Senate-confirmed leader. Before Long's confirmation, the IRS shuffled through four acting leaders, including one who resigned over a deal between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security to share immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and another whose appointment led to a fight between Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. After leaving Congress to mount an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate, Long worked with a firm that distributed the pandemic-era employee retention tax credit. That tax credit program was eventually shut down after then-IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel determined that it was fraudulent. Democrats called for a criminal investigation into Long's connections to other alleged tax credit loopholes. The lawmakers allege that firms connected to Long duped investors into spending millions of dollars to purchase fake tax credits. Long appeared before the Senate Finance Committee last month and denied any wrongdoing related to his involvement in the tax credit scheme. Ahead of the confirmation vote, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles blasting the requisite FBI background check conducted on Long as a political appointee as inadequate. 'These issues were not adequately investigated,' Wyden wrote. 'In fact, the FBI's investigation, a process dictated by the White House, seemed designed to avoid substantively addressing any of these concerning public reports. It's almost as if the FBI is unable to read the newspaper.' Democratic lawmakers have also written to Long and his associated firms detailing concerns with what they call unusually timed contributions made to Long's defunct 2022 Senate campaign committee shortly after Trump nominated him. The IRS faces an uncertain future under Long. Tax experts have voiced concerns that the 2026 filing season could be hampered by the departure of so many tax collection workers. In April, The Associated Press reported that the IRS planned to cut as many as 20,000 staffers — up to 25% of the workforce. An IRS representative on Thursday confirmed the IRS had shed about that many workers but said the cuts amounted to approximately the same number of IRS jobs added under the Biden administration. The fate of the Direct File program, the free electronic tax return filing system developed during President Joe Biden's Democratic administration, is also unclear. Republican lawmakers and commercial tax preparation companies had complained it was a waste of taxpayer money because free filing programs already exist, although they are hard to use. Long said during his confirmation hearing that it would be one of the first programs that come up for discussion if he were confirmed. Long is not the only Trump appointee to support dismantling an agency he was assigned to manage. Linda McMahon, the current education secretary, has repeatedly said she is trying to put herself out of a job by closing the federal department and transferring its work to the states. Rick Perry, Trump's energy secretary during his first term, called for abolishing the Energy Department during his bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the Internal Revenue Service at
