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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Sick in a Hospital Town, Part 5: Too Big to Fight
Phoebe gets its way and sidelines its critics. Mrs. Parker learns what happened to her husband.
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The Data Doesn’t Lie: How ProPublica Reports the Truth in an Era of False Claims
As federal data becomes less available, our journalists are doing shoe-leather reporting to provide readers with the precise numbers.
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What a Recorded Interview Between Police and Preachers Reveals About How a Minnesota Church Handled Sexual Abuse
A roughly 40-minute conversation shows how leaders of an Old Apostolic Lutheran Church kept an open secret quiet for so long.
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Trump’s Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Once Defended Congress’ Power of the Purse. Now He Defies It.
As a congressman, Duffy made an impassioned legal case against executive overreach. A decade later, judges have used those same arguments to rebuke him for withholding billions in transportation funding.
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Chicago Promoted Two Police Officers After Investigators Found They Engaged in Sexual Misconduct
The Chicago Police Department’s promotions system allows officers’ disciplinary records to be ignored. Despite years of reform efforts, nothing has changed.
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A Death Row Inmate Was Released on Bail After His Conviction Was Overturned. Louisiana Still Wants to Execute Him.
Months after a judge tossed out his 1998 murder conviction, Jimmie Duncan is free on bail. But prosecutors have asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to reinstate the death penalty for Duncan, even as the victim’s mother has come to support his release.
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Texas Lawmakers Criticized Kerr Leaders for Rejecting State Flood Money. Other Communities Did the Same.
Texas created a $1.4 billion fund to help pay for projects to guard against destructive flooding. But after learning that so many local communities turned down the money, two lawmakers who approved the program acknowledged it was flawed.
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Powerful Friends: Sympathetic Officials and “Cultural Power” Help Ranchers Dodge Oversight
Elected officials are quick to support public lands ranchers who are accused of breaking rules. As a result, federal agencies pull punches when enforcing regulations.
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Oregon Struggles to Land Federal Counterterrorism Money as Trump Orders Troops to Stop “Terrorists” Hindering ICE
A quiet battle has played out in court over money that “sanctuary” states say is needed to fight true extremist threats from both ends of the political spectrum.
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Wealthy Ranchers Profit From Public Lands. Taxpayers Pick Up the Tab.
A ProPublica and High Country News investigation found that government programs supporting grazing on public lands prop up a wealthy few while harming the environment. The Trump administration is supercharging the system.
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In Congress, He Said Tariffs Were Bad for Business. As Trump’s Ambassador to Canada, He’s Reversed Course.
Pete Hoekstra once testified that “the market should dictate the price of steel, not the government.” But he now champions the Trump trade policies that are being linked to job losses in his former Michigan district.
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A Loophole Allows Ranchers to Renew Grazing Permits With Little Scrutiny of the Environmental Impact
With dwindling oversight, cattle are grazing where they’re not supposed to and in greater numbers or for longer periods than permitted. This can spread invasive plants, pushing out native species and worsening wildfire risk.
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Do You Work at a Federal Prison? Help ProPublica Investigate the Federal Prison System
If you work at a federal prison and know about wrongdoing, we want to hear from you.
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