Corporations have acquired far too much power in the United States. The Supreme Court has given them the same rights as individuals, but without citizens' responsibilities. The court also allows companies to buy influence by pumping unlimited anonymous cash into political campaigns. Meanwhile, our transactional president seems to peddle favors to corporate donors as if government were a garage sale. It’s time for the people to act. First, elect a Congress willing to investigate and punish grift, graft, pay-to-play government, bribery and extortion. Second, boycott the companies that have capitulated to President Trump, enriched him and helped him destroy important institutions. Here are three suggestions.

First, expand the No Kings campaign. The mass demonstrations against Trump’s monarchical proclivities could turn their attention to the kingmakers: the companies that enable him with money and capitulation. Corporations are not immune to market forces, as Disney and ABC found last year when they pulled comedian Jimmy Kimmel off the air. A 2019 study published in the Southern Economic Journal examined 125 U.S. consumer boycotts between 1978 and 2017. It found statistically significant negative effects on the stock market performance of targeted companies.

Second, we must widen the fossil fuel divestment movement. Since 2011, the divest-reinvest movement has urged investors to sell fossil fuel shares and invest in clean energy. So far, more than 1,700 institutions representing nearly $41 trillion in total managed assets have signed up. One objective is to revoke the “social license of the fossil fuel industry” by highlighting how the fuels harm society. Research suggests some success in shifting public perceptions about the fuels. Fossil fuels still supply more than 80 percent of the world’s primary energy, but clean energy is attracting about twice as much global investment as coal, oil and gas.

A similar movement could taint the brands of corporations that help Trump enrich himself, sabotage important institutions, and undermine democracy. On the flip side, the movement could praise companies that pledge to avoid Trump’s swamp. Third, build a public database of Trump’s corporate collaborators. Several organizations track corporate and personal contributions to Trump, his projects and his organizations, and how they appear connected to the administration’s actions.

Watchdogs could collaborate on a central website that lists the corporations and business leaders who have collaborated with, contributed to or capitulated to Trump, along with the administration’s actions on their behalf. The website should avoid defamatory allegations against Trump or his donors, but it should list cases based on laws that prohibit federal employees from betraying the public trust or even appearing to have conflicts of interest.

The Constitution’s emoluments clause applies to the president, and bribery is specifically listed as an impeachable offense. Other laws prohibit private entities from bribing or giving anything of value to a public official in exchange for government actions. Who are these companies? Public Citizen lists corporations that gave millions of dollars for Trump’s lavish 2025 inauguration. They included Amazon, Apple, AT&T, Bank of America, Chevron, Citigroup, Coinbase, Google, Ford, GM and Goldman Sachs.

Contributions totaled more than $245 million. The Brennan Center for Justice found “substantial donations coinciding with advantageous policy or personnel decisions by the Trump administration, as well as an unprecedented number of refunds and millions of dollars in donations for which the true sources are not entirely clear.”Public Citizen also reports that the Trump administration canceled enforcement actions for alleged lawbreaking by 205 corporations. Ninety companies have or had ties to Trump or his administration.

The Washington Post says that Trump’s White House ballroom project received 67 donations above $10,000 as of September, totaling $333 million. Companies or their affiliates that gave more than $3 million included Meta, Apple, Nvidia, Blackrock, Coinbase, NextEra Energy, Lockheed Martin, Amazon, Cisco, Microsoft, Caterpillar, T-Mobile and Comcast. “The vast majority of the funds raised came from companies and wealthy individuals with interests before the federal government,” the Post said.

The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington reports that 15 companies have given money to three or more of Trump’s pet projects, with Meta, Amazon, Coinbase and Google-YouTube contributing most often. The group says that all 15 had business before the government or sought something from Trump.

Trump-related lawsuits so far reportedly have leveraged more than $90 million from corporations that capitulated and settled out of court. Meta reportedly paid $25 million, YouTube-Alphabet $24.5 million, Paramount-CBS $16 million, Twitter-X $10 million, and ABC News-Disney $15 million.

Congress will look into some of this if Democrats prevail in next month’s election. But that shouldn’t stop the American people from using their purses against the companies contributing to the most corrupt president in the nation’s history.

William S. Becker is co-editor of and a contributor to “Democracy Unchained: How to Rebuild Government for the People,” and a contributor to "Democracy in a Hotter Time." He previously served as a senior official in the Wisconsin Department of Justice. He is currently executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project.