Skip to content
ProPublica Donate
ProPublica Donate

Politics

Holding Political Actors Accountable

460 stories published since 2016
People in a video game landscape of the election season

Guía de ProPublica para asegurar que su voto cuente durante la pandemia

por Susie Armitage,

Inside the Utility Company Lobbying Blitz That Will Hike Electric Bills

by Patrick Wilson, Richmond Times-Dispatch,

Your Guide to Voting in Illinois

by ProPublica,

DOJ Frees Federal Prosecutors to Take Steps That Could Interfere With Elections, Weakening Long-standing Policy

by Robert Faturechi and Justin Elliott,

In Florida, the Gutting of a Landmark Law Leaves Few Felons Likely to Vote

by Lawrence Mower and Langston Taylor, Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times,

Electionland 2020: North Carolina Mail Voting, In-Person Voting Starts, Naked Ballots and More

by Rachel Glickhouse, ProPublica, and Joshua Eaton, Lauren Rosenthal and Thy Anh Vo for ProPublica,

Gov. Jim Justice’s Companies Have Now Reached $140 Million in Lawsuit Settlements and Judgments Over Unpaid Bills

by Ken Ward Jr. and Alex Mierjeski,

When Is a Meeting Not a Meeting and a Lawmaker Not a Lawmaker? When It’s Lori Lightfoot’s Chicago.

by Mick Dumke,

In North Carolina, Black Voters’ Mail-In Ballots Much More Likely to Be Rejected Than Those From Any Other Race

by Sophie Chou, ProPublica, and Tyler Dukes, WRAL News,

Trump’s Vaccine Czar Refuses to Give Up Stock in Drug Company Involved in His Government Role

by Isaac Arnsdorf,

People in a video game landscape of the election season

ProPublica’s Pandemic Guide to Making Sure Your Vote Counts

by Susie Armitage,

The Woman Propositioned by Alaska’s Former Lieutenant Governor Tells Her Story for the First Time

by Kyle Hopkins and Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News,

Rick Perry’s Ukrainian Dream

by Simon Shuster, TIME, and Ilya Marritz, WNYC,

As Trump Calls for Law and Order, Can Chicago’s Top Prosecutor Beat the Charge That She’s Soft on Crime?

by Mick Dumke,

Alaska’s Attorney General Resigns Hours After We Published “Uncomfortable” Texts He Sent to a Younger Colleague

by Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News,

What the Post Office Needs to Survive a Pandemic Election

by Jessica Huseman, Maryam Jameel and Ryan McCarthy,

Kamala Harris Reading Guide: The Best Reporting on the Vice Presidential Candidate

by Mollie Simon,

This Billionaire Governor Keeps Firing Top Officials When He Has a Crisis

by Ken Ward Jr.,

How Hotel Chains Got a Slice of Government Aid for Small Businesses

by Isaac Arnsdorf,

Justice Department Is Scrutinizing Takeover of Credit Karma by Intuit, Maker of TurboTax

by Justin Elliott and Paul Kiel,

Bill Barr Has Done This Before

by Mick Dumke,

The Disinfomercial: How Larry King Got Duped Into Starring in Chinese Propaganda

by Renee Dudley and Jeff Kao,

How Voter-Fraud Hysteria and Partisan Bickering Ate American Election Oversight

by Jessica Huseman,

Inside One Huge Company’s (Mostly) Successful Campaign to Escape Trump’s Tariffs

by Lydia DePillis,

The Cuomo Administration Hasn’t Said Which Nursing Homes Were Infected With COVID-19 After Its Order Sent Positive Patients Into Them

by Joe Sexton and Joaquin Sapien,

Andrew Cuomo’s Report on Controversial Nursing Home Policy for COVID Patients Prompts More Controversy

by Joaquin Sapien and Joe Sexton,

Three Takeaways From the Supreme Court’s Decisions on Trump’s Tax and Financial Documents

by Katherine Sullivan, WNYC,

Electionland 2020: NJ Primary, CDC Election Guidance, Fall Voting Plans and More

by Rachel Glickhouse,

Companies Owned by This Billionaire Governor Received up to $24 Million in Bailout Loans

by Ken Ward Jr.,

Why Do People Want to See Donald Trump’s Tax Returns?

by Kristen Doerer for ProPublica,

An Employee at a Private Sports Club Owned by This Billionaire Governor Tested Positive for Coronavirus

by Ken Ward Jr.,

Has the IRS Hit Bottom?

by Paul Kiel,

One of America’s Wealthiest States Might Pass Up an Opportunity to Tackle Housing Segregation

by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, The Connecticut Mirror,

The Indian Health Service Wants to Return 1 Million KN95 Masks It Bought From a Former White House Official

by Yeganeh Torbati,

Oyster, Air Fryer and Bicycle Companies Say Their Goods Are Essential to Fighting Coronavirus So They Can Get Tariff Relief

by Lydia DePillis,

Stop Seizing Paychecks, Senators Write to Capital One and Other Debt Collectors

by Paul Kiel,

The Governor Urged Businesses to Reopen Safely, but a Restaurant at His Luxury Resort Didn’t, Complaints Say

by Ken Ward Jr.,

What the Trump Campaign Is Up To on YouTube (Hint: It Involves Aliens, Bin Laden and Ivanka)

by Alice Wilder, WNYC,

An Illustrated History of Government Agencies Twisting the Truth to Align With White House Misinformation

by Eric Umansky,

Inside the Trump Administration’s Decision to Leave the World Health Organization

by Sebastian Rotella, James Bandler and Patricia Callahan,

Democratic Senators Call for USAID to Investigate Anti-LGBT, Anti-Muslim Comments by Appointees

by Yeganeh Torbati,

The Postal Service Is Steadily Getting Worse — Can It Handle a National Mail-In Election?

by Ryan McCarthy and Maryam Jameel,

“I Can’t Speak Negatively About the President,” Says Official Charged With Stimulus Oversight

by Ilya Marritz and Katherine Sullivan, WNYC,

We Reported on Corporate Tax Breaks in the Rust Belt. Now Officials Want Tougher Enforcement.

by Dan O’Brien, The Business Journal,

Contractors for Trump’s Controversial $3 Billion Food Aid Program Have Hired a Longtime Lobbyist to Tout Their Work

by Isaac Arnsdorf,

Law Enforcement Files Discredit Brian Kemp’s Accusation That Democrats Tried to Hack the Georgia Election

by Mark Niesse, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Jack Gillum, ProPublica,

Electionland 2020: Trump on Vote by Mail, Poll Worker PPE, Naturalizations and More

by Rachel Glickhouse,

This Billionaire Governor’s Been Sued Over Unpaid Bills. A Judge Just Ordered Him to Pay More.

by Ken Ward Jr., ProPublica, and Alex Mierjeski for ProPublica,

A hand clutching a stack of money and a surgical mask.

A Closer Look at Federal COVID Contractors Reveals Inexperience, Fraud Accusations and a Weapons Dealer Operating Out of Someone’s House

by Ryan Gabrielson, Lydia DePillis, J. David McSwane and Derek Willis, ProPublica, and Connor Sheets, AL.com,

States Are Reopening: See How Coronavirus Cases Rise or Fall

by Lena V. Groeger and Ash Ngu,

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.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
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.

Most Read

    ProPublica Sued the FDA for Withholding Records About the Safety of Generic Drugs

    The agency declined to quickly release documents that would identify drugs made at some of the most troubled foreign factories. The request was part of ProPublica’s ongoing investigation into the safety of America’s generic drug supply.

    by Katherine Dailey and Jessie Nguyen, Medill Investigative Lab,

    Threat in Your Medicine Cabinet: The FDA’s Gamble on America’s Drugs

    A ProPublica investigation found that for more than a decade, the FDA gave substandard factories banned from the United States a special pass to keep sending drugs to an unsuspecting public.

    by Debbie Cenziper, Megan Rose, Brandon Roberts and Irena Hwang,

    “The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention

    One year out of college and with no apparent national security expertise, Thomas Fugate is the Department of Homeland Security official tasked with overseeing the government’s main hub for combating violent extremism.

    by Hannah Allam,

    A Racist Harvard Scientist Commissioned Photos of Enslaved People. One Possible Descendant Wants to Reclaim Their Story.

    The images are among the oldest known photographs of enslaved people in America. Tamara Lanier’s fight to gain control of them shows there is no clear system in place to repatriate remains of captive Africans or objects associated with them.

    by Jennifer Berry Hawes,

    Federal Judge Deems Trump Administration’s Termination of NIH Grants Illegal

    In a ruling issued Monday, the judge called the government’s directives “arbitrary and capricious” and ordered funding for some of the NIH grants, including many profiled by ProPublica in recent months, to be restored.

    by Annie Waldman,