Newsletter:

Celebrating Sunshine Week and Fighting the Trump Administration’s War on Transparency
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This week, American Oversight recognized the 20th anniversary of Sunshine Week, the annual celebration of government transparency and open records access, and took the opportunity to look back at just a few of the major victories ([link removed]) we’ve had since our founding in 2017.

This year, the public’s right to information about what our government is doing is under unprecedented threat ([link removed]) . From destroying records that belong to the people to obscuring the work of the federal wrecking ball that is the Department of Government Efficiency ([link removed]) (DOGE), the Trump administration is dismantling democratic safeguards, distorting facts, and concealing critical information.

As DOGE continues to wreak havoc on the federal government, confusion about its leadership ([link removed]) and structure has gone hand in hand with its efforts to evade transparency ([link removed]) . And despite a ruling last week ([link removed]) that the entity is likely subject to the Freedom of Information Act, DOGE recently told us that it isn’t ([link removed]) — putting important records about its staffing and activities at risk of being destroyed.

The revelations about DOGE’s continued claims that it is immune from FOIA come in our ongoing lawsuit against the entity, which has asked the court for an extension in replying to our complaint. Not only does this increase the risk of documents being destroyed, it also denies the American people information they urgently need about DOGE’s fast-moving actions.

On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that DOGE’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) ([link removed]) was likely illegal ([link removed]) and ordered it not to make any more cuts. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by dismissed USAID employees and contractors, which claims that Elon Musk and DOGE lacked constitutional authority for their actions.
* Pete Marocco, the Trump administration official who oversaw USAID’s dismantling, said this week ([link removed]) that two political appointees will take over his role as deputy administrator of USAID: Jeremy Lewin will serve as USAID’s chief operating officer and deputy administrator for policy and programs, and Ken Jackson will be the agency’s chief financial officer and deputy administrator for management and resources.
* Lewin is a DOGE employee who was involved in its cuts to agencies and played a central role in the decimation of USAID ([link removed]) .

Also this week, DOGE forcibly took control of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), using threats and law enforcement to gain access to the independent nonprofit’s D.C. headquarters. On Tuesday, DOGE announced on X ([link removed]) that it had removed USIP’s president, George Moose, and installed Jackson as acting president.
* USIP and its dismissed board members filed suit ([link removed]) , but on Tuesday a federal judge allowed DOGE to remain in control and declined to issue a temporary restraining order ([link removed]) to reinstate USIP’s board members.
* On Thursday, in a separate lawsuit against DOGE, a district judge blocked its access ([link removed]) to sensitive and confidential information ([link removed]) at the Social Security Administration (SSA). She also instructed DOGE to delete ([link removed]) any non-anonymized data it had already gathered from SSA, and blocked DOGE from installing or accessing any software on the agency’s systems.

On the Records

Oklahoma Approves Education Standards Teaching 2020 Election Denialism
The Oklahoma Board of Education this week approved ([link removed]) new social studies education standards ([link removed]) that appear to repeat the false claims of President Trump and his supporters about the 2020 election.
* The standards ask students to “identify discrepancies in 2020 elections … including the sudden halting of ballot-counting in select cities in key battleground states, the security risks of mail-in balloting, sudden batch dumps, an unforeseen record number of voters, and the unprecedented contradiction of ‘bellwether county’ trends.”

As state superintendent, Ryan Walters has gained national notoriety for his far-right makeover of Oklahoma public schools, including by adopting anti-LGBTQ and anti-DEI policies and suppressing student and teacher self-expression. Walters has also ordered public schools to incorporate the Bible into curriculum and denied state legislators entry to executive sessions of the State Education Board.
* This week, American Oversight sent a letter to the Oklahoma Department of Education ([link removed]) demanding the release of multiple sets of public records requested over the past year that the agency has failed to provide.
* Our letter ([link removed]) claims the department has erroneously interpreted the Open Records Act to shield itself from handing over records from its highly controversial Library Media Advisory Committee and Executive Review Committee.
* The demand comes as Walters attempts to ([link removed]) change administrative rules to remove the requirement that public records requests be fulfilled within a “prompt and reasonable time.”

This is the second time American Oversight has demanded transparency from the Oklahoma Department of Education in just half a year, having sent a letter ([link removed]) demanding the release of multiple sets of records in September.
* “While the Walters administration’s disdain for transparency remains unchanged, what also remains the same is the right of Oklahomans — including the parents of young children who will be impacted by Walters’ ongoing politicization of education in public schools — to access these records,” our interim Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said. “We demand the Department of Education release the records to which the public is entitled.”
* Walters has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s plan to dismantle the Department of Education. On Wednesday — the day before Trump signed an executive order ([link removed]) to start the process of closing the Education Department — Walters posted on X ([link removed]) : “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
* Records we previously obtained ([link removed]) from the Oklahoma Department of Education reveal Walters’ close ties to far-right education groups like Moms for Liberty, PragerU, and Parents Defending Education, and shed light on ([link removed]) his efforts to inject white Christian nationalism into public education.
* Read more about our education investigations in our recent report, “The Far-Right Attack on Education: How Curriculum and Classroom Censorship Stifles Educators, Harms Students, and Threatens Our Democracy.” ([link removed])


Other Stories We’re Following
Trump Administration Accountability
* How the Justice Department is remaking itself in Trump’s image (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* How a push to amend the Constitution could help Trump expand presidential power (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
* Trump fires Democrats on Federal Trade Commission (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Emails reveal top IRS lawyer warned Trump firings were a ‘fraud’ on the courts (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
* With orders, investigations and innuendo, Trump and GOP aim to cripple the left (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Trump drastically cutting back annual human rights report (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Trump administration poised to ‘strand rural America with worse internet’ to help Musk, official warns (Guardian ([link removed]) )

DOGE and Elon Musk
* Elon Musk’s Starlink expands across White House complex (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Meet Elon Musk’s top lieutenant who oversees DOGE (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Leaked memo: DOGE plots to cut Social Security phone support (Axios ([link removed]) )
* Elon Musk says DOGE works 120 hours a week as he brings Silicon Valley grind culture to government (Business Insider ([link removed]) )
* AG Pam Bondi forms internal team to work with DOGE on DOJ cost-cutting efforts (ABC News ([link removed]) )
* DOGE cuts reach key nuclear scientists, bomb engineers and safety experts (New York Times ([link removed]) )

Election Denial and Voting Rights
* Top DC prosecutor, who promoted false 2020 voter fraud claims, forms ‘election accountability’ unit (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Musk offering $100 to Wisconsin petition signers; tactic may be illegal, election attorney says (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ([link removed]) )
* The federal Voting Rights Act was gutted. States now want their own versions. (Stateline ([link removed]) )
* Georgia Supreme Court considers whether judge was right to block new election rules (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Election officials worry that Pennsylvania court rulings could compromise ballot secrecy (Votebeat ([link removed]) )

In the States
* El Paso County Sheriff's Office taking applications for citizen-based 'Sheriff's Posse' (Colorado Springs Gazette ([link removed]) )
* Ohio Republicans propose citizenship tracking with threat of future budget cuts (Ohio Capital Journal ([link removed]) )
* US threatens to cut off MTA funds over subway safety (New York Times ([link removed]) )

National News
* 'Segregated facilities' are no longer explicitly banned in federal contracts (NPR ([link removed]) )
* Kennedy’s alarming prescription for bird flu on poultry farms (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* FTC removes posts critical of Amazon, Microsoft, and AI companies (Wired ([link removed]) )
* Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac brace for job cuts (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Social Security's new in-person identification requirement angers retirees and advocates (CBS News ([link removed]) )
* Bondi calls Tesla vandalism ‘domestic terrorism,’ promising steep consequences (New York Times ([link removed]) )

LGBTQ Rights
* Trump administration targets UPenn over transgender athletes (Politico ([link removed]) )
* Two transgender girls, six federal agencies. How Trump is trying to pressure Maine into obedience. (ProPublica ([link removed]) )

Abortion and Reproductive Rights
* Ohio anti-abortion rights lobby files complaint against company for telehealth abortion services (Ohio Capital Journal ([link removed]) )
* Texas’ first abortion arrests stem from monthlong attorney general investigation (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* A new Texas bill is coming after online abortion pills (19th News ([link removed]) )
* Md. poised to become first state to use insurance surcharge for abortions (Washington Post ([link removed]) )

Threats to Education
* Education Department staff cuts could limit options for families of kids with disabilities (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Over 50 universities are under investigation as part of Trump's anti-DEI crackdown (NPR ([link removed]) )
* Texas AG Ken Paxton accuses Coppell ISD of violating Texas’ ‘critical race theory’ ban (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )

Government Transparency and Public Records Law
* Encrypted messaging apps promise privacy. Government transparency is often the price (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Missourians can face years-long waits for records requested from some state agencies (Missouri Independent ([link removed]) )

Immigration
* Trump administration deports hundreds of immigrants even as a judge orders their removals be stopped (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Lawyers and advocates say 48 people are unaccounted for after ICE raid in New Mexico (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* How feds took control of the narrative in deportation of Brown Medicine kidney doctor (Rhode Island Current ([link removed]) )
* An ICE contractor is worth billions. It’s still fighting to pay detainees as little as $1 a day to work. (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
* Trump team makes plans for military to hold migrants at border (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* The unraveling of Trump’s plan to detain thousands of migrants at Guantanamo (Wall Street Journal ([link removed]) )
* ‘Very dangerous’: Japanese Americans warn of Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Justice Department moves to drop lawsuit that would allow Texas police to arrest migrants (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Administration’s details on deportation flights ‘woefully insufficient,’ judge says (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Intelligence assessment said to contradict Trump on Venezuelan gang (New York Times ([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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