The Paper Trail: March 31, 2026

The Paper Trail

Top stories for March 31, 2026

Investigators examine contractor installed at FEMA under Kristi Noem: Officials with DHS’s inspector general searched the office of FEMA contractor Kara Voorhies as they investigate a network of aides former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and adviser Corey Lewandowski seeded throughout the agency during their tenure. Investigators are examining Voorhies’ role in the FEMA contracting process and her compensation: It is believed that Voorhies was getting paid as much as $19,000 a week, which would amount to roughly $1 million a year. (Tarini Parti, Josh Dawsey, and Michelle Hackman, Wall Street Journal)

🔎 See Also: Democratic senators want two companies to preserve communications with Corey Lewandowski (Julia Ainsley, Laura Strickler, and Ryan Nobles, NBC News)

🔎 See Also: Corey Lewandowski out of government — after taking last taxpayer-funded junket with Kristi Noem (Emily Goodin and Steven Nelson, New York Post)

Analysis: Contracting scandals at DHS underscore need for reforms: Recently, there have been alarming trends and shocking instances of what look like potential corruption, conflicts of interest, and cronyism in the awarding of contracts by DHS. But following the money at DHS is a challenge given the flaws in the federal spending tracking system. Addressing these issues is a thorny task, but one that has several clear pathways for action by Congress. (Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Project On Government Oversight)

TSA tipped off ICE agents before arrests at San Francisco airport: TSA is sharing with ICE agents the names and birth dates of travelers believed to have been ordered out of the country, making it easier for the agents to detain and deport people as they pass through U.S. airports. (Hamed Aleaziz and Heather Knight, New York Times)

🔎 See Also: ICE agents frustrate airport workers as shutdown drags on (Aarian Marshall, Wired)

Justice Dept. watchdog has gone silent, lawyers for whistleblower say: Lawyers for a DOJ whistleblower told Congress the agency’s inspector general has ignored at least 20 instances of possible misconduct by the Trump administration. (Devlin Barrett, New York Times)

🔎 See Also: Opinion: Department of Justice proposes putting its attorneys above the law (Mark Recktenwald, The Hill)

Bondi’s post-Oct. 7 terrorism task force falters after initial fanfare: On Attorney General Pam Bondi’s first day in office, she announced a new task force designed to investigate Hamas terrorists and antisemitic attacks in the U.S. One year later, the October 7 joint terrorism task force has lost many of its resources, with numerous prosecutors and agents fired or redirected to other priorities. So far, the task force has brought terrorism charges in only one case. (Perry Stein, Washington Post)

Inspector general group to be led by former Trump administration adviser: Veterans Affairs Inspector General Cheryl Mason was elected chairperson of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, fueling concern that the White House will exert undue influence on the office, which provides training to IG employees and reviews allegations of wrongdoing. (Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive)

Some judges see risks in fiery opinions warning of threats to democracy: More and more federal judges have been setting aside their profession’s traditional, restrained style of opinion writing and giving full vent to their concerns about cases flooding their dockets since President Trump returned to office. Judges and legal experts said the increasingly hot rhetoric from the judiciary has been helpful in underscoring judges’ belief in the urgency of the courts’ role as a check on this administration’s expansive interpretation of presidential power. Others worry the heated rhetoric poses risks. (Mattathias Schwartz, New York Times)

How USAID birth control meant for Africa was ruined: Nearly $10 million worth of contraceptives destined for low-income nations in Africa have been stranded in Belgium since the Trump administration shut down USAID last year and are no longer usable. (Jeanna Smialek and Stephanie Nolen, New York Times)

House Democrat violated ethics rules, panel finds, putting her seat in jeopardy: A House Ethics Committee panel determined that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick violated House ethics rules, citing the findings of an investigation into whether she used FEMA pandemic aid money to bolster a run for Congress. The full committee is expected to meet in April, when it will recommend whether Cherfilus-McCormick should be expelled, censured, or face some other form of discipline. (Kadia Goba and Marianna Sotomayor, Washington Post)

The well-timed trades made moments before Trump’s policy surprises: President Trump has moved markets with announcements of sudden shifts in policy, from tariff U-turns to military strikes. On several occasions, unusual trades hit the tape minutes before his announcements. Some market veterans and Democratic lawmakers are suspicious. (Alexander Osipovich and Jack Pitcher, Wall Street Journal)

Analysis: Prediction markets open the door for corruption and conflicts: Neither the federal criminal statutes nor existing regulations address the risks of corruption and conflicts of interest associated with public officials engaging in prediction market trading. Fortunately, Congress can act now to address these risks. (Janice Luong, Project On Government Oversight)

🔎 See Also: Democrats press Trump administration on insider trading in prediction markets (Julia Shapero, The Hill)

🔎 See Also: Federal prosecutors are exploring whether prediction market bets trip insider trading (Kara Scannell, CNN)

D.C. air traffic controller speaks about stressed conditions before midair crash: “It worked until it didn’t”: An air traffic controller who was inside the tower at Reagan National Airport on the day of last year’s collision between a commercial airliner and an Army helicopter said controllers at the airport have been warning of danger for years. (Sharyn Alfonsi and Andy Bast, 60 Minutes)

Iran War

Behind the scenes and in front of cameras, Hegseth serving as top cheerleader for military power in Iran war: According to multiple sources, the defense secretary not only validated the president’s idea to move forward with attacking Iran, neither he nor other advisers who met with Trump prior to launching the operation emphasized the risks of the conflict spiraling out of control. (Zachary Cohen and Kristen Holmes, CNN)

🔎 See Also: Inside Trump’s daily video montage briefing on the Iran war (Katherine Doyle, Courtney Kube, and Dan De Luce, NBC News)

🔎 See Also: GOP lawmakers vent frustration over Trump administration’s lack of info on Iran war (Annie Grayer et al., CNN)

Global food supply faces a dangerous bottleneck as Iran war persists: The cascading effects of the conflict on fertilizer supplies are growing worse by the day, raising prices for farmers globally and threatening to lead to food insecurity in some parts of the world. (Ana Swanson, New York Times)

🔎 See Also: As Iran war drags on, food and medicine for millions is stuck in limbo (Rachel Chason and Rael Ombuor, Washington Post)

“Hope no one needs an MRI”: Trump gets warning he may have sparked unexpected disaster: The war has also sparked a major shortage of helium, which plays a critical role in the function of MRI scanners and other medical applications. (Alexander Willis, Raw Story)

Deadly Iran school strike casts shadow over Pentagon’s AI targeting push: Experts say the tragic incident can’t be blamed on the Pentagon’s use of an AI targeting and intelligence platform. Instead, they point to data behind the attack that hadn’t been updated and the drastic cutback in personnel whose job it was to verify the data. (Katie Livingstone, Military Times)

Saudi leader is said to push Trump to continue Iran war in recent calls: Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been pushing President Trump to continue the Iran war, arguing that Iran poses a long-term threat to the region that can only be eliminated by getting rid of the government. (Julian E. Barnes, Tyler Pager, and Eric Schmitt, New York Times)

Tensions in the Twin Cities

Minnesota kicks off legal battle with Trump administration to hold ICE shooters accountable: Prosecutors from Hennepin County and the state of Minnesota filed a federal lawsuit against the DHS and DOJ seeking the release of evidence in the shootings of Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, and other cases of potentially unlawful behavior by federal agents during Operation Metro Surge. So far, neither side is showing signs of backing down, foreshadowing a fight that could take years. (Andy Mannix, ProPublica)

Minnesota Democrats report being followed, harassed by ICE agents during immigration surge: Several Democratic Minnesota lawmakers said they were targeted or harassed by federal agents during the immigration crackdown. (Allison Kite, Minnesota Star Tribune)

Two thirds of people arrested by ICE in Minnesota surge had no criminal records, new data reveals: The White House said all the people arrested during Operation Metro Surge were “dangerous criminal” immigrants. Data shows that from December 2025 to mid-March 2026, ICE made 4,030 arrests in the state. Of these, 2,532 arrests (63%) were of people with no criminal convictions or pending criminal charges. (Meghnad Bose and Luke Lawson, The Intercept)

Epstein Files

Private investigators who removed Epstein evidence from his home must testify, lawmakers say: Democrats on the House Oversight Committee called for three private investigators to testify about potential evidence they removed from Jeffrey Epstein’s Florida home in 2005 before it was searched by law enforcement. (Alison Durkee, Forbes)

Philanthropy is a “significant form of power.” Here's how Jeffrey Epstein exploited that: By some estimates, philanthropy provides at least 20% of funding for science research at U.S. institutions. With little government oversight of this revenue stream, it’s easy to see how Jeffrey Epstein could use philanthropy to rehabilitate his reputation. (Katia Riddle, NPR)

Other Epstein Files News:

→ Bank of America to pay $72.5 million to settle lawsuit by Epstein victims

→ How Jeffrey Epstein courted all three billionaire founders of Apollo Global Management

→ Three years on Hilton Head leave trail of mysteries in alleged Jeffrey Epstein affair

Insurrection

He took Pelosi’s lectern on Jan. 6. Now he’s running for office: Adam Johnson, who is seeking a seat on the Manatee, Florida, Board of Commissioners, is one of three pardoned January 6 defendants currently running for public office. (Patrick Marley, Washington Post)

Members of Jan. 6 mob sue police who fended off Capitol attack: People who stormed the Capitol sued the federal government for tens of millions of dollars, alleging that police officers used “indiscriminate” force that caused physical and emotional injuries. (Kyle Cheney, Politico)

The War on “Narcoterrorists”

The U.S. said it helped bomb a drug camp. It was a dairy farm: Earlier this month, U.S. officials released a video of what they claimed was the destruction of a drug trafficker’s training camp in Ecuador. Residents claim it was a cattle and dairy farm. (Luis Ferré-Sadurní et al., New York Times)

Weaponization of the Government

Kash Patel’s push against Democratic lawmaker raises concerns within FBI: FBI Director Patel is pressing to release a decade-old investigative file involving Rep. Eric Swalwell and a suspected Chinese intelligence operative, despite no evidence of wrongdoing by Swalwell. It’s highly unusual for the FBI to release case files tied to a probe that didn’t result in criminal charges. (Perry Stein, Washington Post)

🔎 See Also: Swalwell sees personal vendetta in FBI probe (Melanie Mason, Politico)

🔎 See Also: Iran-linked hackers breach FBI director’s personal email, publish photos and documents (Jana Winter and A.J. Vicens, Reuters)

Justice Dept. settles Flynn’s wrongful prosecution suit for $1.25 million: The DOJ agreed to pay Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, $1.25 million to settle claims that he was wrongfully prosecuted for making false statements to federal agents investigating ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. (Alan Feuer, New York Times)

Trump administration begins inquiries into 3 medical schools in show of power: The DOJ demanded Stanford University, the Ohio State University, and the University of California, San Diego turn over medical school admissions-related data and internal communications by April 24 or else lose federal funding. (Michael C. Bender and Alan Blinder, New York Times)

DOGE

Lawsuit seeks release of SSA records on DOGE’s voter data agreement: Nonprofit advocacy group Democracy Forward sued the Social Security Administration to release records pertaining to an agreement DOGE made last year to share voter data with an organization seeking evidence of voter fraud. (Matt Bracken, FedScoop)

White House Ballroom

Trump’s ballroom design has barely been scrutinized: The White House ballroom project has sped toward construction, with little time for public review. Critics warn it still has many design problems. Barring a judge’s intervention, the project is set to move forward this week. (Emily Badger, Junho Lee, and Larry Buchanan, New York Times)

🔎 See Also: Trump: Military “building a massive complex” under new White House ballroom (Tara Suter, The Hill)

Natural Disasters

Trump administration cuts turned rural towns into sitting ducks for disasters: There’s been no way to access federal grants for climate-related infrastructure projects over the last year because the Trump administration has withheld billions of dollars for disaster preparedness and prevention that local governments, especially in rural areas, rely on. (Rebecca Hersher, NPR)

Classified Documents

Trump appeared to have business motive for keeping classified documents, Jack Smith finds: Special counsel Jack Smith gathered evidence that, after leaving office in 2021, President Trump took many top-secret documents that related to his business interests, and investigators considered this a likely motive for his concealing them at Mar-a-Lago. (Carol Leonnig and Jacqueline Alemany, MS NOW)

Defense and Veterans Affairs

Allies and Congress are about to lose a key window into U.S. military plans: For the first time in decades, the Pentagon has no plans to release a Global Posture Review of its troop placement abroad, a move that snubs lawmakers and U.S. allies, who use the analysis to determine budgets and discern American military policy. Officials are instead opting to hold more informal conversations, but lawmakers are concerned about the lack of information coming from the Pentagon. (Paul McLeary, Leo Shane III, and Chris Lunday, Politico)

New York Times accuses Pentagon of flouting judge’s order blocking its press access policy: The New York Times claims Pentagon officials have implemented a revised press policy that circumvents a March 20 court ruling that blocked a previous policy limiting reporters’ access to the DOD’s headquarters. The Times urged the court to compel the government to comply with the order to reinstate the newspaper’s press credentials. (CBS News)

The Pentagon’s AI gatekeeper holds stock in Anthropic’s rival: As the Pentagon moves to sideline AI company Anthropic over its refusal to support mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, one of the top officials driving the decision, Undersecretary Emil Michael, has a multimillion-dollar stake in one of Anthropic’s direct competitors, as well as investments in other companies with Pentagon business. (Luke Goldstein and Freddy Brewster, The Lever)

U.S. carrier that left Mideast over fire has other problems: Delivered years late in 2017, the $13.2 billion USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is the most expensive American warship ever built. The ship was forced to leave the Middle East — and the war against Iran — when a fire broke out in its laundry area. But the ship’s problems run much deeper than that. (Anthony Capaccio, Bloomberg)

Hegseth strikes two Black and two female officers from promotion list: The defense secretary’s highly unusual move to block the promotion of four Army officers to be one-star generals has spurred allegations of racial and gender bias. (Greg Jaffe et al., New York Times)

🔎 See Also: Senator stalls 3 “unfit” officer promotions in retort to Hegseth (Hope Hodge Seck, Military Times)

3 military families file lawsuit over homes leased at Texas Air Force base: Three military families sued Hunt Military Communities, the private landlord at Randolph Air Force Base, accusing the company of leasing them homes plagued with mold growth, sewage problems, lead paint, and other ongoing conditions that caused health problems. The three families join eight others awaiting trial after filing lawsuits against Hunt for similar conditions. (Rose L. Thayer, Stars and Stripes)

“Blatant disrespect”: Judge contemplates contempt proceedings after VA re-terminated union contract: A federal judge moved to enforce her order requiring the VA to restore its collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees and warned of possible contempt proceedings, after the department tried to terminate the agreement a second time. Earlier this month, the judge issued a preliminary injunction mandating the VA to reinstate its agreement, having found the termination violated the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedures Act. But AFGE said that while the VA had technically reinstated the agreement, management still refused to honor its provisions. (Erich Wagner, Government Executive)

Formerly homeless people, including veterans, could be evicted if Trump administration plan is implemented: Under a new plan, HUD is hoping to move many formerly homeless people from permanent housing to temporary transitional housing. Advocates say people could be forced out as facilities convert to transitional housing and take new applicants. (Brian Todd and Nicky Robertson, CNN)

Business and Finance

A federal office designed to stave off the next financial crisis is being dismantled by the Trump administration: The administration is looking to lay off staff — after already pushing out nearly half of the workforce — at the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research, an entity that provides analysis to stave off financial crises. (Eric Katz, Government Executive)

Women’s networking event illegally sidelined men, Trump administration claims: A lawsuit against a Coca-Cola distributor’s “team building” event for female employees is the EEOC’s first lawsuit over a corporate DEI program. It’s a sea change for the agency, which has traditionally operated to protect the rights of historically disadvantaged workers. (Joanna Slater, Washington Post)

Democrats examine Elon Musk’s role in suspension of business disclosure law: Democratic lawmakers are seeking answers from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about Elon Musk’s possible role in the administration’s decision last year to stop enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act. (Kirsten Grind and Susanne Craig, New York Times)

Some of the most popular graduate degrees are not worth the cost, study finds: Going to graduate school can boost your career and salary — but some of the most popular advanced degrees aren’t worth the cost. (Todd Wallack, Washington Post)

Tech

Meta ordered to pay $375 million over child safety violations: A New Mexico jury found Meta misled users about the safety of its platforms and enabled the sexual exploitation of young users. The jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in damages for violating state consumer protection laws. (Cecilia Kang and Eli Tan, New York Times)

Jury in Los Angeles finds Meta, YouTube negligent in social media addiction trial: The jury found Meta and YouTube were negligent and failed to warn users of the mental-health dangers associated with using their platforms. The jury awarded $6 million in damages, with Meta on the hook for 70% and YouTube the remaining 30%. TikTok and Snap settled before trial began. (Jonathan Vanian, CNBC)

Health Care

RFK Jr. takes push to get junk food out of hospitals to Florida: The announcement follows other moves state Republicans have made to try to be first in copying the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) focus. (Kimberly Leonard and Arek Sarkissian, Politico)

🔎 See Also: Why some teenage girls are trading medicine for MAHA (Coralie Kraft, New York Times)

Key adviser quits federal vaccine panel: Dr. Robert Malone, a staunch opponent of COVID vaccines who was appointed to a federal vaccine advisory panel last year after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all of its previous members, angrily resigned his position last week. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is currently in limbo after a court ruled the advisers Kennedy appointed lacked the necessary expertise and blocked all of the committee’s actions to date. (Apoorva Mandavilli, New York Times)

Trump team claims successes against ACA fraud while pushing for more controls: Complaints about enrollment fraud in Affordable Care Act health insurance coverage have bedeviled the federal marketplace for years. Now, the Trump administration is claiming wins in reducing the problem while simultaneously saying more controls are needed. Experts say the new controls will make it harder for people to enroll. (Julie Appleby, KFF Health News)

States pay Deloitte, others millions to comply with Trump law to cut Medicaid rolls: States are paying contractors such as Deloitte, Accenture, and Optum millions of dollars to help them comply with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — a law that will strip safety-net health and food benefits from millions. (Samantha Liss and Rachana Pradhan, KFF Health News)

🔎 See Also: Trump’s hunt for undocumented Medicaid enrollees yields few violators (Phil Galewitz, KFF Health News)

ICYMI

Immigration and Border Security:

→ Trump rolls back pause on asylum decisions imposed after D.C. National Guard shooting

→ As Trump blames immigrants for housing shortages, HUD joins crackdown

→ Trump officials cite White supremacists in bid to end birthright citizenship

→ Deaths in ICE custody are growing. “They let him rot in there”

→ Trump says the border is sealed. The reality is messier

→ Wormy food, intimidating guards, sick kids: Inside the Dilley Immigration Processing Center

→ Immigrant detentions and deportations leave pets behind

Other News:

→ IRS’ move away from paper checks has delayed tax refunds for nearly 1.5 million Americans

→ Federal contractor DEI initiatives singled out in latest Trump executive order

→ Former VA executive charged with accepting $16K worth of gifts

→ Camp Pendleton Marine known as “Andrew Ammo” indicted for stealing Javelin missile

→ Army investigating video of Apache helicopter at Kid Rock’s Nashville home

→ Trump administration seeks Endangered Species Act exemption for oil, gas projects in Gulf

→ Education Dept. must discharge student loans for 205,000 borrowers after major court defeat

→ Trump picks “alpha male” influencer to be tourism envoy

→ A nursing-home owner got a Trump pardon. The families of his patients got nothing

→ Conservative activist convicted in voter-fraud case

On The Lighter Side

Post reporters called the White House. Their phones showed “Epstein Island”: Washington Post reporters who recently called the White House switchboard using Google Pixel Android phones saw “Epstein Island” on their screens due to a “fake edit” in Google Maps that was picked up in the phones’ call identification feature. This wasn’t the first bogus alteration to a business profile overseen by Google. (Shane O’Neill and Shira Ovide, Washington Post)

Hot Docs

🔥📃 GAO - FDA Advisory Committees: More Transparency Needed on Policies for Making Conflict of Interest Determinations. GAO-26-107877 (PDF)

🔥📃 GAO - Nuclear Waste Cleanup: Clarifying Definition of High-Level Radioactive Waste Could Help DOE Save Tens of Billions of Dollars. GAO-26-108018 (PDF)

🔥📃 GAO - Veteran Homelessness Programs: Opportunities to Improve Data Collection and Establish an Evaluation Plan. GAO-26-107517 (PDF)

Nominations & Appointments

APPOINTMENTS

• Nick Adams - Special Presidential Envoy for American Tourism, Exceptionalism and Values
• Appointments to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology

WITHDRAWALS

• Nick Adams - Ambassador, Malaysia