What We’re Watching
During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.
Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.
Sharon Lerner
I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.
Andy Kroll
I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.
Jesse Coburn
I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.
If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.
More Stories
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The Number of Families Being Held at Dilley Detention Center Has Plummeted
This week, the average daily population at Dilley dropped to 100 people, compared with over 900 in January. The shift follows weeks of mounting public pressure generated in part by the widespread publication of letters written by detained children.
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DOGE Goes Nuclear: How Trump Invited Silicon Valley Into America’s Nuclear Power Regulator
In its rush to boost nuclear energy, the Trump administration is rapidly rewriting rules to ease regulations and provide financial breaks for industry. “The safety culture is under threat,” a former head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.
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As Trump Demands Voter Data, This Fiercely Independent Red State Says No
Wary of federal intrusion, Idaho passed a law three decades ago allowing it to sidestep so-called motor-voter laws. The exemption and the sentiment behind it are fueling resistance to President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.
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She Was in Labor at a Florida Hospital. Then She Was in Zoom Court for Refusing a C-Section.
A virtual court hearing from a pregnant mother’s hospital bed shows what forced medical treatment can look like.
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How Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Risks a Resurgence of Deadly Childhood Plagues
The health secretary is spreading doubts about vaccine safety and considering changes that could prompt manufacturers to flee the U.S. market. History has shown how plagues from the past can roar back when trust in shots — or access to them — falters.
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Transportation Lobbyists Have Donated Thousands to Sean Duffy’s Son-in-Law as He Runs for Congress
Industry money has been pouring into the congressional campaign of Michael Alfonso, a 26-year-old political unknown from Wisconsin. The candidate’s father-in-law happens to be the U.S. secretary of transportation.
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Federal Cyber Experts Thought Microsoft’s Cloud Was “a Pile of Shit.” They Approved It Anyway.
A federal program created to protect the government against cyber threats authorized a sprawling Microsoft cloud product, despite the company’s inability to fully explain how it protects sensitive data.
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An Open Letter to the Inspectors General Community
If you work in or have recently left the office of a federal inspector general, we need your insights to do important journalism.
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Oil Regulators Found Hundreds of Wells Violating Oklahoma Rules. Then They Ignored Their Findings.
Oklahoma took on an ambitious project to catalog all of the state’s injection wells, which shoot toxic waste generated by oil drilling back into the ground. Despite records showing risk of drinking water pollution, the state chose not to act.
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The Trump Administration’s “Disturbing” New Legal Strategy to Prosecute Border Crossers Is Taxing Courts and Testing the Law
One man, who admitted he had entered the U.S. illegally and was ready to be deported, sat in jail for 40 days over unfounded allegations of trespassing on military land. The Justice Department keeps pursuing similar cases, puzzling legal experts.
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This DHS Official Oversees the Security of Federal Elections. He Wants to Ban Voting Machines.
David Harvilicz, who co-founded a firm with a 2020 election denier, oversees voting machine security for the Department of Homeland Security while the Trump administration is relitigating the president’s baseless claims that the 2020 vote was stolen.
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They Didn’t Want to Have C-Sections. A Judge Would Decide How They Gave Birth.
Two Florida women had to attend virtual court hearings while in labor to argue for their right to choose their own medical care. As their state pushes to expand some types of medical freedom, it has also constricted the rights of pregnant women.
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Oregon Voters Overwhelmingly Said Yes to Limiting Money in Politics. Then Politicians Had Their Say.
Some 78% of Oregon voters approved limiting campaign contributions in 2020. Four years later, the Legislature finally adopted limits, but an advocate for tighter controls says recent changes render Oregon’s contribution limits “illusory.”
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Nevada Regulators Fine Peptide Providers at Anti-Aging Festival Where Two Women Became Critically Ill
Three individuals, along with the group accused of supplying the peptides, were fined between $5,000 and $10,000 for their involvement in an incident at the Revolution Against Aging and Death Festival in Las Vegas last summer.
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