Key Point: “Last November, shortly after Donald Trump was reelected president, his son Donald Trump Jr. joined a venture capital firm with investments in several defense companies. Later that month, he was appointed the advisory board of Unusual Machines, a small, Florida-based drone company incorporated in Nevada. … With his father’s administration footing the bill for massive domestic drone expansion, good government watchdogs fear Trump Jr. could benefit financially, creating a conflict of interest, or at least the appearance of one — without anyone even finding out.”

The Intercept: Donald Trump Jr.’s Drone Ventures Could Make a Killing — Thanks to Dad’s Big Beautiful Budget

By Ellen Ioanes

• Last November, shortly after Donald Trump was reelected president, his son Donald Trump Jr. joined a venture capital firm with investments in several defense companies. Later that month, he was appointed the advisory board of Unusual Machines, a small, Florida-based drone company incorporated in Nevada.

• It was a boon for Trump Jr., but not his last chance to make big money off drones — and his efforts to do so may get a big helping hand from dad.

• President Donald Trump’s military procurement policies, defense budget, and recently passed government budget, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, includes $1.4 billion dollars for small drone production — where Unusual Machines has been making big investments.

• With his father’s administration footing the bill for massive domestic drone expansion, good government watchdogs fear Trump Jr. could benefit financially, creating a conflict of interest, or at least the appearance of one — without anyone even finding out. The president’s family is not subject to the same financial disclosures that federal officials must make about their financial and business interests.

• Though many current and former elected officials have deep ties to the defense industry, Sherman said the Trumps’ positions were unique in their scale and brazenness.

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