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Trump Administration

The 45th and 47th President and His Administration

News and investigations about President Donald Trump and his administration, his business interests and the impact of his policies as the 45th and 47th President of the United States.

The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE

ProPublica has obtained the blueprint for the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to turn over IRS records to Homeland Security in order to speed up the agency’s mass deportation efforts.

by William Turton, Christopher Bing and Avi Asher-Schapiro,

George Mason Is the Latest University Under Fire From Trump. Its President Fears an “Orchestrated” Campaign.

When university president Gregory Washington received notice that the Trump administration had opened an investigation into complaints of antisemitism, he was “perplexed.” But there are signs it may be part of a coordinated campaign to oust him.

by Katherine Mangan, special to ProPublica,

Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations

A dark money group paid $80,000 to Noem’s personal company when she was governor of South Dakota. She did not include this income on her federal disclosure forms, a likely violation of ethics requirements, experts say.

by Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski,

A New Trump Plan Gives DHS and the White House Greater Influence in the Fight Against Organized Crime

Internal documents and interviews show that an overhaul led by Stephen Miller would scale back prosecutors’ control over investigations.

by Tim Golden,

Featured Reporters

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Impact of Our Reporting
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Senators Demand Investigation Into Canceled VA Contracts, Citing “Damning Reporting From ProPublica”

The senators are calling for a federal watchdog to investigate the Trump administration’s killing of hundreds of VA contracts. Among their concerns: ProPublica revealed DOGE used artificial intelligence to mark contracts as “munchable.”

by Eric Umansky and Vernal Coleman,

Senators Demand Transparency on Canceled Veterans Affairs Contracts

Following a ProPublica investigation into how DOGE had developed an error-prone AI tool to determine which VA contracts should be killed, a trio of lawmakers said the Trump administration continues to “stonewall” their requests for details.

by Brandon Roberts and Vernal Coleman,

Impact: Senators Call on DOJ to Investigate Potential DOGE Conflicts of Interest After ProPublica Report

Citing ProPublica’s reporting on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Democratic senators argued that the potential conflicts “underscore what appears to be a pervasive problem with Elon Musk and DOGE employees trampling ethics rules and laws.”

by Jake Pearson,

Series

A can of vegetable oil with the USAID symbol has a big red slash drawn through it.

Series: The End of Aid: Trump Destroyed USAID. What Happens Now?

Rioters on the front steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021

Series: The Insurrection: The Effort to Overturn the Election

Series: Inside the Border Patrol: Enforcing Trump’s Crackdown

Series: Inside Trump’s VA: Investigating Trump’s Promises to America’s Veterans

Series: Zero Tolerance: Trump’s Immigration Policy at the Border

Series: Trump, Inc.: Exploring the Business of Trump

Series: The Travel Ban: The Impact of Trump’s Executive Order

531 stories published since 2016

Senators Demand Investigation Into Canceled VA Contracts, Citing “Damning Reporting From ProPublica”

by Eric Umansky and Vernal Coleman,

Federal Judge Deems Trump Administration’s Termination of NIH Grants Illegal

by Annie Waldman,

Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding

by Annie Waldman, Asia Fields and Ashley Clarke, design by Zisiga Mukulu, and photography by Bethany Mollenkof for ProPublica,

Senators Demand Transparency on Canceled Veterans Affairs Contracts

by Brandon Roberts and Vernal Coleman,

The DOGE 100: Musk Is Out, but More Than 100 of His Followers Remain to Implement Trump’s Blueprint

by William Turton, Christopher Bing, Avi Asher-Schapiro, Al Shaw and Jake Pearson,

Inside the AI Prompts DOGE Used to “Munch” Contracts Related to Veterans’ Health

by Brandon Roberts and Vernal Coleman,

DOGE Developed Error-Prone AI Tool to “Munch” Veterans Affairs Contracts

by Brandon Roberts, Vernal Coleman and Eric Umansky,

“The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention

by Hannah Allam,

Dismissed by DEI: Trump’s Purge Made Black Women With Stable Federal Jobs an “Easy Target”

by J. David McSwane,

El gobierno de Trump sabía que la gran mayoría de los venezolanos enviados a la prisión de El Salvador no había sido condenada por crimen alguno en EE.UU.

por Mica Rosenberg, ProPublica; Perla Trevizo, ProPublica y The Texas Tribune; Melissa Sanchez y Gabriel Sandoval, ProPublica; Ronna Rísquez, Alianza Rebelde Investiga; y Adrián González, Cazadores de Fake News,

Trump Administration Knew Vast Majority of Venezuelans Sent to Salvadoran Prison Had Not Been Convicted of U.S. Crimes

by Mica Rosenberg, ProPublica; Perla Trevizo, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune; Melissa Sanchez and Gabriel Sandoval, ProPublica; Ronna Rísquez, Alianza Rebelde Investiga; and Adrián González, Cazadores de Fake News,

Impact: Senators Call on DOJ to Investigate Potential DOGE Conflicts of Interest After ProPublica Report

by Jake Pearson,

“The Federal Government Is Gone”: Under Trump, the Fight Against Extremist Violence Is Left Up to the States

by Hannah Allam,

Death, Sexual Violence and Human Trafficking: Fallout From U.S. Aid Withdrawal Hits the World’s Most Fragile Locations

by Brett Murphy and Anna Maria Barry-Jester,

Trump Pledged to “Make America Healthy Again,” Then Cut a Program Many Tribes Rely on for Healthy Food

by Mary Hudetz,

DOJ Abandons Effort to Address Phoenix’s Treatment of Homeless People

by Nicole Santa Cruz,

The “Invasion” Invention: The Far Right’s Long Legal Battle to Make Immigrants the Enemy

by Molly Redden,

More Than a Dozen U.S. Officials Sold Stocks Before Trump’s Tariffs Sent the Market Plunging

by Robert Faturechi, Pratheek Rebala and Brandon Roberts,

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy Sold Stocks Two Days Before Trump Announced a Plan for Reciprocal Tariffs

by Robert Faturechi and Brandon Roberts,

El Gobierno de Trump prepara una lista de políticos mexicanos sujetos a restricciones de visa por presuntos vínculos con el narco

por Tim Golden,

Trump Asked EPA Employees to Snitch on Colleagues Working on DEI Initiatives. They Declined.

by Mark Olalde,

Trump Administration Moves to Block the U.S. Travel of Mexican Politicians Who It Says Are Linked to the Drug Trade

by Tim Golden,

How the Trump Administration Is Weakening the Enforcement of Fair Housing Laws

by Jesse Coburn,

The Trump Administration Leaned on African Countries. The Goal: Get Business for Elon Musk.

by Joshua Kaplan, Brett Murphy, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski,

U.S. AG Pam Bondi Sold More than $1 Million in Trump Media Stock the Day Trump Announced Sweeping Tariffs

by Robert Faturechi and Brandon Roberts,

Musk Adviser May Make as Much as $1 Million a Year While Helping to Dismantle Agency That Regulates Tesla and X

by Jake Pearson,

An Agency Tasked With Protecting Immigrant Children Is Becoming an Enforcement Arm, Current and Former Staffers Say

by Lomi Kriel, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, and Mica Rosenberg, ProPublica,

The Department of Education Forced Idaho to Stop Denying Disabled Students an Education. Then Trump Gutted Its Staff.

by Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman,

House Committee Leader to Investigate Agency for Preferential Treatment of Politically Connected Startup

by Christopher Bing and Avi Asher-Schapiro,

Democratic Lawmakers Blast Trump Administration’s VA Cuts After ProPublica Investigation

by Vernal Coleman and Eric Umansky,

Trump’s NIH Axed Research Grants Even After a Judge Blocked the Cuts, Internal Records Show

by Annie Waldman,

DOGE Aide Who Helped Gut CFPB Was Warned About Potential Conflicts of Interest

by Jake Pearson,

The DEA Once Touted Body Cameras for Their “Enhanced Transparency.” Now the Agency Is Abandoning Them.

by Mario Ariza,

Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes’ Water Supply. Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It.

by Anna Clark,

Have You Been Affected by Changes at the Department of Veterans Affairs? Tell Us About It.

by Eric Umansky, Vernal Coleman and Maryam Jameel,

Internal VA Emails Reveal How Trump Cuts Jeopardize Veterans’ Care, Including To “Life-Saving Cancer Trials”

by Eric Umansky and Vernal Coleman,

The Latest Trump and DOGE Casualty: Energy Data

by Peter Elkind,

A Gutted Education Department’s New Agenda: Roll Back Civil Rights Cases, Target Transgender Students

by Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen,

Trump Pick to Run DEA Could Challenge America’s Already Tense Relations With Mexico

by Tim Golden,

A DOGE Aide Involved in Dismantling Consumer Bureau Owns Stock in Companies That Could Benefit From the Cuts

by Jake Pearson,

Defending Jan. 6 Rioters, Investigating Democrats: How Ed Martin Is Weaponizing the DOJ for Trump

by Andy Kroll and Jeremy Kohler,

Inspector General Probes Whether Trump, DOGE Sought Private Taxpayer Information or Sensitive IRS Material

by William Turton, Avi Asher-Schapiro, Christopher Bing and Andy Kroll,

ICE Awarded a $3.8 Billion Contract to Hold Immigrants on a Military Base. Days Later, It Was Canceled.

by Jeff Ernsthausen, Mica Rosenberg and Avi Asher-Schapiro,

White House Proposal Could Gut Climate Modeling the World Depends On

by Abrahm Lustgarten,

The Untold Story of How Ed Martin Ghostwrote Online Attacks Against a Judge — and Still Became a Top Trump Prosecutor

by Jeremy Kohler and Andy Kroll,

Labor Department Official Warns That Staff Who Speak With Journalists Face “Serious Legal Consequences”

by Mark Olalde,

The Trump Administration’s War on Children

by Eli Hager,

Earthjustice President Describes a “Fundamentally Different” Era of Hostility Toward Environmentalists

by Sharon Lerner,

Politically Connected Firms Benefit From Trump Tariff Exemptions Amid Secrecy, Confusion

by Robert Faturechi,

Trump Laid Off Nearly All the Federal Workers Who Investigate Firefighter Deaths

by Mark Olalde,

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

Most Read

    The USDA Wouldn’t Let Her Give Up Her House When She Couldn’t Pay Her Mortgage. Instead, It Crushed Her With Debt.

    The USDA failed to follow its own guidance for a rural mortgage program, taking years to foreclose on delinquent loans. As a result, 55 Maine borrowers racked up, on average, $110,000 in additional debt before the agency moved to take the homes.

    by Sawyer Loftus, Bangor Daily News,

    Local Reporting Network

    He Came to the U.S. to Support His Sick Child. He Was Detained. Then He Disappeared.

    Like most of the more than 230 Venezuelan men deported to a Salvadoran prison, José Manuel Ramos Bastidas had followed U.S. immigration rules. Then Trump rewrote them.

    by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica; Perla Trevizo, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune; Mica Rosenberg and Jeff Ernsthausen, ProPublica; Ronna Rísquez, Alianza Rebelde Investiga; and Adrián González, Cazadores de Fake News,

    The Most Interesting Email I Ever Received: Remembering the Incredible Life of DIY Geneticist Jill Viles

    In 2013, ProPublica reporter David Epstein was contacted by a woman with a wild story and a batch of photos she believed were clues to the mystery of her condition. Turns out, she was right.

    by David Epstein,

    RFK Jr. Wants to Change a Program That Stopped Vaccine Makers From Leaving the U.S. Market. They Could Flee Again.

    The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program stabilizes the nation’s childhood immunization system while paying those harmed by rare side effects. If the program topples, it could threaten access to vaccines.

    by Patricia Callahan,

    Texas Officials Say They Didn’t See the Flood Coming. Oral Histories Show Residents Have Long Warned of Risks.

    After a tragedy, records from local archives can help us understand how a community understands itself. Here’s some of what we learned following the devastating July 4 flooding in Texas.

    by Logan Jaffe,