Follow the money behind border czar Tom Homan

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AUGUST 21, 2025

We follow the money in politics, and the trail just keeps getting longer Our executive director, Hilary Braseth, just published an op-ed in The Hill that dives into the astronomical and alarming rise in election spending. In the piece, Hilary highlights a few key takeaways: Soaring costs: The total cost of federal elections more than doubled in the last decade, from $6.5 billion in 2016 to $14.8 billion in 2024. A shift in influence: Campaign contributions have become increasingly nationalized. In 2024, only 17.6 percent of money for House races and 27.5 percent for Senate races came from within the candidates' home states. This is a stark contrast to 25 years ago, when the vast majority of contributions were local. Bipartisan concern: The role of money in politics is a rare issue that both Democrats and Republicans agree is a "very big problem," with 78 percent of Democrats and 66 percent of Republicans sharing this view. A broken system: The challenges are exacerbated by a lack of government action, particularly at the Federal Election Commission, which is unable to perform most of its core functions due to a lack of a quorum. Read the full piece to learn more about how this system erodes the relationship between elected officials and their constituents, and what might be next for campaign finance laws. Read More

Trump administration profile: Tom Homan Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s “border czar,” has led the administration’s far-reaching, heavily publicized deportation campaign. He has led a decades-long career in law enforcement and border security and has multiple ties Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation blueprint for Trump’s second term. Natalie Jonas looked into his financial background. Homan has led the White House’s campaign to remove undocumented immigrants; more than 56,000 migrants have been detained by ICE across the country over the past eight months, according to NBC News. The administration has set an annual goal of deporting 1 million people. Homan has faced bipartisan criticism for his treatment of undocumented immigrants. Many reports have surfaced since January of extensive human rights violations and even a number of deaths within detention facilities. Meanwhile, the small, internal watchdog agencies tasked with keeping an eye on such centers have been defunded and new facilities — like “Alligator Alcatraz” — are being built to expand detention and deportation efforts.  Follow the money Since the end of Trump’s first term, Homan has received at least $5,000 in consulting fees from GEO Group, which runs a number of for-profit immigration detention centers across the country. GEO Group, which spent $1.4 million to lobby on a range of bills affecting deportations and detentions, and its employees have long supported Trump and the Republican Party. GEO Group has also recently benefitted from a windfall of federal policy and budget allocations benefitting ICE. Congress recently passed a budget bill allocating $45 billion for building a new arsenal of ICE immigrant detention centers, building on Trump’s campaign promise to detain and deport migrants at a record pace. CoreCivic and GEO Group have already received ICE contracts, expected to be worth $180 million and $79 million respectively, once operational.  In 2023, Homan was CEO of The America Project, a group founded by Overstock founder Patrick Byrne and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. The group engages in election denialism and other conspiracy theories. He also reportedly founded Homeland Strategic Consulting LLC, which received “tens of millions of dollars of federal contracts” and might have misused its nonprofit status to aid Homan’s political career.  Homan is also involved with two non-profit organizations that faced scrutiny for inconsistencies in their tax filings, the Border911 Foundation and Border911 Inc. Border911 also used inflammatory language about border migration, calling it an “invasion,” a term Homan has echoed since taking on his role as border czar.  The Office of Government Ethics has not released Homan’s financial disclosure report and OpenSecrets’ requests for documentation have not been answered. Why It Matters Additional profiles Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East Mike Huckabee, ambassador to Israel Lori Chavez-DeRemer, secretary of labor J.D. Vance, vice president Chuck Schumer, Senate minority leader John Ratcliffe, director of the CIA Doug Collins, secretary of veterans affairs Hakeem Jeffries, House minority leader Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator Howard Lutnick, secretary of commerce Mike Waltz, national security advisor Marco Rubio, secretary of state Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff Tulsi Gabbard, director national intelligence Kash Patel, director of the FBI Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of health and human services Linda McMahon, secretary of education Elise Stefanik, ambassador to the United Nations Doug Burgum, secretary of the interior Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense Pam Bondi, attorney general

What else we're reading DNC Chair Moves to Confront Corporate and Dark Money in 2028 Primaries (Sludge) Former New Hampshire governor to head US airline lobbying group (Reuters) Lobbying disclosures show historic spending by pubmedia groups (Current) Adams Donor Avoids Prison After Admitting to Campaign Finance Scheme (The New York Times)

OpenSecrets in the News See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week: Gun violence hits Black communities hardest. Trump is rolling back prevention efforts (NPR) Trump's incursions against public health efforts to contain gun violence are backed by lobbying power. Firearm industry advocacy groups made millions of dollars in political donations in recent years, mostly to conservative causes and Republican candidates. That includes $1.4 million to Trump, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks campaign finance data. Sherrod Brown plans to run for Senate in Ohio again (The Washington Post) The Ohio Senate race was the most expensive of the 2024 cycle, with more than $450 million pouring in from both sides, according to figures from OpenSecrets.  How Circle’s Jeremy Allaire swayed stablecoin doubters (Semafor) OpenSecrets reports that Circle spent $230,000 on lobbying Washington last year and made more than $1 million in political donations. Trump’s DOJ Pushed To Merge ATF With DEA — Gun Owners Revolted (The Daily Caller) Gun-rights lobbyists have spent over $7 million on lobbying in 2025, compared to the over $226 million spent by the pharmaceuticals and health products industry, OpenSecrets data shows. Larson and Bronin — once close colleagues — now battling each other in CT race for Congress (Hartford Courant) Bronin has contributed to a wide variety of Democratic candidates going back to his days as a student more than 20 years ago, including $300 to Larson in September 2021 and then another $200 to Larson in November 2021, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks campaign contributions nationwide.  See More

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