The Paper Trail: November 19, 2024

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The Paper Trail

Top stories for November 19, 2024

Trump tried to limit financial conflicts in 2017. This time could be different: Donald Trump is poised to take office with extraordinary wealth when the government’s ability to monitor his ethics is far weaker than in his first presidency — and when there are more avenues for industries, foreign governments, and rich patrons to seek to influence him. (Michael Kranish and Jonathan O’Connell, Washington Post)

Key intelligence watchdogs resign in wake of Trump’s win: The top watchdogs for the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence are leaving their posts. The departures come as unease has swept across the federal inspector general community, which anticipates the possibility of a purge of senior watchdog officials by the incoming Trump administration. (Nick Schwellenbach, Project On Government Oversight)

Hackers nabbed emails between congressional staff and the Library of Congress: A foreign adversary successfully accessed the contents of email communications between congressional staffers and staff in the Congressional Research Service in a hack that occurred between January and September this year, giving the intruders an unauthorized preview of potential policymaking ideas. (David Dimolfetta, Government Executive)

Social Security tackles overpayment “injustices,” but problems remain: In March, Social Security chief Martin O’Malley promised to overhaul the agency’s often heavy-handed efforts to claw back overpayments. Nearly eight months later, the effort to fix the system has made inroads but remains a work in progress. (David Hilzenrath and Jodie Fleischer, KFF Health News)

Segregation academies across the South are getting millions in taxpayer dollars: Private schools across the South established during desegregation and which remain predominantly white are benefiting from tens of millions in taxpayer dollars from voucher-style programs. (Jennifer Berry Hawes and Mollie Simon, ProPublica)

Looking Ahead to 2025:

→ Tracking Trump’s Cabinet and staff nominations

→ GOP senators deride idea of replacing FBI background checks for Trump nominees

→ Trump confirms plans to use the military to assist in mass deportations

→ Trump’s immigration crackdown is expected to start on Day 1

→ Five ways RFK Jr. could undermine lifesaving childhood vaccines

→ Millions may not have health coverage if subsidies return to pre-Biden level

→ What the Republican trifecta could mean for student loan borrowers

→ The upcoming housing battle that could roil mortgage costs even more

Russia-Ukraine War

Biden authorizes Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied longer-range missiles for deeper strikes inside Russia: Russian President Putin has warned that Moscow could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets if NATO allies allow Ukraine to use longer-range missiles. U.S. officials in the past have questioned whether they could give Ukraine enough missiles to make a difference. (Aamer Madhani et al., Associated Press)

Defense and Veterans Affairs

Pentagon fails seventh audit in a row: The Department of Defense once again failed its annual audit into its trillions of dollars of expenditures and assets. The overall audit earned a “disclaimer of opinion,” meaning the DOD failed to provide enough information for auditors to reach a precise and accurate verdict. The good news: One more component earned a clean audit than last year. (Nicholas Slayton, Task & Purpose)

Takeaways from the AP’s investigation into Osprey safety issues: After being grounded for months following a crash last year that killed eight service members in Japan, the V-22 Osprey is back in the air — but there are still questions as to whether it should be. (Tara Copp, Kevin Vineys, and Aaron Kessler, Associated Press)

Business and Finance

Senator slams gun industry’s “invasive and dangerous” sharing of customer data with political operatives: Sen. Richard Blumenthal sent a letter last week to the National Shooting Sports Foundation in which he accused the gun industry of secretly harvesting personal information from firearm owners for political purposes, calling it an “invasive and dangerous intrusion” of privacy and safety. (Corey G. Johnson, ProPublica)

Shen Yun’s longstanding labor practices attract regulators’ scrutiny: New York regulators are looking into the labor practices of dance company Shen Yun, which allegedly underpays its performers and requires them to keep grueling tour schedules and train under abusive conditions. (Michael Rothfeld and Nicole Hong, New York Times)

Tech

FBI investigating post-election text threats sent to Latino, LGBTQ people: Political texts increased during the campaign season, powered by political consultants who bought detailed lists of voters from data brokers, who are federally unregulated. The spammers targeting Latino, LGBTQ, and Black people might have inherited such lists from campaign contractors or paid for them directly. (Kim Bellware and Joseph Menn, Washington Post)

Biden asked Microsoft to “raise the bar on cybersecurity.” He may have helped create an illegal monopoly: In 2021, President Biden asked tech companies to “raise the bar on cybersecurity.” In response, Microsoft offered the government free upgrades and the consultants to install them. While the plan helped the government bolster cybersecurity, it also helped Microsoft tighten its grip on federal business and freeze out competitors. (Renee Dudley, ProPublica)

Health Care

Doctors say RFK Jr.’s anti-Ozempic stance perpetuates stigma and misrepresents evidence: Even as they agree that it’s important to address growing rates of diabetes and obesity, doctors say Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plans miss the mark, and that his assertion that diet and exercise alone can solve obesity “overnight” would set back hard-won efforts to better address the issue. (Meg Tirrell, CNN)

Lean staffing, lax hiring, training flaws: Why sexual assaults at hospitals are up: Incidents of assault, rape, sexual assault, and homicide at hospitals rose 77% over the past two years. Insufficient staffing, indiscriminate hiring practices, training failures, and not holding staff accountable are contributing factors. (Gretchen Morgenson, NBC News)

Nationwide IV fluid shortage could change how hospitals manage patient hydration: Hospitals are conserving critical intravenous fluid supplies to cope with a shortage that may last months. (Jackie Fortiér, KFF Health News)

ICYMI

Immigration and Border Security:

→ Haitian immigrants flee Springfield, Ohio, in droves after Trump election win

→ The hidden truth linking the broken border to your online shopping cart

→ Survivor of deadly trip across Canada-U.S. border expected to testify in human smuggling trial

Other News:

→ Trump voters in focus group slam Elon Musk’s growing influence: “I didn’t vote for him”

→ Ex-Army officer who beat officers with a baton on Jan. 6 sentenced to prison

→ News influencers lean right

→ Feds in 2024 made almost a quarter less than their private sector peers

Upcoming Events

📌 Oversight of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. Tuesday, November 19, 2:00 p.m., 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.

📌 Protecting Consumers from Artificial Intelligence Enabled Fraud and Scams. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. Tuesday, November 19, 2:30 p.m., 253 Russell Senate Office Building.

📌 VA Cybersecurity: Protecting Veteran Data from Evolving Threats. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs; Subcommittee on Technology Modernization. Wednesday, November 20, 9:00 a.m., 360 Cannon House Office Building.

📌 Oversight of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement. House Judiciary Committee; Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement. Wednesday, November 20, 2:00 p.m., 2141 Rayburn House Office Building.