The Paper Trail: May 5, 2026

Announcements

How to Conduct Oversight from a Personal Office: POGO’s virtual training on how to conduct oversight when you don’t have a gavel will be Friday, May 8 at 12 noon ET. This event is only open to staff in Congress, GAO, and CRS. Register HERE.

Top stories for May 5, 2026

“We know you live right here”: No secrets in America’s new surveillance dragnet: The U.S. is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a domestic surveillance system that can access troves of Americans’ personal data for immigration enforcement. Federal agents are using this technology to track and threaten protesters. (Shane Shifflett and Hannah Critchfield, Wall Street Journal)

🔎 See Also: DHS demanded Google surrender data on Canadian’s activity, location over anti-ICE posts (Maddy Varner, Wired)

Internal ICE records reveal widespread use of force in detention centers: Staff at ICE facilities used physical force or chemical agents to control immigrant detainees in at least 780 incidents during the first year of the Trump administration, a 37% increase over the previous year. (Douglas MacMillan et al., Washington Post)

Inspector general says DHS staff risked cyberattacks with government smartphones: The DHS team charged with intelligence analysis may have exposed sensitive information to cyberattacks, according to a new inspector general report. The IG outlined the security risks it found in smartphones that intelligence staff used in 2023 and 2024. It found apps developed by the office, which were shared with first responders and downloaded 375,000 times, had security vulnerabilities. (Jackie Llanos, NOTUS)

FBI redirected a quarter of staff to target immigrants under Trump’s deportation push: Over 9,100 FBI personnel were assigned to immigration by September 2025 — a massive diversion that experts warn could put national security at risk. (Akela Lacy, The Intercept)

Supreme Court limits key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act: The court’s conservative majority found Louisiana unlawfully discriminated by race when it created a second majority-Black congressional district. The court didn’t strike down the provision of the VRA aimed at combating discriminatory gerrymandering that weakens the power of minority voters, but experts say it’s been effectively gutted. (Justin Jouvenal and Patrick Marley, Washington Post)

🔎 See Also: “The damage is massive”: How the Justice Department dismantled its voting rights section (David Gilbert, Wired)

Former Fauci adviser indicted on COVID-related charges: Prosecutors accused Dr. David Morens, a former adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci at NIH, of hiding records related to the onset of the pandemic and working in concert with scientists outside the federal government to protect their funding for virus research in return for “illegal gratuities.” (Benjamin Mueller, New York Times)

Trump’s DEI purge reaches farm country? Women picked for soybean board all replaced by men: The Department of Agriculture rejected all four women farmers chosen by their peers to represent them in an industry group called the United Soybean Board. The USDA rarely intervenes in board appointments, and its action reduced the number of women on the 77-member board to five. (Karl Plume, Reuters)

In Venezuela, Trump promised transparency. But secret oil deals linger: U.S. and Venezuelan officials have promised a new era of accountability for Venezuela’s oil industry after the downfall of President Nicolás Maduro, but the country’s oil industry remains a black hole. (Anatoly Kurmanaev, New York Times)

Trump sons invested in U.S. group developing $1.1B tungsten project in Kazakhstan: Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have been using a shell company to buy stakes in U.S. construction group Skyline Builders, which is reportedly invested in a mining group that is developing a $1.1 billion tungsten project in Kazakhstan. (Mining.com)

Trump’s new crypto club offers “luxury suites at the biggest sporting events”: President Trump appears to have launched his next crypto-coin-for-exclusive-access project: invitation-only luxury suites at worldwide sporting events, private dinners, and “the most elite and extraordinary experiences.” (Russ Choma, Mother Jones)

🔎 See Also: Trump’s crypto empire descends into warring lawsuits (Russ Choma, Mother Jones)

Iran War

Iran war’s true cost closer to $50 billion, not $25 billion, U.S. officials say: The true price tag of the Iran war is closer to $50 billion, U.S. officials familiar with internal assessments say — double the estimate the Pentagon cited in congressional testimony last week. (Eleanor Watson, Olivia Gazis, and Kathryn Watson, CBS News)

🔎 See Also: Don’t call it a “quagmire”: Defense secretary refuses to speculate on length of Iran war (Patricia Kime, Military Times)

Pentagon erases wounded U.S. troops from Iran War casualty list: “Definition of a cover-up”: The Pentagon is playing a numbers game with American casualty statistics, adding and subtracting from the count as questions about the human toll mount. (Nick Turse, The Intercept)

Analysis: Trump must justify Iran war to Congress now: Beyond directing the termination of hostilities, Congress must step up and conduct rigorous oversight. This war raises serious questions, both about how the administration decided to start the war without legal authorization and about how it has affected military readiness more broadly. (David Janovsky, The Constitution Project at POGO)

Prediction Markets

More than half of all Polymarket “long shot” bets on military action pay off: More than half of “long-shot” bets — wagers of $2,500 or more at odds of 35% or less — on military actions made on Polymarket are successful, according to a new report. That compares with a win rate of 25% across all politics-focused markets and 14% for all markets on the platform. The report concluded that prediction markets not only disadvantage regular bettors, but they also pose a serious threat to the security of sensitive information. (Stephanie Stacey, Chris Cook, and Jill R Shah, Ars Technica)

Why almost everyone loses — except a few sharks — on prediction markets: A small number of accounts on Polymarket and Kalshi — often sophisticated traders with access to vast streams of data — take home most of the winnings. Over two-thirds of Polymarket profits go to 0.1% of accounts. (Neil Mehta, Katherine Long, and Caitlin Ostroff, Wall Street Journal)

CFTC sues Wisconsin over prediction market regulations: Wisconsin is the fifth state to face a lawsuit from the CFTC, which has vowed to challenge state efforts to regulate the platforms that it contends are under its purview. (Julia Shapero, The Hill)

Tensions in the Twin Cities

Federal officers raid 22 businesses, many Somali-linked, in Minneapolis: Federal law enforcement officers last week raided more than 20 businesses in Minneapolis, many with ties to the Somali immigrant community, as part of an investigation into misuse of federal funds. Federal officials searched day care centers, businesses, and some residences. (Sheila Regan, Annie Gowen, and Jeremy Roebuck, Washington Post)

Epstein Files

GAO agrees to review Justice Department’s handling of Epstein files: The GAO will examine the DOJ’s handling of the Epstein files after a bipartisan group of senators raised concerns that the department failed to release all of the required files, failed to redact some victims’ names, and redacted the names of some Epstein associates. (Theodoric Meyer, Washington Post)

The War on “Narcoterrorists”

Military quietly accelerates boat strikes, deploying more aircraft: The U.S. military has ramped up attacks against boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, flying more attack aircraft in its campaign to kill accused drug smugglers. Since the operation started in September, the military has attacked 54 boats and killed at least 185 people. (Eric Schmitt, New York Times)

Trump’s killing spree isn’t stopping the flow of drugs into the U.S.: The Pentagon’s claims that the attacks on civilian boats have severely curtailed the import of illegal drugs to the U.S. and the president’s claims that they have saved more than 1 million American lives are baseless, phony, or both. (Nick Turse, The Intercept)

Weaponization of the Government

Former FBI Director James Comey indicted over alleged “threat” against Trump: A federal grand jury in North Carolina last week indicted former FBI Director James Comey over a photo he took last year of seashells that officials claimed was a threat against President Trump, marking the administration’s second attempt to prosecute Comey. (Hannah Rabinowitz et al., CNN)

🔎 See Also: Judge says Maurene Comey can sue the Trump administration for firing her (Benjamin Weiser and Jonah E. Bromwich, New York Times)

FCC challenges ABC broadcast licenses: The FCC is reviewing ABC’s broadcast licenses, claiming that parent company Disney’s diversity policies may violate anti-discrimination rules. The move came a day after the president and first lady demanded that ABC fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. (Liz Hoffman and Rohan Goswami, Semafor)

Fidelity, Vanguard won’t allow donations to Southern Poverty Law Center: Fidelity and Vanguard, two of the country’s largest sponsors of donor-advised funds, cut off the Southern Poverty Law Center, citing the criminal case against the SPLC. In 2023, the SPLC criticized Fidelity, Vanguard, and other sponsors of donor-advised funds for acting as a “consistent and significant source of income” for hate groups. (Ron Lieber, New York Times)

Second judge maintains DOJ can’t search data seized from Post reporter: The government will remain blocked from examining the electronic devices seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson in January as part of a leak investigation. (Perry Stein and Aaron Schaffer, Washington Post)

Education Department opens probe into Smith College for admitting trans women: The investigation stems from a complaint filed with the department’s Office of Civil Rights last year by the conservative legal group Defending Education. (Politico)

DOGE

Treasury missed security controls in giving DOGE system access, GAO finds: The GAO reported that the Treasury Department gave a DOGE associate access to the government’s payment systems last year without fully following all security controls, and that the DOGE team didn’t always hew to Treasury’s protocols. The report doesn’t name this DOGE employee, but other details in the report match public reporting on Marko Elez, who resigned in February 2025 over his racist social media posts but was later rehired to work with DOGE at other agencies. (Natalie Alms, Government Executive)

A DOGE affiliate is now in charge of the U.S. government’s ID platform: Greg Hogan, who served as the CIO at OPM as DOGE operatives burrowed into the agency last year, will serve as acting assistant commissioner of a GSA unit that oversees the government’s secure login and identity service Login.gov. The government is seeking to make Login.gov what one insider calls “a national ID.” (Vittoria Elliott, Wired)

White House Ballroom

Soil at D.C. golf course where East Wing debris was dumped contains toxic metals: The National Park Service said the dump of debris — between the fourth and ninth holes at the East Potomac Golf Links public golf course — doesn’t exceed environmental limits for toxic metals. Opponents disagree. (Maxine Joselow, New York Times)

Natural Disasters

It’s harder than ever to get federal disaster aid. Even in red states: During President Trump’s second term, the disaster declarations that unlock federal aid are taking longer than in the past. Blue states wait the longest and hear “no” more often. (Scott Dance and Ashley Cai, New York Times)

Reproductive Freedom

Supreme Court restores access to abortion pill by mail for now: Justice Alito’s order allows mifepristone access through telehealth and mail until May 11 while the justices consider emergency appeals by drugmakers Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro. (Praveena Somasundaram, Justin Jouvenal, and Julian Mark, Washington Post)

Middle East Conflicts

Maker of AI targeting system for drones faces protests for shipments to Israeli military: Portland, Oregon-based Sightline Intelligence has made at least 10 shipments of AI targeting hardware to Israeli weapons giant Elbit Systems since 2024. The shipments raise the possibility that the firm has helped the Israeli military attack civilians. (Noah Hurowitz, The Intercept)

Defense and Veterans Affairs

Pentagon asks Congress to codify “Department of War,” estimates $52 million cost: The Pentagon is formally seeking congressional authorization to codify the “Department of War” moniker, estimating it will cost taxpayers approximately $52.5 million. The figure is substantially lower than the Congressional Budget Office’s $125 million estimate. (Tanya Noury, Military Times)

Families sound alarm on toxic mold in military housing: The Pentagon acknowledged last year there are serious health concerns related to toxic mold in base housing, but service members and their families say the problems persist. (Stephanie Sy, Courtney Norris, and Bridget Craig, PBS News Hour)

Kid Rock flies in Army helicopter weeks after flights near his house drew scrutiny: Kid Rock and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth both flew in Army Apache helicopters at a base in Virginia last week. The Pentagon’s top spokesman said the flights supported a “community relations event” for the White House-led Freedom 250 initiative, which is coordinating events for America’s Semiquincentennial. (NPR)

Top AI companies agree to work with Pentagon on secret data: Seven leading AI companies — including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google — have reached deals to deploy their technology in classified Pentagon computer networks. The DOD said it will follow a Biden-era policy providing for human oversight of weapons systems and to follow laws designed “to ensure full respect for Americans’ rights against unlawful or unauthorized domestic surveillance.” (Ian Duncan, Washington Post)

Opinion: A penalty for remarrying? Military widows face an impossible choice: Under federal law, military widows lose their family’s survivor benefits if they remarry before age 55. The result is a trade-off few civilians ever confront: Either maintain the financial support tied to a spouse’s sacrifice, or risk losing it to move forward. (Natalie Oliverio, Washington Post)

Business and Finance

Blow the whistle, get paid. Insiders fuel DEI complaints under Trump: The DOJ is prioritizing DEI cases across a broad range of industries. Some of those probes were brought to the DOJ’s attention by whistleblowers. Grassroots activism has also seen a surge in insiders leaking details about corporate DEI programs. (Jessica Guynn, USA Today)

Lawmakers demand answers about growing number of unfixed mistakes on credit reports: The senators’ queries follow reporting that two of the three major credit bureaus — TransUnion and Experian — have substantially scaled back how often they provide relief to complaints filed through the CFPB. (Joel Jacobs, ProPublica)

FIFA could make billions from the World Cup. Host cities will get little in return: Experts say World Cup contracts lock host cities out of prospective revenues more than ever. The 11 U.S. cities agreed to shoulder hundreds of millions of dollars in costs for the soccer tournament, subsidizing a World Cup expected to generate $11 billion in profits for FIFA. (Dylan McGuinness, ProPublica)

Analysis: Spirit Airlines didn’t crash — it was taken down: From predatory pricing to blocked mergers, the forces that sank Spirit reveal how concentrated corporate power controls our skies. (Matt Stoller, The Lever)

Health Care

Since Congress let Obamacare subsidies expire, millions are dropping coverage: Insurers and analysts are estimating overall declines of about 20%, dropping to around 19 million from the 24 million who were covered under the Affordable Care Act last year. There could be even larger potential losses by the end of the year. (Reed Abelson and Margot Sanger-Katz, New York Times)

States eye aid to prop up distressed hospitals amid federal Medicaid cuts: Hundreds of hospitals nationwide are bracing for Medicaid cuts as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with state lawmakers eyeing loans and other forms of financial aid. (Bernard J. Wolfson, KFF Health News)

Medicare portal database exposed health providers’ Social Security numbers: A Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services online directory of medical providers exposed the Social Security numbers of dozens of providers. The project has faced several setbacks: Last year, it was reported that an early version of directory was rife with errors. (Dan Diamond and Clara Ence Morse, Washington Post)

U.S. government will stop paying for test strips to detect deadly drugs: The sudden policy reversal alarmed administrators of programs that have routinely handed out test strips for years, hoping to stave off overdoses and encourage people who use drugs to exercise more caution. (Jan Hoffman, New York Times)

Inside the booming, gray-market world of injectable peptides: Injectable peptides are all the rage for health-conscious Americans, thanks in part to the hype coming from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. But enthusiasm might be outpacing regulatory controls and public understanding of what these products truly are. (Joseph Choi, The Hill)

ICYMI

Immigration and Border Security:

→ New State Department rules would deny visas to those who fear returning home

→ Washington state says Geo Group refuses to let health inspectors into detention facility

→ Opinion: White drivers got a warning. Latino drivers got detained

→ Fear and opportunity: Immigration scams surged as enforcement sweeps lured desperate people to defrauders

→ Trump’s border wall expansion just bulldozed an ancient tribal site

Other News:

→ “This is just disarray”: alarm inside Pentagon after Hegseth staff purges

→ Trump ousts National Science Board members

→ Ex-Fla. congressman and Rubio ally convicted of secretly lobbying for Venezuela

→ Elon Musk will pay $1.5 million to settle with SEC over late paperwork

→ The U.S. debt now exceeds the country’s GDP. Should we worry?

Upcoming Events

📌 Examining the President’s FY 2027 Budget Request for the Department of the Interior. House Committee on Natural Resources. Wednesday, May 13, 10:00 a.m., 1324 Longworth House Office Building.

Hot Docs

🔥📃 DHS OIG: Deficiencies in I&A Mobile Device Security Create Vulnerabilities, Place Information at Increased Risk. OIG-26-06 (PDF)

Nominations & Appointments

NOMINATIONS

• David Brat - Ambassador, Australia
• Hal Duncan - Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget
• Sean Kaufman - Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Department of Health and Human Services
• Jeffrey Ledbetter - Inspector General, Department of Housing and Urban Development
• George McMaster - Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
• Richard O’Malley - Deputy Under Secretary of Defense
• Nicole Saphier - Surgeon General
• Gen. Douglas A. Schiess - Chief of Space Operations, U.S. Space Force
• Matthew A. Schwartz - Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
• Juan Segura - Assistant Secretary of State (Western Hemisphere Affairs); Member of the Board of Directors, Inter-American Foundation
• Abby Warren - Assistant Secretary of Commerce

WITHDRAWALS

• Daniel Bonham - Assistant Secretary of Labor
• Carter Crow - General Counsel, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
• Casey Means - Surgeon General
• Sean Plankey - Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
• Scott Socha - Director, National Park Service