Department of Defense

Government Body

Federal department overseeing the US military. Awards hundreds of billions in defense contracts annually. The revolving door between the Pentagon and defense contractors is one of the most documented capture patterns.

defense

Given

$525,051,329,064

Received

$5,000

Connections

Votes

Regulatory Capture Assessment

Regulatory capture occurs when a regulatory agency advances the interests of the industry it is meant to oversee. The indicators below track evidence of capture for this agency. According to the academic literature (Stigler 1971, Carpenter & Moss 2013), captured agencies exhibit declining enforcement, revolving door personnel pipelines, and rule-making that favors incumbents over public interest.

Industry connections

Enforcement actions

Revolving door

View all tracked agencies →

Donations Given

Recipient	Amount	Date
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$35,135,514,910	Nov 17, 2017
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$34,173,959,112	Oct 26, 2001
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$31,960,918,249	Feb 24, 2011
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$30,114,454,301	Nov 26, 2019
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$24,499,768,640	Dec 23, 2022
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$18,762,686,627	Dec 22, 2000
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$18,129,749,822	Aug 14, 2014
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$12,744,887,539	Sep 23, 2005
Pfizer Inc.	$12,549,999,848	Nov 17, 2021
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$12,269,145,508	Dec 21, 2015
Northrop Grumman Corporation PAC (ENGPAC)	$11,719,559,923	Sep 8, 2020
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$11,436,586,256	Dec 29, 2003
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$11,204,226,413	Mar 8, 2012
Pfizer Inc.	$11,110,134,066	Dec 22, 2020
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$11,086,769,500	Oct 2, 2003
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$11,040,980,157	Apr 2, 2007
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$10,550,927,664	May 26, 2015
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$10,478,694,386	Apr 30, 2020
Northrop Grumman Corporation PAC (ENGPAC)	$10,009,419,769	Jul 1, 1998
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$10,006,765,405	Aug 15, 2002
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$9,458,382,766	Nov 8, 1995
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$9,085,374,044	Mar 27, 2017
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$9,032,712,307	Nov 16, 2001
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$8,997,913,572	Feb 12, 1999
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$8,821,412,144	Jan 1, 2008
RTX Corporation (Raytheon)	$8,688,654,907	Mar 23, 2018
Northrop Grumman Corporation PAC (ENGPAC)	$8,457,894,781	Feb 15, 2018
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$8,338,684,281	Jan 31, 2000
Moderna	$8,204,906,278	Aug 11, 2020
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION EMPLOYEES' POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE	$7,953,264,131	Dec 31, 2020
RTX Corporation (Raytheon)	$7,911,304,631	Oct 26, 2001
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$7,633,729,889	Jun 29, 2004
RTX Corporation (Raytheon)	$7,498,943,172	Mar 23, 2020
BOEING POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE MISSOURI PAC	$7,404,066,078	Mar 21, 2016
BEA SYSTEMS INC, PAC (BAE SYSTEMS USA PAC)	$7,052,768,925	Apr 17, 2003
Raytheon Company PAC (RTX)	$5,668,542,889	May 25, 2005
Raytheon Company PAC (RTX)	$5,608,431,753	Dec 19, 2014
Northrop Grumman Corporation PAC (ENGPAC)	$5,374,740,355	May 13, 2013
RTX Corporation (Raytheon)	$4,865,962,076	Dec 1, 2020
Raytheon Company PAC (RTX)	$4,459,093,273	Feb 25, 2010
Northrop Grumman Corporation PAC (ENGPAC)	$4,395,003,229	Aug 23, 2002
BEA SYSTEMS INC, PAC (BAE SYSTEMS USA PAC)	$4,067,162,786	May 30, 2008
Pfizer Inc.	$4,038,717,532	Jun 29, 2022
BEA SYSTEMS INC, PAC (BAE SYSTEMS USA PAC)	$3,743,350,302	Nov 24, 2015
RTX Corporation (Raytheon)	$3,648,685,783	Jan 1, 2008
Raytheon Company PAC (RTX)	$3,266,151,877	Mar 31, 2022
Northrop Grumman Corporation PAC (ENGPAC)	$3,229,122,597	Apr 22, 2008
Northrop Grumman Corporation PAC (ENGPAC)	$3,098,415,967	Jun 25, 2018
Northrop Grumman Corporation PAC (ENGPAC)	$3,076,522,197	Aug 4, 2003
Raytheon Company PAC (RTX)	$2,986,266,447	Dec 17, 2008

Donations Received

Donor	Amount	Date	Cycle
FRIENDS FOR CHRIS STEWART, INC.	$5,000	Dec 18, 2024

Relationships

Type	Connected To	Details	Source
issued_rule	National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual	DOD issued rule: National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual	Source
issued_rule	Defense Materiel Disposition	DOD issued rule: Defense Materiel Disposition	Source
issued_rule	Defense Materiel Disposition	DOD issued rule: Defense Materiel Disposition	Source
oversees (target)	Senate Armed Services Committee	Senate Armed Services Committee has jurisdiction over the Department of Defense
oversees (target)	House Armed Services Committee	House Armed Services Committee has jurisdiction over the Department of Defense
Employed by (target)	Pete Hegseth	Pete Hegseth serves as Secretary of Defense since January 2025
Published research for (target)	Atlantic Council	Atlantic Council advises on defense and foreign policy	Source