Newsletter:

Ongoing USAID Fallout
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President Trump’s administration’s overhaul of the federal government and the gutting of foreign aid programs has continued at full speed, having terminated more than 90 percent ([link removed]) of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s contracts, ending humanitarian aid efforts worldwide and effectively laying off thousands of employees.

Two weeks ago, American Oversight launched an investigation ([link removed]) into Trump’s illegal dismantling of USAID, filing a dozen Freedom of Information Act requests for records that could shed light on the influences behind the decimation — including that of unelected billionaire Elon Musk.
* Both Trump and Musk, who is “overseeing ([link removed]) ” the “Department of Government Efficiency ([link removed]) ” (a position that has been confusing and unclear for weeks now) have promoted misinformation about the agency’s work ([link removed]) and funding.
* This week, the Trump administration placed more than 4,500 USAID employees on administrative leave ([link removed]) and fired another 1,600 ([link removed]) , and permanently ([link removed]) terminated funding for about 5,800 ([link removed]) USAID programs around the world.
* Thousands of former USAID employees who worked in Washington, D.C., were given 15-minute time slots to gather personal belongings from the office this week, escorted by federal officers ([link removed]) .
* The canceled programs ([link removed]) include HIV testing and treatment ([link removed]) projects, centers that fought malnourishment, shelters for women who experienced rape or domestic violence, and many other foreign aid projects, including one that provided polio immunizations for millions of children.
* A federal judge had ordered ([link removed]) the Trump administration to release about $1.5 billion for foreign aid work already completed on behalf of USAID by this Wednesday, but Supreme Court Chief Justice John Robert temporarily blocked ([link removed]) that ruling the same day.

Contract termination letters sent to NGOs across the globe this week stated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who in early February was announced as acting director of USAID ([link removed]) , and another agency official had “determined your award is not aligned with Agency priorities and made a determination that continuing this program is not in the national interests,” the Associated Press ([link removed]) reported.
* In our investigation ([link removed]) into the illegal dismantling of USAID, we’ve filed multiple requests for records and communications between agency officials and the White House, Congress, or Rubio.
* Earlier this month, we sent letters ([link removed]) warning USAID, the National Archives, and the State Department that any destruction or removal of USAID records was in violation of the Federal Records Act, and demanding the agencies take action to recover the agency’s records and prevent further destruction.
* This week, we sent a letter to the National Archives and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ([link removed]) regarding the potential unlawful destruction of records. The letter comes after a former senior official warned ([link removed]) that there is “imminent risk that twelve years’ of critical CFPB records, which belong to the public, will be irretrievably lost and cause serious and sweeping damage.”

On the Records

DOJ Official’s Ties to Election Denialism
Former West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, a 2020 election denier who supported states’ exits from the nonpartisan Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), is currently in charge of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Records we’ve obtained shed light on Warner’s close ties to right-wing “election integrity” activists as they waged a campaign against ERIC ([link removed]) , a nonpartisan voter-list maintenance system.
* The records shed light on the influence Warner had on other states to withdraw from ERIC. In March 2023, days after West Virginia and Florida announced their decisions to leave ERIC, Virginia’s commissioner of elections Susan Beals was invited to join an “Election Integrity Leaders” call with Warner and Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd.
* Warner emailed Beals days after Virginia withdrew from ERIC that May: “Susan, first congratulations on your departure from Eric. I’ve got another situation I’d like to run by you when you have a moment,” he wrote, asking for her personal contact information.

The records also shed light on the extent to which, with ERIC out of the picture, Warner’s office was working with Cleta Mitchell ([link removed]) — a lawyer involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results — and her Election Integrity Network.
* “You made reference last week to some databases that your office and clerks used in your efforts to clean voter rolls,” Mitchell emailed Warner’s general counsel in May 2023. She asked to be forwarded the databases for a “National Working Group on Voter Rolls.”
* That month, Warner appeared at a webinar hosted by EIN and the Virginia Fair Elections Coalition where he discussed “what WV is doing to clean their voter rolls in their post-ERIC world,” the records show.

Justice Department Appointments
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is responsible for upholding federal anti-discrimination laws and often deals with related voting rights issues. Warner has expressed sympathy for false claims about widespread voter fraud ([link removed]) — claims that have been used to justify new restrictions to voting rights.
* Warner is filling the role while Trump’s nominee to lead the division, Harmeet Dhillon, awaits Senate confirmation.
* Dhillon, who has long worked as a personal lawyer for Trump ([link removed]) , also supported his efforts ([link removed]) to overturn the 2020 election results and has a long history ([link removed]) of advocating against efforts to address racial inequalities ([link removed]) and LGBTQ+ ([link removed]) and reproductive rights ([link removed]) .
* During hearings this week, Dhillon deflected ([link removed]) questions ([link removed]) about whether the president could ignore orders from the Supreme Court.

Trump’s nominee for solicitor general, former Missouri Solicitor General D. John Sauer, also refused to directly answer those questions ([link removed]) during confirmation hearings this week. “It’s hard to make a very blanket, sweeping statement about something without being presented with the facts and the law,” he told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.
* Sauer has also been a longtime personal lawyer for Trump, notably representing him in the Supreme Court case that ultimately granted Trump wide immunity from prosecution ([link removed]) . American Oversight submitted an amicus brief ([link removed]) in that case in late 2023.
* Records we previously obtained also shed light on Sauer’s involvement in circulating an amicus brief ([link removed]) signed by 17 state attorneys general ([link removed]) in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, the December 2020 lawsuit from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton seeking to overturn the election results in several swing states.

Other Stories We’re Following

Trump Accountability
* DOJ has abruptly broadened its view of Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons. A judge wants answers (Politico ([link removed]) )
* The National Archives is nonpartisan but has found itself targeted by Trump (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* The Trump staffers who get paid by private clients (Wall Street Journal ([link removed]) )

Trump and DOGE Purges and Takeovers
* White House formally instructs agencies to prepare for 'large-scale' layoffs and reorganization (ABC News ([link removed]) )
* The Trump administration keeps citing an untrue stat as it targets federal workers (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
* Federal agencies given deadline for plans to move offices out of D.C. area (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Trump wants more power over agencies. Experts worry about campaign finance regulators (NPR ([link removed]) )
* Federal workers will get another email asking them to detail accomplishments (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Judge blocks Trump administration from terminating DEI-related grants (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* National parks already feel the effects of layoffs, even before the busy season starts (NPR ([link removed]) )
* DOGE barrels toward a fresh round of firings, the most widespread yet (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* How Elon Musk executed his takeover of the federal bureaucracy (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Trump officials start dismantling civil rights offices, as part of DOGE’s secret plan (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Judge orders Trump administration officials to give sworn testimony on DOGE (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Acting IRS commissioner to step down amid DOGE blitz on agency (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* DOGE gains access to confidential records on housing discrimination, medical details — even domestic violence (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
* Federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE (Associated Press ([link removed]) )

In the States
* A Texas child who was not vaccinated has died of measles, a first for the US in a decade (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* DeSantis promotes his wife as next Florida governor and takes a shot at Trump's pick (ABC News ([link removed]) )
* Georgia Senate to investigate Stacey Abrams and New Georgia Project (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )
* Lawmakers in 9 states propose measures to undermine same-sex marriage rights (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* Iowa lawmakers pass bill to eliminate transgender civil rights protections (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Criminal abortion ‘trafficking’ bill gets hearing before first committee (Montana Free Press ([link removed]) )
* Iowa lawmakers work to restrict medication abortion access, inform about abortion pill reversal (Iowa Capital Dispatch ([link removed]) )

National News
* Elon Musk’s business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* FAA targeting Verizon contract in favor of Musk’s Starlink, sources say (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Supreme Court seems likely to rule for Ohio woman claiming job bias because she’s straight (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Education Department launches ‘End DEI’ website to solicit complaints about schools (Education Week ([link removed]) )

Immigration
* Local and state police are joining Trump’s ‘deportation force’ (Texas Observer ([link removed]) )
* Federal prisons being used to detain people arrested in Trump’s immigration crackdown (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Trump to reopen 1,000-bed detention center for migrants in New Jersey (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* White House touts arrests of violent migrants, but Trump’s crackdown is much broader (Wall Street Journal ([link removed]) )
* Trump prepares to use controversial 1798 ‘Alien Enemies’ law to speed deportations (CNN ([link removed]) )
* Virginia governor orders state police, prisons to cooperate with ICE (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Democratic governor announces 'Operation Desert Guardian' to secure border (Newsweek ([link removed]) )

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Thank you again for following our latest news. We are grateful for your support and for helping us hold government accountable.

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