John Arnold has been busy since leaving Enron.
His money has fueled research into probation leniency decried as "pro-criminal." In other states, Arnold backs nominally conservative energy groups prioritizing green energy and hostility to fossil fuels.
'Billionaires like him should stop bastardizing our nonprofit laws foisting their leftist beliefs on the American people.'
"The Arnold Pipeline," a new 28-page report from Power the Future, excavates the former trader's labyrinthine network.
Arnold, a former Enron natural gas trader turned billionaire philanthropist, has built a policy machine that funnels research and advocacy for progressive priorities into red-state capitals. Despite his background in fossil fuels, Arnold's money is aimed at weeding out those energy sources in favor of renewables.
Tracking IRS filings, grant records, and policy proposals across Ohio, Oklahoma, and Indiana, the report finds that Arnold isn't looking to flip Republicans into Democrats. Instead, the billionaire trader just needs them to put a patriotic veneer on a liberal agenda.
Power the Future founder and executive director Dan Turner told Blaze News why his group looked into Arnold in the first place.
"Since our founding, Power the Future’s north star has been holding the environmental left to account," Turner said. "As our efforts continued, we were surprised to learn about the role that John Arnold plays, not only as someone who used to work in the industry, but also as someone who holds himself out as a champion of common sense."
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Arnold Ventures calls itself evidence-based and bipartisan. Its stated mission is to "maximize opportunity and minimize injustice."
The Laura and John Arnold Foundation ended 2024 with a whopping $4.77 billion in assets, according to its tax filing. Arnold's charitable and advocacy arms gave out over $190 million in grants that same year.
Arnold Ventures’ advocacy arm, Action Now Initiative, says Arnold Ventures gives it “coordination, assistance, and support services.” Action Now is a separate nonprofit from the Arnold Foundation, but John Arnold is on both groups’ boards. Action Now reported nearly $10.9 million in grants in 2024.
The portfolio doesn't stop with energy. Criminal justice was Arnold's largest named funding category in 2024, constituting 31% of grant-making. Action Now spent $2.8 million on getting ranked-choice voting passed in Alaska, then doubled down to defend the system from a repeal effort.
Arnold Ventures' November 2025 energy overview also calls for policies that "reduce emissions."
"Amid a surging data center and AI boom, America needs more forms of energy period," Turner told Blaze News. "It doesn't need the eco extremists who are obsessed with sacrificing oil, natural gas, and coal at the green altar."
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Grant records show more than $23.2 million going to environmental and clean-energy groups, according to Power the Future's report. They include the Environmental Defense Fund, the Niskanen Center, and the Climate Leadership Council's carbon-dividend campaign. In 2019, Arnold gave Young Conservatives for Carbon Dividends its first grant: $500,000.
Arnold's organization doesn't always deal directly with Republican states. It also pushes money and influence through aligned organizations.
In Ohio, the Arnold pipeline flows through the Energy Foundation, a national clean-energy grant-maker that received roughly $4.2 million from Arnold between 2017 and 2020. Ohio is a pivotal state for energy production, situated atop the Utica Shale oil and gas play. It also hosts the Ohio Conservative Energy Forum, which benefited from a chain of grants that starts with Arnold money.
The U.S. Energy Foundation gave the Conservative Energy Network $2,027,500 in 2024, according to its tax filing. CEN then paid $210,361 to the Ohio Conservative Energy Forum and funded conservative-branded clean-energy groups in eight other states, including Indiana.
The forum's executive director testified for House Bill 15, the sweeping 2025 energy law signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine. The law ended ratepayer subsidies for coal plants and backed solar projects at schools.
The Ohio Conservative Energy Forum called it a "win."
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In Oklahoma, there is no middleman.
Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) and Arnold Ventures announced a formal partnership on March 26, 2025. Arnold Ventures agreed to match state spending dollar-for-dollar, up to $10 million over four years, for as much as $20 million combined. The first programs cover tutoring, youth services, and adoption.
Stitt has a record of breaking with the right.
Blaze News reported in August that Stitt had established a National Governors Association immigration task force with Democratic governors and was pushing for state-issued work permits.
"Let's actually have the governors issue workforce permits," Stitt said.
Blaze News opinion columnist and podcast host Daniel Horowitz called Stitt's energy policies into question back in 2024.
"He’s [Stitt's]right. Oklahoma has enough oil and gas to fuel much of the world," Horowitz wrote.
"The trouble is the memorandum he signed does not promote reliable energy. Instead, it prioritizes inefficient and heavily subsidized forms of energy."
Under the Arnold deal, Oklahoma isn't the only one deciding which programs receive funding.
The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy helps identify applicable programs. Its president, Jon Baron, was Arnold Ventures' vice president of evidence-based policy from 2015 to 2021.
"The government needs help from the private sector," Stitt said regarding the partnership in March.
In Indiana, the former head of an Arnold-funded group now runs the state's health policy.
The Arnold Foundation gave the Employers' Forum of Indiana $474,222 in 2022 to build an online dashboard comparing what hospitals charge private insurers with Medicare rates. Arnold Ventures later called the group "an AV grantee."
Former Employers' Forum of Indiana CEO Gloria Sachdev is now Indiana's secretary of health and family services. Gov. Mike Braun's December 2024 announcement of her appointment highlighted the same hospital-price work Arnold helped fund.
Her agency is now openly using Medicaid payments to throttle private hospitals.
"We're using our financial authority in the Medicaid market to influence the commercial market," said Mitch Roob, secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration, Indiana's Medicaid agency.
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Republicans weighing proposals without knowing who bankrolled the research and the ultimate aims of those patrons are being deprived of crucial context, the report argues.
"Conservative officials and officeholders should know that most anything connected to Arnold's financial web runs counter to their ideological worldview and policy agenda," Turner told Blaze News.
Turner told Blaze News that Arnold keeps a low profile on purpose.
"The reason that Arnold disguises his motivations and intent is because he knows selling the priorities of extreme left-wing environmentalists in places like Indiana, Ohio, and Oklahoma would be an absolute nonstarter if the public knew," Turner said. "That's exactly what we're trying to do with this report: raise public awareness."
Asked what reform should look like, Turner pointed to Congress.
"Passing H.R. 8330, the Stop Climate Shakedowns Act of 2026, would be a good place to start," he said.
Introduced April 16 by Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), the bill would ban climate lawfare against oil, gas, and coal companies in federal and state courts. It would also void pending cases.
"The climate change movement in America is a big business, and lawsuits are how they make money," Turner said. "The courts are weaponized against one industry, driving up costs for every American while enriching some and bankrolling the campaigns of others."
"Billionaires like him should stop bastardizing our nonprofit laws foisting their leftist beliefs on the American people," Turner told Blaze News.
Arnold Ventures did not respond to a request for comment.
Gov. Kevin Stitt's office, Gov. Mike Braun's office, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, the Energy Foundation, the Conservative Energy Network, the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy, and Sen. Jim Banks' office did not respond to Blaze News' requests for comment.
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A longtime Republican Indiana state senator who landed on President Donald Trump's good side in the congressional redistricting fight has announced his resignation.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, state Sen. Ron Alting wrote: "I have informed Senate President Pro Tem Rod Bray of my decision to resign from the Indiana Senate." Lance Gideon, Alting's senior press secretary, confirmed to Blaze News that Alting intends to resign should he win re-election on November 3.
Doctors are still seeking 'a definitive diagnosis.'
The announcement follows allegations that Alting stole items from Walmart store locations in Lafayette and Monticello, Indiana, and Naples, Florida, Journal & Courier reported.
In his Facebook post, Alting made veiled reference to the allegations, suggesting that at least some of them are true. "I did things that were wrong and completely out of character for me," Alting admitted.
"I take responsibility for my actions. I am deeply sorry for the hurt and disappointment I have caused my family, friends, colleagues, constituents, and the store employees involved."
He also provided a possible explanation for his alleged behavior: "concerning changes" in his mental health and cognition.
"Over the past several weeks, I have been undergoing extensive medical evaluation for concerning changes in my judgment, behavior, and cognitive functioning. That evaluation has included specialists in neurology, geriatrics, and mental health, as well as an MRI and other testing," Alting wrote, adding that doctors are still seeking "a definitive diagnosis."
Though Alting has not yet been charged in connection with the alleged theft, Elkhart County prosecutors are investigating reports tied to Alting, the New York Post reported.
Gideon did not respond to questions from Blaze News about the allegations and Alting's health.
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The midterm election is just weeks away, but the 22nd Senate district seat spanning much of Tippecanoe and Carroll Counties is considered reliably red. It voted for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and Alting, who was first elected in 1998, has comfortably won re-election there since at least 2006.
Still, more than 5,400 voters in the district cast a ballot in the 2026 Democratic primary, so Democratic challenger Natasha Baker may pose a threat to Alting, whose name will remain on the ballot.
Should Alting win again, his "successor will ultimately be chosen through the Republican Party's vacancy process," Alting wrote. That process involves precinct committee members choosing a replacement, Journal & Courier explained.
The Indiana state Senate became a lightning rod a year ago, when President Trump strongly encouraged Republican state senators there to pass a new district map that would have likely resulted in two more Republican members of Congress. The push failed in December after 21 Republicans joined Democrats to block the bill.
Alting was not one of them.
Alting voted for the new map, leading to a "complete and total endorsement" for re-election from Trump. In a Truth Social post on April 7, the president characterized Alting as "a Strong Champion and Highly Effective Representative."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
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Jaime West, an Indiana Democrat running for the Fayette County Council, went viral online over a bizarre Oct. 9 candidate interview on LocalTV3.
Not only did West sloppily express loathing for Republicans and call for them to be fired in a county where President Donald Trump received 77.5% of the vote in 2024; she issued an apparent threat to her political opponents, stating, "We have guns too."
'It's trebled in the last 30 seconds.'
Following widespread speculation that West was a few cards shy of a full deck or had at least been intoxicated, the Democrat appeared on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" on Monday and confirmed the latter was the case.
When asked by the British host whether she'd had a drink before her viral performance, West said, "I had a Coors Light. I had a beer."
Morgan, apparently unconvinced, asked, "One beer or —?"
Upon reflection, West said, "Maybe a couple," then noted that she had been nervous at the time about "going in a room full of Republicans."
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Still not buying West's answer, Morgan said, "Jaime, here's your chance to be completely honest and transparent. How many beers did you have?"
"All right," said the Democrat, who is the registered owner of Queen Bee's Cleaning. "Three."
"It's trebled in the last 30 seconds," responded Morgan. "So do you accept you may have been a little intoxicated?"
"Not that intoxicated," she replied. "But I do know what I'm talking about."
The Democrat then claimed that she was completely sober for the interview underway.
Ben Ferguson, the co-host of "Verdict with Ted Cruz" who partook in the panel discussion with Morgan and West, later questioned the size of the Coors Lights that the Democrat had thrown back.
During the segment, Morgan afforded West an opportunity to rephrase or recant the provocative statements she gave in her candidate interview — including her suggestion that elements of MAGA are racist and dumb. Not only did West decline the offer, she doubled down on her previous statements.
West said, "No. I say it all the time. I'm not friends with them [Republicans]. I don't like them. They voted for all of this that's happening and to our country. We have a constitutional crisis!"
Ferguson, who laughed throughout the exchange, chimed in and claimed he is "now a huge advocate for candidates drinking before debates because then we might actually find out what they believe in."
In a comment to IndyStar, West said, "Given that Republicans have held control of the state for over 20 years, it is frustrating to see so many Hoosiers continue to vote against their own interests and harbor hostility toward Democrats."
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!The Democratic Party is increasingly becoming a refuge for radicals, even in Fayette County, one of the most pro-Trump regions of Indiana.
Jaime West, a Democrat running for election to Fayette County Council, is one such radical, and she put her radicalism on full display in a forum that aired on LocalTV3 last week.
'I don't like being around them.'
Her emotionally fraught interview with moderator Amy McCarty, the managing editor of the Connersville News-Examiner, quickly went off the rails and concluded with an apparent threat to Republicans.
After sitting through West's rant about data centers, McCarty asked the Democrat, "If elected, what is one decision that you expect to make that may be unpopular with some voters but you believe ultimately would be in the best interest of Fayette County?"
West, a self-identified "gig worker" who coordinated a No Kings rally in April, took a moment to repeat the question and think it over, then responded, looking dead into the camera: "Firing all Republicans. I wouldn't let them — I mean, I don't even talk to them. I don't like them."
In the 2024 presidential election, President Donald Trump received 77.5% of the vote in Fayette County.
"What do you want me to say?" continued the Democrat. "I don't like being around them. I mean, y'all did this to us. You all voted for us. You made this happen — this ICE coming into our communities, stealing people's jobs."
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West interrupted her own train of thought with a growl, then claimed that she has faced threats from "MAGA, we'll call them."
The Democrat acknowledged that "there are good Republicans out there" but suggested that there are also "MAGAs who are just racist and aren't very intelligent at all." She even alleged that one individual threatened to "blow [her] head off."
McCarty gave the candidate another opportunity to put a neat bow on her lengthy diatribe, asking her to "say just a few last words to the voters."
Throwing her hands up in the air and staring once more into the camera, the Democrat said, "We have guns too."
West and the Indiana Democratic Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
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A 3-year-old boy drowned in a residential pool in Evansville, Indiana, over the weekend while his 41-year-old mother allegedly was found passed out in a patio chair after drinking about five 25-ounce beers.
Police told WFIE-TV that a 911 call came in around 4:30 p.m. Saturday saying the boy had drowned in a pool at a home on North Second Avenue.
'This is all my fault.'
Emergency crews arrived at the home and attempted lifesaving measures on the child, the station said, adding that the boy was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The homeowner said the mother, Amie Jo Farber, showed up with the boy around 2:30 p.m. and asked if they could swim in the backyard pool, WFIE reported, citing police.
The homeowner said they could but told Farber she needed to be sure to watch the boy, the station added.
Farber reportedly was sitting outside at a patio table while the boy was in a pool float, WFIE noted. The homeowner came outside to find Farber “passed out” in a patio chair and the boy floating face-down in the water, the station said, citing police.
One witness pulled the boy out and began administering CPR while another witness called 911, WFIE reported.
Police said during the 911 call one witness could be heard repeatedly yelling “Amie” in an attempt to get Farber to wake up, and another woman could be heard saying, “She’s passed out drunk!" the station reported.
The homeowner later told officers that Farber drank about five 25-ounce beers over the two hours she was in the back yard, WFIE noted.
The first officer to arrive on scene reportedly saw Farber next to trash cans apparently throwing away empty beer cans, the station said, adding that several empty beer cans were on the ground next to her — and she showed signs of impairment.
Police added to WFIE that Farber told officers at the hospital that she “must have fallen asleep” but didn’t know for how long. Officers added to the station that Farber also told them, “This is all my fault,” but didn’t elaborate.
Police obtained a search warrant for Farber’s blood to get it tested for drugs and alcohol, the station said.
Farber was booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail Saturday night and charged with neglect resulting in death, WFIE reported, adding that she's being held on a $25,000 cash bond; her initial hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
The station also reported that Farber in 2023 was arrested after police said she got drunk while caring for her infant. Police told WFIE that Farber fought and spit at officers during her arrest. She faced numerous charges, including neglect of a dependent, domestic battery, and intimidation and battery against a public safety officer, the station said.
It's not clear if the victim in the 2023 case is Farber's boy who drowned Saturday.
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