The Paper Trail: August 19, 2025

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The Paper Trail

Top stories for August 19, 2025

Trump administration can withhold billions in aid, appeals court rules: The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit cleared the way for the administration to continue withholding foreign aid funding appropriated by Congress, finding that the aid organizations that had sued to recover the money lacked standing. The GAO has the power to sue to force the release of impounded funds, but it hasn’t done so thus far. (Zach Montague, New York Times)

Trump may proceed with dismantling and mass layoffs at CFPB, court rules: The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit also cleared the way for widespread layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The administration plans to cut 90% of agency staff, or 1,482 employees. CFPB has ceased conducting most investigations, and its casework has been significantly diminished. (Eric Katz, Government Executive)

House Dems: Trump is starving inspectors generals of resources, blocking investigations: Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee accused the administration of “evading essential oversight safeguards” through a combination of starving inspector general offices of resources and blocking investigators’ access to agency documents and personnel for interviews. (Erich Wanger, Government Executive)

Worker protection agency is ditching its judges to satisfy Trump administration: The Federal Labor Relations Authority plans to get rid of its judges who help resolve government workplace disputes, a move unions say will consolidate more power among President Trump’s political appointees and weaken the collective-bargaining system. (Dave Jamieson, HuffPost)

Layoffs canceled at federal contractor oversight office, but questions remain about agency restructuring: Widespread layoffs won’t take place at the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs — the office that enforces anti-discrimination laws among federal contractors — but the department plans to restructure the office, and administration officials have expressed a desire to reverse its mission. (Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive)

Under Trump, the Education Dept. has flipped its civil rights mission: The department has upended civil rights enforcement at K-12 schools and colleges, prioritizing cases that allege transgender students and students of color are getting unfair advantages, while severe staff cuts have left thousands of other allegations unresolved. (Laura Meckler, Washington Post)

Kristi Noem is living rent free in home used by Coast Guard commandant: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is living for free in a military home typically reserved for the U.S. Coast Guard’s top admiral. The highly unusual arrangement has raised concerns that Noem is abusing the perks of her office. (Marianne LeVine, Liz Goodwin, and Dan Lamothe, Washington Post)

White House suspicious of Lewandowski’s “temp” work: Administration officials believe Corey Lewandowski, a “special government employee” who acts as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s de facto chief of staff, is undercounting his work hours to avoid leaving a government job that is limited to 130 days per year. (Brittany Gibson and Marc Caputo, Axios)

Bessent has yet to fully divest assets, raising concern at ethics agency: The Office of Government Ethics said that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has failed to fully comply with an agreement to divest his financial assets, posing potential conflicts of interest as he directs the administration’s agendas on taxes, trade, and financial deregulation. The biggest potential conflict for Bessent is his ownership of up to $25 million in soybean and corn farmland in North Dakota — soybean purchases are a key point of trade negotiations with China. (Alan Rappeport, New York Times)

🔎 See Also: Bessent says he’ll push to end congressional stock trading: “People shouldn’t come to Washington to get rich, they should come to serve the American people,” Bessent said. (Gregory Svirnovskiy and Meredith Lee Hill, Politico)

Elon Musk & DOGE

Just how much has DOGE exaggerated its numbers? Now we have receipts: Through July, DOGE said it saved taxpayers $52.8 billion by canceling contracts. But of the $32.7 billion in claimed contract savings Politico could verify, the savings were closer to $1.4 billion — and not a single penny of that will actually lower the federal deficit. (Jessie Blaeser, Politico)

DOGE can maintain access to federal personnel data, court rules: In addition to OPM systems containing federal employees’ personal information, the Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit allowed DOGE to have continued access to data systems maintained by the departments of Treasury and Education. (Eric Katz, Government Executive)

Weaponization of the Government

Border Patrol agents show up in force at Newsom rally: More than a dozen armed Border Patrol agents turned up in downtown L.A. at a rally and news conference held by California Governor Gavin Newsom. Newsom has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration, and he sued the federal government for deploying National Guard troops to L.A. (Laurel Rosenhall, Jesus Jiménez, and Hamed Aleaziz, New York Times)

Judge blocks FTC investigation of Media Matters: U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan said the inquiry violated the free speech rights of the watchdog group, which had published research critical of Elon Musk and his social media platform. (Kate Conger, New York Times)

Epstein Files

DOJ to start turning over Epstein files to Capitol Hill: House Oversight Committee chair James Comer cautioned, however, that it could take a while for all the DOJ materials to come through. “There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,” Comer said. (Hailey Fuchs, Politico)

Insurrection

Trump Bureau of Labor Statistics nominee was a “bystander” outside Capitol on Jan. 6, White House says: E.J. Antoni, President Trump’s pick to run the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was among the crowd outside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, but the White House insists he was just a “bystander” who wandered over after seeing coverage on the news. (Ryan J. Reilly, NBC News)

Reproductive Freedom

Nearly a third of people using over-the-counter birth control pills previously used nothing, study finds: The new research “is one of the first studies to show that over-the-counter birth control pills are reaching the very people they’re meant to help — those who face the greatest barriers to care,” said lead author Dr. Maria Rodriguez. (Sara Moniuszko, CBS News)

Middle East Conflicts

New U.S. report on Israel’s human rights abuses Is 91 percent shorter: Last year, the State Department published 103 pages on Israel’s “significant human rights issues.” This year’s report on Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza is just nine pages long. The report was one of 200 hollowed-out reports on human rights the State Department recently released. (Nick Turse, The Intercept)

Defense and Veterans Affairs

Timely payments for Guard deployed to D.C. a concern, lawmaker says: National Guard troops have been stationed in Washington, D.C., for a week, but when they'll get paid for the assignment is still unclear. (Leo Shane III, Military Times)

Frustrations over mold, pests and security concerns front and center in Army barracks survey: Results of an Army barracks survey reiterated the same problems soldiers living in barracks have brought up time and time again: mold and pest infestations, maintenance delays, privacy concerns, and security issues. Overall, soldier ratings equated to a 68 out of 100, or a below average, score. (Patty Nieberg, Task & Purpose)

DOJ settles lawsuits challenging race-based admissions at West Point, Air Force Academy: The DOJ settled a years-long legal battle with the group Students for Fair Admissions. In 2023, the Supreme Court said the military academies aren’t subject to its ruling that ended affirmative action at colleges, but upon taking office in January, President Trump issued a directive to military academies to halt the practice of race-based admissions. (Lara Korte, Stars and Stripes)

Trump’s get-tough approach on homelessness may sweep up veterans: In an executive order issued late last month, President Trump instructed government agencies to stop funding a housing program that has reduced homelessness among veterans by nearly one-half since 2010. (Ellen Barry, New York Times)

VA hospitals are finding it harder to fill jobs, watchdog says: VA medical centers have reported an increase in severe staffing shortages, with many hospitals having trouble filling jobs for doctors, nurses, and psychologists, according to an inspector general report. (Ben Finley, Military Times)

Medical records for 1 million dialysis patients breached in data hack of VA vendor: DaVita — a major provider of care for patients with kidney disease — said approximately 1 million medical records were exposed in a cyberattack, including the health information of veterans receiving VA-covered dialysis and lab services. (Linda F. Hersey, Stars and Stripes)

Business and Finance

Before a steel plant exploded, Trump’s EPA hid risks from the public: The U.S. Steel plant near Pittsburgh where two workers were killed and 10 injured in an explosion last week had a history of chemical accidents. It was one of hundreds of high-risk chemical facilities the EPA hid from the public after demands from the chemical industry. (Katya Schwenk, The Lever)

Trump admin ranks companies on loyalty while handing out favors to Big Tech: In six months, the Trump administration ended potential enforcement actions against dozens of tech firms and 165 corporations overall, according to a report by Public Citizen. Separately, Axios reported that the White House created an internal “scorecard” that rates hundreds of companies and trade associations on their loyalty to Trump. (Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica)

Trump orders cull of regulations governing commercial rocket launches: President Trump directed government agencies to “eliminate or expedite” environmental reviews for commercial launch and reentry licenses — welcome news for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which conducts nearly all of the commercial launches and reentries licensed by the FAA. (Stephen Clark, Ars Technica)

🔎 See Also: SpaceX gets billions from the government. It gives little to nothing back in taxes (Susanne Craig and Kirsten Grind, New York Times)

Tech

Russia is suspected to be behind breach of federal court filing system: Investigators uncovered evidence that Russia is partly responsible for a recent hack of the PACER federal court document management system, compromising highly sensitive records with information that could reveal sources and people charged with national security crimes. It has long been known that PACER has serious vulnerabilities. (Adam Goldman, Glenn Thrush, and Mattathias Schwartz, New York Times)

Making cash off “AI slop”: The surreal video business taking over the web: AI videos have come to dominate the social web, copying and sometimes supplanting the human artists and videographers whose work helped train the systems in the first place. (Drew Harwell, Washington Post)

Companies are pouring billions Into AI. It has yet to pay off: Corporate spending on artificial intelligence is surging as executives bank on major efficiency gains. So far, however, they report little effect on the bottom line. Projects are failing not only because of technical issues like the tendency of chatbots to make stuff up, but also because of human factors like employee and customer resistance and lack of skills. (Steve Lohr, New York Times)

Louisiana sues Roblox alleging the popular gaming site fails to protect children: Louisiana’s attorney general alleges the site has failed to implement effective safety measures to protect child users from adult predators. (CNN)

Infrastructure

Electricity prices are climbing more than twice as fast as inflation: Across the country, electricity prices have jumped more than twice as fast as the overall cost of living in the last year thanks to a combination of factors, including the growing number of power-hungry AI data centers and the soaring price of natural gas. (Scott Horsley, NPR)

This is how Wall Street could buy your power company: The private equity industry has mostly stayed away from electric utilities. That’s changing. Last year, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced a $6.2 billion deal to buy Minnesota Power, and this spring, private equity firm Blackstone announced plans to buy a major electric utility in Texas and New Mexico. (Katya Schwenk, The Lever)

Health Care

Looming Medicaid cuts could hurt Black children, advocates warn: Advocates say the cuts could limit resources in high poverty schools, exacerbate maternal mortality rates, and leave Black families without critical care. (Cheyanne M. Daniels, Politico)

Wildfire fighters, unmasked in toxic smoke, are getting sick and dying: The U.S. Forest Service has fought efforts to better protect its firefighter crews, sending them into smoke without masks or warnings about the risks. (Hannah Dreier, New York Times)

The FDA let substandard factories ship these medications to the U.S.: ProPublica identified more than 150 drugs produced by substandard foreign factories that the FDA exempted from import bans since 2013. Some of the factories are still banned but are still allowed to send exempted drugs to the U.S. (Debbie Cenziper, Megan Rose, and Katherine Dailey, ProPublica)

🔎 See Also: A giant Indian drugmaker failed to fix safety breaches. The FDA let it off the hook again and again (Megan Rose and Debbie Cenziper, ProPublica)

Trump administration scraps research into health disparities: As of mid-June, the NIH had terminated at least 616 projects focused on closing the health divide between Black and white, and rich and poor. (Roni Caryn Rabin and Irena Hwang, New York Times)

Draft of White House report suggests Kennedy won’t push strict pesticide regulations: A draft White House report on the health of American children stops short of proposing direct restrictions on ultraprocessed foods and pesticides, which Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called major threats. (Dani Blum, Benjamin Mueller, and Alice Callahan, New York Times)

ICYMI

Immigration and Border Security:

→ ICE documents reveal plan to double immigrant detention space this year

→ Tuberculosis spawning in crowded, dirty ICE detention centers

→ The number of ICE flights is skyrocketing — but the planes are harder than ever to track

→ U.S. military deploying over 4,000 additional troops to waters around Latin America as part of Trump’s counter-cartel mission

→ Trump administration heightens “good moral character” standards for potential U.S. citizens

→ Over 6,000 student visas revoked for crimes and overstays, U.S. says

→ House Democrat demands answers on deal to return MS-13 leaders to El Salvador

Other News:

→ Trump’s invasion of D.C. started on K street

→ The government just made it harder for the public to comment on regulations

→ White House to vet Smithsonian museums to fit Trump’s historical vision

→ Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein’s relationship: a visual timeline

→ USDA spent $16,400 on banners to honor Trump and Lincoln

→ Why Senate Republicans won’t scrap the “blue slip”

→ Rep. Rob Bresnahan’s stock trades draw more scrutiny after key votes

→ Newsmax reaches $67M settlement with Dominion Voting Systems in defamation case

On The Lighter Side

FTC sues ticket reseller for evading Taylor Swift’s Eras tour ticket limits: The FTC says Taylor Swift fans had a “Cruel Summer” last year when ticket reseller Key Investment Group created fake accounts to skirt restrictions and hoard tickets before reselling them at a markup. (Jody Godoy, Reuters)

Upcoming Events

📌 ZOOM EVENT: ICE Detention 59,000: Record Levels, Horrible Overcrowding, Dwindling Due Process. American Immigration Council. Thursday, August 21, 1:00 p.m. ET.

📌 ZOOM EVENT: The Trillion Dollar Pentagon Budget: Boondoggle or Beneficial? Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Monday, August 25, 12:00 noon ET.

Hot Docs

🔥📃 VA OIG: OIG Determination of Veterans Health Administration’s Severe Occupational Staffing Shortages Fiscal Year 2025. 25-01135-196 (PDF)

Nominations & Appointments

Nominations

• Robert Chamberlin - Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
• Edmund LaCour - Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
• Bill Lewis - Judge, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
• James Maxwell - Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi
• Harold Mooty - Judge, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama
• Rebecca Taibleson - Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit

Appointments

• David Rosner - Acting Chair, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission