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Politics

Holding Political Actors Accountable

460 stories published since 2016

A Onetime Rising Democratic Star Faces Questions About Voter Privacy

How Illinois Bet on Video Gambling and Lost

Will Pelosi Open the Floor to Bipartisan Ideas?

What We Learned From Collecting 100,000 Targeted Facebook Ads

Updated: The Hidden Money Funding the Midterms

VA Was “Taken Advantage Of” by Paying Billions in Fees, Secretary Says

The Laquan McDonald Shooting Keeps Exposing Critical Flaws in Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act

In Louisiana, More Than a Third of Ex-Lawmakers Continue to Try to Influence Their Old Colleagues

Elkhart’s Mayor Says He Won’t Run for Re-election, Amid Revelations of Misconduct in the Police Ranks

What Chicago Voters Can Look Forward to in a Very Crowded Mayoral Election

How to Get Your Lawmakers to Listen

Capitol Words

Why the Perfect Red-State Democrat Lost

The Election Is Over. And Now the Next Elections Begin.

Aging Machines, Crowds, Humidity: Problems at the Polls Were Mundane but Widespread

How North Carolina’s Early Voting Changes Affect Voters

Last-Minute Tips for Figuring Out Your Ballot and Making Sure You Can Vote

The Informed Voter’s Guide to Making Sure Your Vote Counts

Democratic Mailer in Texas Referred to Attorney General’s Office

How to “Follow the Money” When It Comes to Political Campaigns

In Illinois Governor’s Race, Rauner and Pritzker See a Clear Need to Promise Transparency

Pump and Trump

Arrest Throws Texas Voter Registration Dispute Into Further Confusion

Citizens Count on the Illinois Freedom of Information Act but Keep Getting Shut Out

Let Us Know About Voting Problems During the Midterm Elections

Election Experts: We Need You

4 Questions to Ask When Comparing Midterm Candidates

The Cost of the Office? Trump’s Billion-Dollar Loss — “Trump, Inc.” Podcast Extra

How Much Money Is Being Spent in the Illinois Governor’s Race?

How Effective Is Your Representative?

Elliott Broidy’s All-Access Pass — “Trump, Inc.” Podcast

Bipartisan Furor as North Carolina Election Law Shrinks Early Voting Locations by Almost 20 Percent

What’s in a Resume? A Lot, When It Comes to Trump Staffers

New in Trump Town: Staffer Resumes

Voting in America Is WILD. Here’s How to Plan Ahead.

Congress Passes Measure to Protect Board that Monitors Nuclear Safety

The Election DataBot: Now Even Easier

Agency Takes Back Instructions to Residents in Brooklyn Housing Project to Stay Home on Primary Day

ProPublica’s User’s Guide to Democracy: Political Advertising

Shedding Some Light on Dark Money Political Donors

Note to the Next Mayor: Chicago Is a City of the World, But We Want the Neighborhoods Fixed, Too

New Mexico Senators Speak Out Over Order They Say Would Hamper Nuclear Safety Board

Why Manafort and Cohen Thought They’d Get Away With It

Looking at the Archives From the Time of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and Seeing Familiar Themes

Louisiana Senate President Sank Ride-Sharing Bill. His Close Pal Sells Insurance to Cabs.

Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort: Two Cases That Shook the Trump World — “Trump, Inc.” Podcast Extra

Tax Case Flips the Script for Democrats and the GOP. But What About for Jurists?

Fund Meant to Protect Elections May Be Too Little, Too Late

When Sarah Sanders and the ACLU Teamed Up for Voting Rights

Did You Go to a Washington Nationals Game With Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh?

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.

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    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.

    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.

    “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.

    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.

    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.