Management

The Founding Generation Showed Their Patriotism With Their Money

History suggests the value of a broader understanding of patriotism, one that goes beyond saluting-the-flag loyalty and battlefield bravery.

Management

Viewpoint: Trump’s Defense Against Subpoenas Makes No Legal Sense

Like so many contentions of the president’s legal team, this is malarkey thinly draped with plausible-sounding distortions of facts, rules, court opinions, and the Constitution itself.

Defense

The Worst Kind of Medical Debt

When treated at military hospitals, civilians can end up with tens of thousands of dollars in debt that the federal government relentlessly tries to collect.

Management

The Civil Servant Who Changes the Constitution

One federal employee will determine whether the ERA gets added to America’s founding document—the question is which authority he’ll turn to for guidance.

Oversight

These Emails Show a Trump Official Helping Her Former Chemical Industry Colleagues

A lobbyist turned senior Agriculture Department official repeatedly shared information with her former industry on policy and enforcement. “It’s highly inappropriate conduct,” said one ethics expert.

Oversight

Analysis: Can the Constitution Stop the Government from Lying to the Public?

When a person or agency backed by the power and resources of the government tells a lie, it sometimes causes harm that only the government can inflict.

Defense

The Lessons of the Afghanistan Papers

Americans need leaders who can tell them how and when they will decide to pull the plug.

Oversight

Analysis: Courts Have Avoided Refereeing Between Congress and the President, but Trump May Force Them to Wade In

President Trump refuses to provide information to lawmakers in the impeachment inquiry. But courts have been reluctant to take such cases for fear of upsetting the government's balance of power.

Management

The Trump Administration Gutted the Staff Overseeing $1 Billion in Aid to Iraq. A Watchdog Is Raising Red Flags.

A new report warns that USAID may not be able to effectively oversee $1.16 billion in foreign aid to Iraq — including to Christian groups Vice President Mike Pence’s office favored — after the administration cut much of its on-the-ground staff.

Oversight

Viewpoint: The U.S. Government Has a Secrecy Problem

American officials classify too much information, from the trivial to the politically inconvenient. The overreliance on secrecy invites abuse.

Oversight

In Act of Defiance, FEC Chair Tweets Memo on Foreign Election Interference Over GOP Commissioner's Objections

Chairwoman Weintraub said a Republican commissioner last week blocked publication of the guidance in a weekly digest of FEC activities.

Oversight

Viewpoint: Trump’s Unprecedented Fight to Withhold Information

The 45th president has again set himself apart—this time by resisting congressional oversight to an unparalleled degree.

Oversight

Office of Legal Counsel Is Illegally Withholding Opinions from Public Scrutiny, Suit Alleges

Plaintiffs argue that 25-year-old documents are vital to understanding the Trump administration's decisions and should be made public under the 2016 FOIA reform.

Management

Trump Called Baltimore 'Vermin Infested' While the Federal Government Fails to Clean Up Rodents in Subsidized Housing

Baltimore’s public housing is among the most dilapidated and dangerous in the country — nearly half of complexes failed inspection — and Trump just spent a week attacking the city on Twitter.

Management

Social Security Administrator Institutes Partial Hiring Freeze

Unions say they have not been briefed on the measure, which applies to all headquarters components and regional offices.

Oversight

Lawmakers Seek to Bolster Public Records Law

A bipartisan bill would overrule a recent Supreme Court decision and reverse recent changes at EPA.

Management

Senate Panel Backs Bill Requiring Greater Transparency on Federal Spending

Goal is for taxpayers to have access to more information on where their money is going. 

Oversight

Senators in Both Parties Object to FOIA Changes at EPA

A recent change in public information request regulations, effective immediately, vested more power in political appointees.