In Reply to: Trump is stiffing more people... ICE agents posted by mh on February 03, 2026 at 12:07:38
A US disaster response firm submitted a plan to White House officials that would guarantee 300% profits and a seven-year monopoly over a new trucking and logistics plan for Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in Gaza, according to a November proposal obtained by the Guardian.
The draft plan from Gothams LLC would allow it to collect a fee for every truck moving goods into Gaza, and charge for the use of its warehousing and distribution system.
The Guardian first reported in December that Gothams was the frontrunner for a lucrative deal that would be doled out by a future Trump-chaired Board of Peace, but the scale of the profit margin was not clear.
Though the firm’s CEO, Matthew Michelsen, told the Guardian in December he was halting his proposal, a company partner is still involved, records show, and a new Gaza supply system (GSS) is being discussed by administration officials and businesspeople affiliated with Trump’s Board of Peace. Michelsen declined to talk to the Guardian for this story.
Chris Vanek, a partner at Gothams, has been coordinating with White House officials about GSS in recent weeks, according to two sources familiar with the process and records reviewed by the Guardian.
Homes and buildings destroyed by the Israeli military in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, on 13 December 2025.
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A Gothams spokesperson emailed a quote from Vanek, a former army officer, in response to questions about this story.
“The Board of Peace, Palestinian and Israeli stakeholders, and the US Department of State asked me to assist with planning efforts based on my extensive experience in conflict zones, reconstruction, and disaster response. There is no existing agreement or contract, and I have provided this assistance at my own expense in support of peace efforts,” it said.
A spokesperson for Gothams later added that Vanek “has not had any discussions regarding financing, investment, or returns, and any suggestion otherwise would be inaccurate”.
They did not respond directly to questions about the profit margins or proposed exclusivity agreement outlined in the November draft.
Charles Tiefer, an expert on federal contracting law who sat on the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the terms listed by Gothams were outrageous. “There’s never been a US government contract that had triple returns on capital, not in 200 years. To make 25% is considered good,” he said. “Having spent three years looking at contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, this looks like highway robbery.”