At least 38 DOGE members work, or have worked, for one of Elon Musk’s companies.
Meanwhile, nearly two dozen DOGE officials are making cuts to the same federal agencies that regulate the industries that employed them.
uspolitics
Trump Vowed to Clean Up Washington, Then His Team Hired a Man Who Pushed a Scam the IRS Called the “Worst of the Worst”
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Frank Schuler was a leading promoter of a tax deduction derided as a scam by prosecutors, senators and the IRS. Now he’s a senior adviser to the General Services Administration, which manages the federal government’s property.
A Study of Mint Plants. A Device to Stop Bleeding. This Is the Scientific Research Ted Cruz Calls “Woke.”
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The senator flagged thousands of National Science Foundation grants for using words like “female” and “diversify.” A ProPublica analysis found numerous examples of projects caught up in his crude method for identifying research he calls “woke.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/ted-cruz-woke-grants-national-science-foundation?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Science #Data #Research #Medicine #Biology #USPolitics
Exclusive: Six sources who worked for the Air Force or in Congress told ProPublica that they had heard about Sen. Joni Ernst’s relationship with a top military official and there had been concerns about it for years.
#News #Congress #Military #ConflictOfInterest #USPolitics #JoniErnst
A $3.7 million Capitol Hill townhouse is the D.C. headquarters of a secretive political influence project.
It’s owned by a major GOP donor. But one of the most powerful men in the country recently moved in: House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Secretive D.C. Influence Project Appears to Be Running a Group House for Right-Wing Lawmakers
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Evangelical pastor Steve Berger’s political influence campaign operates out of his D.C. townhouse. In addition to House Speaker Mike Johnson living there, a prominent Trump ally, Rep. Andy Ogles, has the keys.
https://www.propublica.org/article/roommates-steve-berger-mike-johnson-andy-ogles-right-wing-influence-townhouse?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
U.S. Housing Agency Considers Launching Crypto Experiment
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The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees billions in aid and insures more than a trillion dollars in mortgages, is pondering using the blockchain and a stablecoin. One HUD official derided it as “monopoly money.”
#News #Housing #Crypto #Government #USPolitics #Trump #Blockchain
A New Missouri Bill Would Let Residents Donate to Anti-Abortion Centers Instead of Paying Any Taxes
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Four months after Missouri voted to legalize abortion, Republican lawmakers are proposing a 100% tax credit — capped at $50,000 per year — for taxpayers who donate to crisis pregnancy centers.
https://www.propublica.org/article/missouri-pregnancy-resource-centers-anti-abortion-tax-credit-bill?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
A high-ranking NASA official warned his employees to “use discretion” in public when displaying badges or emblems that identify them as federal workers — part of an effort, the agency says, to protect its staff amid “stories of possible harassment.”
Two Transgender Girls, Six Federal Agencies. How Trump Is Trying to Pressure Maine Into Obedience.
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Maine said it wouldn’t break state law to follow President Donald Trump’s order barring transgender girls from playing girls’ sports. Then came a barrage of investigations and threats targeting the state’s federal funding.
#News #Maine #Trump #Trans #Sports #Girls #USPolitics #Government #LGBTQ #TransRights
“The President Wanted It and I Did It”: Recording Reveals Head of Social Security’s Thoughts on DOGE and Trump
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In a recording obtained by ProPublica, acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek portrayed his agency as facing peril, while also encouraging patience with “the DOGE kids.”
National Cancer Institute Employees Can’t Publish Information on These Topics Without Special Approval
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Vaccines. Fluoride. Autism. Communications involving these and 20 other “controversial, high profile, or sensitive” topics will get extra scrutiny under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
#News #Vaccines #Autism #Health #RFK #Medicine #Science #Government #USPolitics #Trump
The Office That Investigates Disparities in Veterans’ Care Is Being “Liquidated”
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The closure effectively hobbles the VA’s efforts to investigate and eliminate long-standing racial inequities that the department itself has acknowledged. “The consequences will be dire, wide-reaching and deadly,” an advocate for Black veterans said.
#News #Trump #Veterans #Military #Equity #DEI #Government #USPolitics
“Are we going to break something?” acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek asked, referring to what DOGE has been doing with Social Security data. “I don’t know."
#News #DOGE #Musk #ElonMusk #SocialSecurity #USPolitics #Trump
Trump Halted an Agent Orange Cleanup. That Puts Hundreds of Thousands at Risk for Poisoning.
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Diplomats in Vietnam warned Washington that halting USAID’s efforts to clean up the massive deposit of postwar pesticides would be a catastrophe for public health and relations with a key strategic partner in Asia.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-halted-agent-orange-cleanup-dioxin-vietnam-poison-risk?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Trump #Vietnam #USAID #Environment #PublicHealth #USPolitics
An effort to call a convention to amend the Constitution is focused on the national debt but could open the door to other changes — including making it legal for Trump to run for a third term.
https://www.propublica.org/article/constitutional-convention-congress-donald-trump-power?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Trump #Congress #USPolitics #Government #Law #History
Killing Grants That Have Saved Lives: Trump’s Cuts Signal End to Government Work on Terrorism Prevention
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Tens of millions of dollars slated for violence prevention have been cut or are frozen as DOGE steamrolls the national security sector. “This is the government getting out of the terrorism business,” said one grant recipient.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-budget-cuts-terrorism-prevention?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Terrorism #Security #Government #Trump #DOGE #USPolitics
In October, we published secret recordings of Russell Vought discussing plans to eviscerate entire agencies and decimate the morale of federal workers if Trump won a second term.
It's hard to imagine a more prescient piece of journalism, our editor-in-chief writes.
https://www.propublica.org/article/propublica-russell-vought-prophetic-trump-second-term?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
BIG Protest Thread 🧵
Resources and information for protestors
-How to find
-How to prepare / stay safe
-Printable flyers
-Rights
-How to identify disinformation and bad actors
-Deep Canvassing
As a congressman, Pete Hoekstra once testified that tariffs were bad for business.
But as Trump's ambassador to Canada, he now champions the trade policies that are being linked to job losses in his former Michigan district.
https://www.propublica.org/article/pete-hoekstra-michigan-canada-tariffs?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Michigan #Canada #Tariffs #Trade #USPolitics #Business #Economy
Scientists warn US will lose a generation of talent because of Trump cuts https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/national-science-foundation-trump-cuts #Researchanddevelopment #Trumpadministration #Climatecrisis #Environment #USpolitics #Science #USnews #Race
EPA to launch program that lets people adopt its lab animals amid Trump cuts https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/epa-lab-animals-trump-cuts #Trumpadministration #Environment #USpolitics #Animals #Science #USnews
Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show.
She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.
#News #KristiNoem #DHS #Ethics #USPolitics #Government #Nonprofit
EPA puts 139 employees on leave after they sign a ‘declaration of dissent’ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/epa-employees-administrative-leave #USEnvironmentalProtectionAgency #Environment #USpolitics #Pollution #Society #USnews #Health
Under #Biden US national labs found themselves hamstrung by micromanagement, demands from the administration that resources be diverted away from #science while regulators repeatedly shut down programs much to the chagrin of our International partners.
It's been a breath of fresh air that the new administration has allowed us to actually get back to work. I don't even care if they know what they are doing, at least they are no longer interfering. Science is getting back on track now.
Regardless of everything else that #Trump might be getting into, and maybe it's just because he's just that incompetent, at least the US is getting back on track with its scientific endeavors. Our experiments are getting back up to speed after years of crippling bureaucracy, and we can start making progress again.
There's a lot to complain about with Trump, but I am very glad to see that the expectations for science are living up to what I'd hoped.