The Paper Trail: April 11, 2025

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Announcements

Making the Most of Your Resources: Working with CRS: POGO’s virtual training on working with CRS will be Friday, April 18 at 12 noon. This event is only open to staff in Congress, GAO, and CRS. Register HERE.

Top stories for April 11, 2025

Agencies can once again fire all probationary employees following new court ruling: The Supreme Court on Tuesday and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Wednesday ruled that the non-profit groups who filed the lawsuit lacked standing, allowing the Trump administration once again to fire all probationary employees (Eric Katz, Government Executive)

🔎 See Also: Supreme Court lets Trump fire Democratic members of labor boards, for now (Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive)

🔎 See Also: Trump is trying to quietly wrest control of a top federal civil rights board (Hassan Ali Kanu, Politico)

With many career lawyers gone, Justice Dept. hires Trump loyalists for court: The DOJ is building a roster of lawyers willing to defend in court the most controversial parts of President Trump’s agenda, firing career attorneys whom leaders view as standing in their way and hiring dozens of political appointees. (Perry Stein and Jeremy Roebuck, Washington Post)

Trump directive aims to speed up deregulation by nixing public input: In February, President Trump signed an executive order requiring agencies, within 60 days, to identify regulations for elimination or modification. With that deadline just days away, the president this week declared that such regulations can be repealed without going through the public notice and comment period. (Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive)

Supreme Court rules Trump administration must “facilitate” return of mistakenly deported man: The Supreme Court’s emergency ruling instructs the lower court judge to clarify the language of her order “with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs,” and that the government “should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps” in ensuring the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. (Zach Schonfeld and Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill)

“They don’t care about civil rights”: Trump’s shuttering of DHS oversight arm freezes 600 cases, imperils human rights: The closure of the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which protected the civil rights of both immigrants and U.S. citizens, strips DHS of a key internal check and balance as the agency morphs into a mass-deportation machine. (J. David McSwane and Hannah Allam, ProPublica)

Migrant dies in ICE custody from untreated HIV: A 45-year-old Ethiopian man died in January from complications related to HIV at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. Human rights advocates and health experts have long raised alarms about medical neglect and deaths in immigration detention, long-standing problems that are even more acute for people who are HIV positive. (René Kladzyk, Project On Government Oversight)

🔎 See Also: ICE director envisions Amazon-like mass deportation system: “Prime, but with human beings” (Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, Arizona Mirror)

🔎 See Also: ICE says its job is to stop illegal “ideas” crossing the border in since-deleted X post (Ali Bianco, Politico)

Pressed for evidence against Mahmoud Khalil, government cites its power to deport people for beliefs: Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, the government instead submitted a two-page memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the authority to expel noncitizens whose mere presence in the country undermines U.S. policy interests. (Jake Offenhartz, Associated Press)

🔎 See Also: Trump appears to be targeting Muslim and non-White students for deportation (Jonah Valdez, The Intercept)

Trump administration freezes $1 billion for Cornell and $790 million for Northwestern, officials say: Northwestern is the first non-Ivy League school to have its federal funding targeted over accusations of antisemitism and racial discrimination stemming from efforts to promote diversity. Cornell and Northwestern were among 60 universities the administration warned last month of potential enforcement actions. (Michael C. Bender and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times)

🔎 See Also: Through emails and social media, colleges discover federal funds are frozen (Susan Svrluga and Carolyn Y. Johnson, Washington Post)

Attorneys general sue over access to $1 billion in federal school aid: Sixteen state attorneys general and a Democratic governor are suing the Trump administration for abruptly cutting access to unspent COVID funding for school programs, saying that the pullback could harm students. (Hurubie Meko and Troy Closson, New York Times)

National Weather Service no longer translating products for non-English speakers: Experts warn that the National Weather Service’s pause of language translation services could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather. (Isabella O'Malley, Associated Press)

Elon Musk & DOGE

Elon Musk’s DOGE is getting audited: Since March, the GAO has been investigating DOGE’s handling of data at several cabinet-level agencies and its adherence to privacy and data protection laws and regulations. The audit is expected to be completed by the end of spring. (Leah Feiger and Tim Marchman, Wired)

Trump wants to merge government data. Here are 314 things it might know about you: Last month, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the “consolidation” of the government’s disconnected data systems. DOGE is leading this effort, ostensibly to make it easier to find waste, fraud, and abuse. But critics warn that such a massive stockpile of Americans’ personal data would give the government too much power and create a national security vulnerability. (Emily Badger and Sheera Frenkel, New York Times)

Critics worry DOGE’s rush to sell excess federal buildings could hurt agency missions, squander revenue opportunities: Experts testified at a Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee hearing that while property management has been a lingering challenge for the government, the speed with which DOGE moved to identify federal buildings to sell and leases to cancel could escalate risk. Currently, the GSA has identified just 16 properties for “accelerated disposition”; DOGE’s website currently says it has terminated 676 leases. (Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive)

Other DOGE News:

→ DOGE cuts by city, state, and congressional district

→ See how government spending is up even as Musk touts savings

→ Inside Elon Musk’s gleeful destruction of the government

→ U.S. DOGE service agreement with Department of Labor shows $1.3 million fee — and details Its mission

Insurrection

DOJ: Some Jan. 6 defendants should be repaid money they sent to Congress: DOJ lawyers argued in a court filing that some pardoned January 6 defendants should receive reimbursement for restitution they paid after their convictions. (Kyle Cheney, Politico)

Political Misbehavior

Trump signs orders punishing those who opposed his 2020 election lies: Executive orders direct the attorney general and DHS secretary to investigate Christopher Krebs, who as a senior cybersecurity official oversaw the securing of the 2020 presidential election, and Miles Taylor, who served as chief of staff at DHS during Trump's first term and wrote an anonymous op-ed in 2018 criticizing Trump. A third order targets the law firm Susman Godfrey, which represented Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit against Fox News. (Chris Cameron, New York Times)

Defense and Veterans Affairs

U.S. military records highest aviation accidents in a decade; What is the major cause of rising incidents? According to new U.S. Army aviation statistics, there was a “steady decline in mishap rates per 100,000 hours beginning in 2006.” However, FY2023 saw a twofold increase in mishap rates from FY2022’s record low, and FY2024 produced a Class A mishap rate almost four times greater than FY2022. (Sumit Ahlawat, Eurasian Times)

Pentagon fires Greenland base commander after she criticized JD Vance visit: The U.S. military announced Thursday it had removed Col. Susannah Meyers, commander of the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, stating it would not tolerate any pushback against President Trump’s agenda. Meyers sent an email to base personnel on March 31 distancing herself from Vice President JD Vance’s visit three days prior (Elena Giordano, Politico)

Military child care centers see varying effects from personnel actions: Although military child and youth programs were exempted from the hiring freeze, there was uncertainty when the freeze was first implemented. As a result, some child care centers have struggled to recover from initial pauses in hiring. (Karen Jowers, Military Times)

Opinion: Did the Trump administration move too quickly to commit to the F-47?: Congress needs to look beyond the obvious appeal of this advanced aircraft and ask the Trump administration some hard questions. (Frank Kendall, Military Times)

Business and Finance

Justice Dept. disbands cryptocurrency enforcement unit: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche instructed the unit to narrow the focus of cryptocurrency investigations to cases “that involve conduct victimizing investors,” scams, hacking, and use of crypto to finance other crimes like fentanyl or human trafficking. Blanche also ordered prosecutors who investigate market integrity and major frauds to stop pursuing cryptocurrency enforcement and focus instead on immigration and contractor fraud. (Devlin Barrett, New York Times)

Health Care

CDC faces backlash for cutting sickle cell, adult disability programs: Nearly half of the CDC staff working on developmental disabilities and birth defects was laid off this month, wiping out teams researching adults with disabilities and sickle cell disease. (Alexander Tin, CBS News)

Trump HHS eliminates office that sets poverty levels tied to benefits for 80 million people: The mass firings at HHS included the entire office that sets federal poverty guidelines, which determine whether tens of millions of Americans are eligible for health programs. The sacking of the office could lead to cuts in assistance to low-income families next year unless the administration restores the positions or moves its duties elsewhere. (Arthur Allen, CBS News)

RFK Jr. claims new research effort will find cause of “autism epidemic” by September: HHS launched a massive effort to determine what caused an “autism epidemic,” But experts doubt that the research will be done in good faith, given Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s history of linking autism and vaccines despite strong evidence that the two aren’t connected. (Meg Tirrell, Sarah Owermohle, and Neha Mukherjee, CNN)

For opioid victims, payouts fall short while governments reap millions: Opioid settlements with companies like Purdue Pharma, Walmart, and Johnson & Johnson have led to multibillion-dollar payouts, but most of the windfall is flowing to state and local governments, not to victims of the crisis. (Aneri Pattani, Lydia Zuraw, and Henry Larweh, KFF Health News)

Medicare bleeds billions on pricey bandages, and doctors get a cut: “Skin substitute” bandage companies set ever-rising prices, taking advantage of a loophole in Medicare rules. Some doctors then buy the coverings at large discounts but charge Medicare the full sticker price and pocket the difference. Because of these financial incentives, many patients who receive the bandages don't need them. (Sarah Kliff and Katie Thomas, New York Times)

ICYMI

Immigration and Border Security:

→ Trump administration prepares to send more deported migrants to notorious El Salvador prison

→ Social Security classifies thousands of immigrants as dead, as part of Trump crackdown

→ FBI, other criminal investigators drafted for welfare checks on migrant children

→ Top IRS officials said to resign after deal to give ICE migrants’ data

Other News:

→ Gabbard’s pick to run counterterrorism center aided start of a right-wing paramilitary group

→ Trump administration cuts funding and staff for flagship climate report

→ Trump threatens climate policies in the states

→ White House must allow Associated Press full access to Trump, judge rules

→ Plane carrying 6 members of Congress is clipped at Reagan airport

→ DynCorp to pay $21 million Iraq police contract fraud settlement

Because It’s Friday

H.R. McMaster receives accidental call from President Trump: The president intended to call South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, not his former national security adviser — whom Trump just a day earlier had described on social media as a “weak and totally ineffective loser.” (Margaret Brennan and Robert Costa, CBS News)

Upcoming Events

📌 Who holds the power of the purse in Washington today? Brookings Institution. Wednesday, April 16, 3:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. ET. Saul Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, D.C.

📌 VIRTUAL EVENT: Investigating the Department of Government Efficiency. ProPublica. Thursday, April 17, 4:00 p.m. ET.

Hot Docs

🔥📃 GAO - COVID-19 Relief: Consequences of Fraud and Lessons for Prevention. GAO-25-107746 (PDF)

Nominations & Appointments

Appointments

• Daniel Driscoll - Acting Director, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Withdrawals

• Kathleen Sgamma - Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior