The Paper Trail: June 17, 2025

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The Paper Trail

Top stories for June 17, 2025

Congress is holding emergency briefings on security after Minnesota shootings: Following the murder of a Minnesota state lawmaker, Congress will hold emergency briefings this week amid growing concerns about the safety of federal lawmakers in Washington and in their home districts. Credible threats against members of Congress have more than doubled over the past decade. (Mary Clare Jalonick and Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press)

🔎 See Also: Who was on Minnesota suspect’s hit list? House members, state lawmakers (Sarah Fortinsky, The Hill)

Energy Department seeks to roll back Title IX protections for women’s, education programs: The Trump administration is seeking to rescind key civil rights protections for sex discrimination in sports and education programs through an unusual regulatory push at the Energy Department. (Bianca Quilantan, Politico)

Trump fires nuclear regulator as White House seeks to soften oversight: President Trump has signed executive orders aimed at speeding up approvals of nuclear reactors as the administration attempts to dilute the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s independent oversight of power plants. (Evan Halper, Washington Post)

Democrat seeks to limit Trump’s war powers amid Middle East escalation: A resolution by Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia would require congressional approval before U.S. troops could engage in hostilities against Iran. (Robert Jimison, New York Times)

Trump mobile phone company announced by president’s family, but details are murky: The Trump family’s new phone and cellular service raises conflict-of-interest concerns as they enter a sector regulated by his administration. (Sharon LaFraniere and Ben Protess, New York Times)

🔎 See Also: Trump’s Smartphone Can’t Be Made in America for $499 by August (Wilson Rothman and Ben Raab, Wall Street Journal)

Trump Media seeks SEC approval for bitcoin and ethereum ETF: The social media company tied to President Trump has filed its second crypto ETF application in two weeks, drawing scrutiny over its involvement in a tightly regulated financial sector. (Suzanne McGee and Manya Saini, Reuters)

The Trump EPA is telling some staff to stop policing the oil and gas industry: EPA officials overseeing the Midwest—a region with a legacy of pollution—have been directed to halt enforcement actions against fossil fuel companies, a move that has shocked agency staff. (Rene Marsh and Ella Nilsen, CNN)

When wildfire season coincides with threats to federal emergency support: With peak wildfire season just around the corner, residents of western states are bracing not just for the blazes, but also for ongoing cuts to the federal programs that have long served as lifelines to a region in flames. (Sharon Udasin, The Hill)

Elon Musk & DOGE

Watchdog: Trump administration violated Impoundment Act a second time: The Government Accountability Office said the administration violated a law blocking presidents from withholding congressionally appropriated funds when the Institute of Museum and Library Services did not distribute money it had received. (Meryl Kornfield and Hannah Natanson, Washington Post)

🔎 See Also: White House eyes rarely used power to override Congress on spending (Tony Romm, New York Times)

Trump administration resumes layoffs, targeting National Archives staff: The National Archives and Records Administration, tasked with preserving governmental and historical records, told employees it would cut its workforce by 3% of staff, or nearly 100 employees. (Eric Katz, Government Executive)

‘Set up for failure’: Trump’s cuts bring climate and energy agencies to a standstill, workers say: Federal workers say taxpayers are now getting far less from the government because of the DOGE-led effort to cut the workforce. (Zack Colman, Politico)

South Africa built a medical research powerhouse. Trump cuts have demolished it: The budget cuts threaten global progress on everything from heart disease to H.I.V. — and could affect American drug companies, too. (Stephanie Nolen, New York Times)

Insurrection

Jury finds MyPillow founder defamed former employee for a leading voting equipment company: A Colorado jury found Mike Lindell defamed a former Dominion Voting Systems worker after the 2020 election. (Colleen Slevin, Associated Press)

Russia-Ukraine War

Trump hints at no more U.S. sanctions on Russia at G7 summit: President Trump suggested he will not hit Russia with more sanctions, saying Europeans should “do it first” and that sanctions are too costly for the U.S. (Stefan Boscia, Politico)

Ukraine takes first step toward carrying out minerals deal with U.S.: Kyiv has begun implementing a landmark deal by approving private mining of a major state-owned lithium deposit. (Constant Méheut, New York Times)

Defense and Veterans Affairs

Most military families on base don’t know their rights as tenants, survey finds: More than half of military families don’t know about their housing rights, official feedback systems, or the offices set up to manage issues with their private housing landlords. (Patty Nieberg, Task & Purpose)

‘Extremely disturbing and unethical’: new rules allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats, unmarried veterans: Psychologists, dentists, and other doctors at VA hospitals nationwide could refuse to treat unmarried veterans and Democrats under new hospital guidelines imposed following an executive order by Donald Trump. (Aaron Glantz, The Guardian)

Boeing Air Force One work continues amid furor over Qatar plane: Boeing is proceeding with work on a contract to build two new Air Force One jets amid a pending deal by President Trump to accept a donated jet from Qatar. (Sebastian Sprenger and Stephen Losey, Military Times)

He chose to serve longer in the Army. Now he’s saddled with $40,000 in moving costs: Charles Levine learned he was not eligible for an end-of-service benefit given to retirees, which saddled him and his wife with more than $40,000 in moving expenses. (Melissa Chan, NBC News)

Watchdog says VA isn’t keeping close enough tabs on retention bonuses: An inspector general report found that nearly 30% of bonuses at the Veterans Health Administration lacked proper justification or couldn’t be verified. (Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive)

Supreme Court ruling gives extra payouts to some combat-wounded vets: A unanimous ruling found the government unfairly capped payments, making thousands of disabled veterans eligible for retroactive compensation. (Leo Shane III, Military Times)

Business and Finance

American Bar Association sues Trump administration over executive orders targeting law firms: The voluntary professional organization for lawyers claims executive orders from the White House have cast a chill over the legal industry. (Gregory Svirnovskiy, Politico)

Credit scores decline for millions as U.S. student loan collections restart: As the government resumes referring missed payments for collection, 2.2 million borrowers saw credit scores drop by 100 points—and 1 million by 150 or more—in the first quarter of 2025. (Cora Lewis, Associated Press)

Tech

China could be accessing browsing data on VPNs: Watchdog: A new report found that more than a dozen private browsing apps on Apple and Google’s app stores have undisclosed ties to Chinese companies, leaving user data at risk of exposure to the Chinese government. (Julia Shapero, The Hill)

Health Care

How vaccine critics appointed by RFK Jr. could limit access to shots: After Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. purged the vaccine advisory panel and appointed his own picks, staff at the CDC who provide the panel with research were also pushed aside, creating uncertainty around how widely vaccines will be available this fall and if they’ll be free. (Lena H. Sun and Lauren Weber, Washington Post)

‘Not accountable to anyone’: As insurers issue denials, some patients run out of options: Health insurers issue millions of prior authorization denials every year, leaving many patients stuck in a convoluted appeals process, with little hope of meaningful policy change ahead. For doctors, these denials are frustrating and time-consuming. For patients, they can be devastating. (Lauren Sausser, KFF Health News)

Healthcare.gov fraud has worsened. But how bad is it?: A conservative think tank estimates 6.4 million Americans are improperly receiving federally subsidized health care, though several experts say the number may be far lower. (Paige Winfield Cunningham, Washington Post)

As students have greater health needs, school nurses are in short supply: School districts across the country are increasingly struggling to place nurses in every building. (Jenna Portnoy, Washington Post)

Too often, Black patients get late diagnoses of deadly skin cancer: Black people are less likely to get melanoma but about five times more likely to die within five years, largely due to delayed diagnoses. (Brian Vines, Washington Post)

Senate bill would make deep cuts to Medicaid, setting up fight with House: The proposal would preserve some clean-energy tax credits and phase out others more gradually, offsetting the cost with deeper Medicaid cuts than those in the House-passed bill. (Catie Edmondson et al., New York Times)

ICYMI

Immigration and Border Security:

→ U.S. troops begin detaining migrants on border defense zone

→ Trump officials reverse guidance exempting farms, hotels from immigration raids

→ 36 more countries may be added to Trump’s travel ban

→ Texas farmers hit hard as migrant workers avoid ICE

→ Trump struggles to press deportations without damaging the economy

Other News:

→ U.S. proposes endangered species protections for pangolins

→ All states, territories agree to $7.4B Purdue Pharma opioid settlement

→ A senator’s fall from grace ends in a grim federal lockup

→ Judge orders NIH to restore research grants related to diversity

Upcoming Events

📌 Closing the Feedback Loop Through Casework. POPVOX Foundation. Tuesday, June 24, 12pm.

Hot Docs

🔥📃 GAO - Institute of Museum and Library Services: Applicability of the Impoundment Control Act to Reduction of Agency Functions. B-337375 (PDF)

🔥📃 VA OIG - Recruitment, Relocation, and Retention: Incentives for VHA Positions Need Improved Oversight. 23-01695-94 (PDF)