The Paper Trail: November 8, 2024

Delivered Tuesdays and Fridays, The Paper Trail is a curated collection of the government news you need to know. Sign up to get this newsletter delivered to your inbox.

Editor’s Note

There will be no Paper Trail on Tuesday, November 12.

Announcements

Don’t be a Lame Duck – Prep Now for the 119th Congress: POGO’s virtual training on how to use the lame duck session to develop your oversight agenda to ensure you’re prepared to hit the ground running come January will be held Friday, November 15 at 12 noon EST. This event is only open to staff in Congress, GAO, and CRS. Register HERE.

The Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds will have a pop-up tabling event on Wednesday, November 13 from 12:00 noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Longworth Cafeteria. House staff can stop by to pick up their latest desk guides and templates for closing cases, and get your questions answered around working with oversight sources and whistleblower constituents.

The Paper Trail

Top stories for November 8, 2024

DOJ moving to wind down Trump criminal cases before he takes office: Adhering to a longstanding policy that a sitting president can’t be prosecuted, Justice Department officials are evaluating how to wind down the election interference and classified documents cases against President-elect Donald Trump. (Ken Dilanian and Laura Jarrett, NBC News)

But their emails: Federal employees’ communications swept up in conservatives’ dragnet: Conservative groups have spent President Biden’s term submitting thousands of Freedom of Information Act requests — mainly to the EPA and the Departments of Interior and Energy — seeking federal employees’ communications. There are concerns that a second Trump administration might use the information to purge employees suspected of disloyalty to Donald Trump. (Robin Bravender, Politico)

🔎 See Also: Conservative group’s “watch list” targets federal employees for firing (Jonathan O’Connell, Leigh Ann, Caldwell and Lisa Rein, Washington Post)

Members of Congress have taken hundreds of AIPAC-funded trips to Israel in the past decade: Israel is far and away the top destination for privately sponsored foreign travel by lawmakers and their aides. More than a quarter of the roughly 4,100 privately sponsored foreign trips reported since 2012 were trips to Israel hosted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. (Aidan Hughes, Cait Kelley, and Daryl Perry, Politico)

Senior White House official violated the Hatch Act, OSC says: The Office of Special Counsel, in a complaint filed with the Merit Systems Protection Board, alleges that White House domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden improperly used social media to help raise money for political candidates. MSPB officials had no comment on the claim or how long it would take to adjudicate it. (Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive)

FAA to strengthen oversight as Boeing set to resume 737 MAX production: FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said that safety culture improvements at Boeing may take three to five years to accomplish and vowed to revamp the FAA’s own safety management program, which he admitted had been “too hands-off” in overseeing Boeing. (David Shepardson, Reuters)

Israel-Hamas War

As Middle East crisis grinds on, Pentagon shows signs of strain: The open-ended crisis in the Middle East has begun to squeeze the Pentagon, fueling unease over the U.S. military’s ability to balance imminent threats to American interests there with longer-term objectives elsewhere around the world. (Dan Lamothe and Abigail Hauslohner, Washington Post)

U.S. soldier injured earlier this year on Gaza pier mission has died: Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley, a soldier who was critically injured over the summer while on the temporary Gaza pier mission, died last week. A GAO report found that Army watercraft, which carried out the pier mission, are poorly maintained and in a low state of readiness due to aging vessels, supply shortages, and obsolete parts. (Haley Britzky, CNN)

Insurrection

Hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters are on the verge of escaping charges: Donald Trump’s return to power means hundreds of people who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, are likely to go unpunished. The Justice Department has charged more than 1,560 people, but prosecutors estimate that as many as 2,500 people could face charges. Online sleuths put the number closer to 3,000. (Kyle Cheney, Politico)

🔎 See Also: Jan. 6 defendants are already angling for pardons from Trump (Alan Feuer, New York Times)

Dobbs Aftermath

Abortion access for 2 million women will be changing. Here’s how: Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, and New York approved ballot measures to safeguard abortion rights. Soon, 61% of women ages 15 to 44 will live in states in which abortion is legal. Antiabortion groups say the ballot measures won’t stop their efforts. (N. Kirkpatrick, Washington Post)

Analysis: Surveillance & policing bodily autonomy: After Dobbs, states can use the tools of the surveillance state to enforce anti-abortion laws. Here’s why that's dangerous, especially for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. (Don Bell, The Constitution Project at the Project On Government Oversight)

Russia-Ukraine War

Biden team prepares to rush last-minute aid to Ukraine: The Biden administration is planning to rush the last of over $6 billion remaining in Ukraine security assistance out the door by Inauguration Day. It normally takes months for munitions and equipment to get to Ukraine after an aid package is announced, so President-elect Trump could halt the shipments before they’re on the ground. (Paul McLeary and Jack Detsch, Politico)

Police Misconduct

Interpol tightens oversight on databases misused by autocrats: Interpol expanded its oversight of databases that autocrats and strongmen have used to monitor and harass political dissidents. (Jane Bradley, New York Times)

Defense and Veterans Affairs

$4000 soap dispensers on Air Force planes? Just you wait: Two provisions in this year’s defense policy bill would allow military contractors to gouge taxpayers even more. (Julia Gledhill, Responsible Statecraft)

Soldiers, spouses fleeing domestic violence get faster access to emergency funds: Advocates say that an Army-affiliated program which provides immediate financial assistance to victims of domestic violence is a step forward, but more mental health support is needed for victims to have the fortitude to leave abusive situations. (Patty Nieberg, Task & Purpose)

Tech

Protest under a surveillance state microscope: Modern surveillance technology allows the government to target protests in new and alarming ways. (Don Bell, The Constitution Project at the Project On Government Oversight)

🔎 See Also: Trump might get unfettered surveillance powers. How did we get here? (Matthew Sledge, The Intercept)

House committee targets chip technology firms for China ties: Semiconductor manufacturers are coming under scrutiny from Capitol Hill amid lawmakers’ concern about technology sales to China. (Ana Swanson, New York Times)

Health Care

Drugmaker shut down after black schmutz found in injectable weight-loss drug: The FDA’s warning to consumers not to use drugs made by compounding pharmacy Fullerton Wellness LLC is the agency’s latest warning on weight-loss drugs. The FDA has repeatedly cautioned about quality and safety problems related to compounded versions of the drugs. (Beth Mole, Ars Technica)

State votes on marijuana and psychedelics signal drug policy concerns: Tuesday’s state ballot results for legalized recreational marijuana and psychedelics signal growing public concern that drug policies across the country have become too permissive. (David Ovalle, Washington Post)

ICYMI

Looking Ahead to 2025:

→ Trump won. Here are 3 Biden priorities under scrutiny

→ An agency-by-agency look at Trump’s plan to overhaul government

→ Trump will return to power with a more expansive agenda

→ What Trump’s win means for the federal workforce

→ Federal workers prepare for cuts, forced relocations in Trump’s second term

→ Trump’s allies are already jockeying for high-powered spots in his administration

→ Elon Musk helped elect Trump. What does he expect in return?

→ Robert F. Kennedy Jr., foe of drug makers and regulators, is poised to wield new power

→ Trump wins, the press loses

Immigration and Border Security:

→ Judge declares Biden immigration program for spouses of U.S. citizens illegal

→ Trump allies, private sector quietly prepare for mass detention of immigrants

→ Biden wanted to fix immigration, but leaves behind a system that is still broken

→ Inspections find no water, no beds and rats at Virginia’s migrant labor camps

Other News:

→ “Fat Leonard,” Navy contractor behind one of the military’s biggest scandals, sentenced to 15 years

→ The world’s 10 richest people got a record $64 billion richer from Trump’s reelection

→ USDA ban on school lunch fees for low-income families begins in 2027

Because It’s Friday

Monkey mayhem in South Carolina after 43 primates escape research facility: Residents of a small South Carolina town are finding themselves in the middle of a real-life game of Jumanji after 43 rhesus macaque monkeys escaped from a biomedical research facility. In 2016, 19 monkeys escaped from the facility. (Graham Hurley, CNN)

Upcoming Events

📌 Preparing for the Next Pandemic: Lessons Learned and The Path Forward. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. Thursday, November 14, 11:30 a.m., 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.

📌 Restoring Congressional Power over VA After Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Tuesday, November 19, 10:15 a.m., 360 Cannon House Office Building.

Hot Docs

🔥📃 GAO - Red Hill Fuel Storage: DOD’s Contract Approaches and Oversight before and after the 2021 Fuel Leaks. GAO-25-106572 (PDF)

🔥📃 Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction: Quarterly Report to Congress. October 30, 2024 (PDF)