The Paper Trail: April 29, 2025

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The Paper Trail

Top stories for April 29, 2025

Trump tightens control of federal workforce as Musk pulls back from DOGE: The administration is moving to consolidate control over the hiring and firing of federal workers, positioning the OPM to continue some of DOGE’s work shrinking the government. Workers will be evaluated on their “faithful administration of the law and the president’s policies,” according to memos from OPM Acting Director Chuck Ezell. (Katherine Long and Scott Patterson, Wall Street Journal)

DOJ civil rights unit makes sharp turn toward Trump causes: The DOJ’s civil rights division announced investigations into antisemitism at universities and gun rights and launched a task force dedicated to rooting out anti-Christian bias, while dropping landmark civil rights settlements. Division leaders also pushed out more than a dozen career lawyers, including section chiefs handling police brutality and disability and voting rights. (Suzanne Monyak, Bloomberg Law)

Trump administration to close a civil rights office in HHS: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services office that develops civil rights compliance policy for agency workers will close in June. (Chelsea Cirruzzo, Politico)

Some agencies are walking back workforce cuts with critical functions at risk of failure: Federal offices in key areas such as bird flu response are asking employees to reconsider their plans to leave government or requiring those it has designated for termination to come back to work. (Eric Katz, Government Executive)

Fired, rehired, and fired again: Some federal workers find they’re suddenly uninsured: The remaking of the federal bureaucracy has brought a new level of chaos to the government and is leaving human resource departments struggling to answer a basic question: Do we have health insurance? (Andrea Hsu, NPR)

🔎 See Also: Some DHS employees told to send selfies to prove they are in-office as department suddenly ends remote work (Eric Katz, Government Executive)

Some Hatch Act restrictions loosened under the Trump administration: Employees may once again wear campaign paraphernalia, as long as the items aren’t in support of an individual who is actively running for office. Also, Hatch Act violations against non-Senate confirmed political appointees will be referred to the president for disciplinary action rather than the Merit Systems Protection Board. (Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive)

Grants tie Trump’s anti-DEI order to election security money: The U.S. Election Assistance Commission told state officials they must pledge to follow President Trump’s anti-DEI directives in order to receive $15 million in election security funding. (Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Patrick Marley, Washington Post)

Trump education officials investigate UC-Berkeley over foreign funding: The Education Department is investigating whether Berkeley properly reported its foreign funding, another step in the administration’s campaign to increase federal oversight of higher education. (Praveena Somasundaram, Washington Post)

🔎 See Also: Feeling political heat, colleges pump up their lobbying (Steven Rich and Vimal Patel, New York Times)

Secret deals, foreign investments, presidential policy changes: The rise of Trump’s crypto firm: None of the Trump family’s business endeavors pose conflicts of interest that compare to those that have emerged with the birth of crypto firm World Liberty. Trump has leveraged his presidential powers in ways that have benefited the industry as well as his own crypto company. (Eric Lipton, David Yaffe-Bellany, and Ben Protess, New York Times)

🔎 See Also: Democratic senators request ethics probe into Trump meme coin dinner (Julia Shapero, The Hill)

Elon Musk & DOGE

Elon Musk’s conflicts of interest: $2.37 billion in potential federal penalties, report says: A new Senate report found that Elon Musk and his companies faced over $2.3 billion in potential federal fines and penalties when President Trump took office. As of January 20, Musk and his companies were subject to at least 65 actual or potential regulatory actions by 11 different federal agencies. (Laurence Darmiento, Los Angeles Times)

Inspector general probes whether Trump, DOGE sought private taxpayer information or sensitive IRS material: The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration is probing whether President Trump, the White House, and DOGE improperly accessed or shared private taxpayer data and other sensitive IRS information. (William Turton et al., ProPublica)

Musk allies made FAA staff sign NDAs to keep new project secret: DOGE has been spearheading a multimillion-dollar communications project at the FAA, and employees roped into it have been forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. (Andrew Perez and Asawin Suebsaeng, Rolling Stone)

Musk’s role in Air Force nominee’s job interview sparks ethics concerns: Elon Musk joined President Trump’s interview with Air Force secretary nominee Troy Meink — a highly unusual move that raises serious conflict of interest concerns given Musk’s billions of dollars in defense contracts and accusations that Meink in 2021 improperly steered a spy satellite contract to SpaceX. (Joe Gould and Sam Skove, Politico)

Other DOGE News:

→ Elon Musk is shutting down the government office that helped save Tesla

→ Top intelligence lawmaker fears China may exploit DOGE’s changes to government

→ Elon Musk’s xAI accused of pollution over Memphis supercomputer

Weaponization of the Government

What’s next in Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan’s case? Judge Dugan faces two federal charges for allegedly trying to help an undocumented immigrant avoid arrest after he appeared in her courtroom. The charges carry a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $350,000 fine. (Tamia Fowlkes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Justice Dept. rescinds rules safeguarding media from government seizures: Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the reversal of a policy that prevented the DOJ from seizing reporters’ communications and notes through subpoenas or court orders. The move is intended to clamp down on “unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies, victimize government agencies, and cause harm to the American people,” according to an internal DOJ memo. (Eric Katz and David DiMolfetta, Nextgov/FCW)

U.S. attorney for D.C. accuses Wikipedia of “propaganda,” threatens nonprofit status: Acting DC U.S. Attorney Ed Martin sent a letter to the nonprofit that runs Wikipedia, accusing it of “allowing foreign actors to manipulate information and spread propaganda to the American public.” Some of the contentions in Martin’s letter echoes a report published in March by the Anti-Defamation League alleging “widespread antisemitic and anti-Israel bias on Wikipedia.” (Will Oremus and Julian Mark, Washington Post)

🔎 See Also: Defending Jan. 6 rioters, investigating Democrats: How Ed Martin is weaponizing the DOJ for Trump (Andy Kroll and Jeremy Kohler, ProPublica)

🔎 See Also: Under oath to Senate, Martin claims ignorance of Nazi sympathizer’s views (Tom Jackman and Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post)

Defense and Veterans Affairs

$70M Navy F-18 fighter jet falls into Red Sea off the USS Harry S Truman: The incident is under investigation. This wasn’t the first fighter jet to fall off the aircraft carrier: An F/A-18 Super Hornet was lost at sea near Italy after it was blown overboard by heavy winds in July 2022. (Louis Casiano, Fox News)

Job cuts delay Pentagon plans to expand work to prevent sex assaults and suicides: Personnel cuts across the Pentagon will delay plans to hire civilians to help prevent sexual assault, suicides, and behavior problems within the military. (Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press)

2 Marines on Okinawa accused of sexual assault, again ratcheting up diplomatic tensions: The string of alleged crimes by troops stationed in Okinawa has roiled long-standing discontent among the local community against U.S. military presence there. (Drew F. Lawrence, Military.com)

The Vietnam War ended 50 years ago, but the battle with Agent Orange continues: Vietnam has spent decades cleaning up the toxic legacy of the war, in part funded by belated U.S. assistance, but the work is far from complete. The country is worried the U.S. may abandon the cleanup. (Aniruddha Ghosal and Han Dinh, Associated Press)

Business and Finance

New consumer protections could end soon. Here’s what you need to know: As a legal battle over the shuttering of the CFPB unfolds, some of the agency’s rules might remain on hold for years. Others might be overturned outright or wither away because of weak enforcement. (Hannah Ziegler, Washington Post)

Trump administration fast-tracks oil and mining projects, angering environmentalists: The administration will accelerate permit approvals for mining, drilling, and fossil fuel production and transportation on public land, fast-tracking a review process that normally takes years. Experts say the move is expected to draw legal challenges. (Mary Cunningham, CBS News)

🔎 See Also: Authors working on flagship U.S. climate report are dismissed (Brad Plumer and Rebecca Dzombak, New York Times)

Nike says its factory workers earn nearly double the minimum wage. At this Cambodian factory, 1% made that much: Nike claims its suppliers pay workers 1.9 times the minimum wage on average. A payroll sheet for one Cambodian factory reveals few people making that much, even after years on the job. President Trump’s tariffs could further squeeze wages. (Rob Davis, ProPublica)

Tech

Car subscription features raise your risk of government surveillance, police records show: Automakers are increasingly pushing consumers to pay to unlock preinstalled safety and performance features, such as hands-free driving systems, heated seats, and cameras that automatically record accidents. But the additional level of internet connectivity increases drivers’ exposure to government surveillance and the likelihood of being caught up in police investigations. (Dell Cameron, Wired)

Infrastructure

Housing on federal lands aims to ease affordability crisis: Building affordable housing on federal lands is an idea that has bipartisan support. But the initiative would do little to increase the housing supply in other parts of the country where residents also struggle with high shelter costs. Other logistical and environmental challenges also must be addressed. (Madeleine Ngo, New York Times)

Saltwater intrusion in Mississippi River threatens livelihood of residents south of New Orleans: Communities along the Mississippi River are facing a growing threat from an intrusion of saltwater moving the wrong way up the river from the Gulf of Mexico. (Kati Weis, CBS News)

Health Care

With over 900 U.S. measles cases so far this year, things are looking bleak: As of Friday, the U.S. has confirmed over 900 measles cases since the start of the year. The cases span 29 states, but most are in or near Texas among unvaccinated children and teens. (Beth Mole, Ars Technica)

FDA scrutiny of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine sparks uncertainty about other shots: The Trump administration’s effort to impose new requirements on Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine is sowing uncertainty about updates to other vaccines. (Lauran Neergaard and Matthew Perrone, Associated Press)

Trump administration plans to limit “forever chemical” discharges: At the same time, however, the administration has taken steps to deregulate the chemical industry, which could expose Americans to additional harmful substances. (Rachel Frazin, The Hill)

A Chicago hospital bows to federal pressure on trans care for teens: In the wake of President Trump’s executive order threatening to cut federal funding to health care providers offering gender-affirming medical care, hospitals across the country have paused surgeries and other types of gender-affirming treatment. (Kristen Schorsch, KFF Health News)

ICYMI

Immigration and Border Security:

→ Three U.S. citizens, ages 2, 4, and 7, swiftly deported from Louisiana

→ More than 100 immigrants lacking legal status detained in Colorado nightclub raid

→ Homan presses undocumented immigrants to self-deport, threatening prosecution

→ Trump backs down in legal fight over canceling international students’ status records

→ Disabled people detained by ICE sound alarm over overcrowded jails

→ Lawsuit says migrants endure isolation and intimidation at Guantanamo detention center

Other News:

→ After federal cuts, food banks scrounge and scrimp

→ FCC chair says “all options” open in CBS “60 Minutes” news distortion review

→ NY prosecutor nominees will remain on ice, Grassley says

→ Trump executive order requires truck drivers to speak English

→ Trump badmouthed Chicago but scooped up its bonds

→ In a broken mental health system, a tiny jail cell becomes an institution of last resort

Upcoming Events

📌 Oversight of the U.S. Postal Service. House Committee on Appropriations; Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government. Wednesday, April 30, 10:00 a.m., 2358A Rayburn House Office Building.

📌 Hearing to Consider the Nomination of Rodney Scott to be Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Senate Committee on Finance. Wednesday, April 30, 10:00 a.m., 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Hot Docs

🔥📃 GAO - Fraud in Federal Programs: FinCEN Should Take Steps to Improve the Ability of Inspectors General to Determine Beneficial Owners of Companies, GAO-25-107143 (PDF)

🔥📃 Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Minority Staff of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations: Calculating Risk: Estimating the Legal Liability Elon Musk May Avoid Through His Government Takeover. April 27, 2025 (PDF)

🔥📃 Project On Government Oversight: Ten Frequently Asked Questions About Whistleblowing. April 28, 2025