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The Headline

President Donald Trump speaks while meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump dwarfs his predecessors in the number of ultra-rich in his second White House, report shows — By Thomas Beaumont

Look no further than Trump's Cabinet. Eight of its 23 members fit the category, notably Treasury Secretary Howard Lutnick and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, both of whom are billionaires.

The president, himself a billionaire, has described his inclination toward appointing the ultra-wealthy as deference to financial success. And yet, Trump, who owes his White House comeback to support from middle-income, working Americans drawn to his pledge to lower everyday costs, now faces a midterm election electorate decidedly less keen on his handling of the economy.

Presidents have long sought counsel from the nation’s wealthiest and tapped some for high-profile administrative leadership roles. Likewise, presidents routinely reward wealthy and influential supporters with ambassadorships.

It’s the numbers for the Trump administration, in the context of previous administrations, that stand out in Public Citizen’s report, published on Monday. In all, 57 Trump officials are worth at least $100 million, including 17 ambassadors and the remaining 40 in senior posts across the executive branch. 

By comparison, Republican George W. Bush’s administration and Democrat Joe Biden’s each included five members worth $100 million or more. Democrat Barack Obama’s included three, the report states. 

Read more from Beaumont about Trump's ultra-rich advisers.

Dive deeper ➤

• Trump blames vandals for damaged grass in the same spot where he held his big July 4 celebration
• The buck stops somewhere else: A look at Trump’s tendency to avoid blame when things go awry
• Trump orders Pentagon to scale back joint exercises with South Korea
• Democratic primary turnout has soared in some states. Can it carry over to November?

Debbie Wasserman Schultz seeks reelection in new Florida district

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz smiles as she greets constituents at a National Night Out community event while campaigning for Florida's 20th congressional district, in Plantation, Fla., Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Sporting red-white-and-blue sneakers and a matching bedazzled manicure ahead of Florida's primaries on Tuesday, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz smiles and tells voters she is “running for reelection to Congress.”

That’s true — with a caveat. Wasserman Schultz is seeking her 12th term by running in a new district after Republicans scrambled the state’s congressional map earlier this year.

The fallout pushed Wasserman Schultz, a former national party chair with powerful ties in Washington, to cross district lines from her Fort Lauderdale exurb and be the only white candidate in an area of Broward County that has helped send Black Democrats to Congress since 1992.

That’s yielded an uncomfortable fight following the U.S. Supreme Court decision that gutted the Voting Rights Act provisions undergirding minority voting strength and effectively cleared Old Confederacy states, including Florida, to reshape House districts.

By far the best funded out of five Democratic candidates, Wasserman Schultz benefits from Florida rules that do not require a majority to win primaries. She's argued that she can ably advocate for the whole region after representing wide swaths of Broward as a state and federal legislator across three decades.

Read more from Barrow about Wasserman Schultz's primary push.

AP Elections Spotlight: From the Aleutians to the Keys

Employees prepare voting equipment at the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Training and Support Center warehouse to be transported to voting precincts in advance of the August 18 Florida primary election, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Voters from the northernmost and southernmost tips of the continental United States, as well as a few points in between, will decide crowded primaries in Alaska, Wyoming and Florida on Tuesday. There’s also a special congressional election in California’s Bay Area.

Florida, Florida, Florida: U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins and nine others seek the GOP nomination to replace Gov. Ron DeSantis. Donalds is Trump’s pick. DeSantis hasn’t endorsed in the race, although he chose Collins as his No. 2 just a year ago.

Former Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly faces more progressive opponents for the Democratic nomination, including state. Rep. Dotie Joseph and former teacher Dayna Marie Foster.

Several House Democratic incumbents face challenges in the state’s redrawn congressional map. Jared Moskowitz is running in his much more Republican South Florida district but first faces a primary challenge from democratic socialist Oliver Larkin. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and former U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick face off in the new 20th District primary, after state Republicans eliminated the current majority Black 20th district.

Republican U.S. Reps. Randy Fine and Cory Mills have both drawn primary challenges, while the crowded 10-person field to replace Donalds includes former GOP Reps. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Chris Collins of New York.

Open skies, open seats: Wyoming voters will decide open-seat contests for governor, House and Senate in the same year for the first time since 1994. Trump’s pick for governor is state schools chief Megan Degenfelder, who faces state Sen. Eric Barlow, 2024 Trump presidential elector Brent Bien and professional bull rider Curt Blake. Republican U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman is Trump’s choice for U.S. Senate, but the president hasn’t weighed in on the competitive primary to replace Hageman.

What’s in a name: Alaskans are used to seeing members of the Begich family on the ballot. This year there’s Republican U.S. Rep. Nick Begich running for a second term and his uncle, former Democratic state Sen. Tom Begich, running for governor.

But now they’ll have to contend with two Dan Sullivans running for U.S. Senate. There’s Dan S. Sullivan, the Republican incumbent running for a third term, and Dan J. Sullivan, the Republican retired teacher who survived legal challenges to remain on the ballot. Sen. Sullivan and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola are the top contenders in the all-party, top-four primary.

(Sw)all’s well that ends well: State Sen. Aisha Wahab and transit board president Melissa Hernandez go head-to-head in a special election to replace former Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell in the 14th Congressional District. AIPAC-related groups are spending on Hernandez’s behalf. The seat will remain in Democratic hands regardless of who wins.

Read more from Yoon on this week's Alaska, California, Florida and Wyoming elections.

One extraordinary photo

President Donald Trump disembarks Air Force One, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Washington-based photo journalist Julia Demaree Nikhinson often travels as part of the pool with the president and captured this image as Trump disembarked Air Force One over the weekend.

Explore more of Nikhinson's extraordinary work covering Washington and politics.