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This week, American Oversight launched a new investigation into the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine and dismantle the Social Security Administration (SSA), following reports about plans to slash the agency’s workforce by thousands, shutter numerous field offices, and implement policy changes designed to make it more difficult for people to qualify for assistance.
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We filed multiple Freedom of Information Act requests seeking communications between SSA officials and members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that may shed light on recent reports that DOGE is systematically taking control of the SSA, including placing personnel in key agency positions.
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The administration’s destruction of the SSA creates immediate challenges for the millions of Americans who rely on its services and will now face delayed access to benefits.
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“President Trump and Elon Musk’s direct attacks on Social Security should sound the alarm for working families, seniors, and people with disabilities across the country who have worked hard for and rely on these essential benefits,” our interim Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said. “We launched this investigation to uncover why the Trump administration is undermining a vital institution that millions depend on and how it is misleading the public in the process.”
Court to Top Trump Officials: Try Again
On Thursday, a federal court ordered multiple government agencies to provide additional details about their efforts to preserve Signal communications related to the group chat among top national security officials.
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Judge James Boasberg ordered the government to supply new declarations by Monday that clarify the scope and timing of their preservation efforts, rejecting the Trump administration’s claims that it successfully demonstrated its “best efforts to preserve” all relevant Signal communications.
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As American Oversight’s Chioma Chukwu noted, Thursday’s hearing “underscored our concern that the Trump administration is attempting to hide its dangerous and reckless actions from the American people.”
We had filed our opposition to the government’s declarations on Friday, arguing they were grossly inadequate in addressing the unlawful destruction of federal records and suggested that relevant records may have already been deleted — which is especially concerning in light of recent reporting by Politico that senior officials had set up “at least 20” additional Signal group chats.
Accountability Wins in Wisconsin and Georgia
This week, American Oversight had two key victories in its work to advance election and voting rights transparency in the states. In Georgia, the court denied State Election Board member Janice Johnston’s motion to dismiss our public records lawsuit against the board.
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The lawsuit, filed in October, challenges systematic attempts by board members, including Johnston, to obstruct public access to information by conducting official business through private email accounts and failing to comply with requests.
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Johnson is a member of the board’s ultraconservative, three-person majority. Those members were praised by Trump last year as his “pit bulls” for having supported his false election denial claims.
In Wisconsin, attorney Michael Gableman, who had led the State Assembly’s partisan and biased inquiry into the 2020 election results, agreed to surrender his law license in response to multiple misconduct violations.
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Gableman was the subject of a 10-count complaint from the state’s Office of Lawyer Regulation for his conduct during the inquiry. Several of those counts relate to his failures to comply with state records laws — failures that were revealed through our litigation for public records.
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Other counts relate to his conduct and “disruptive behavior” during a hearing in one of our lawsuits.
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Our investigations and lawsuits revealed his office’s frequent destruction of public documents, including those deemed not “helpful” to the review, as well as its dismal record-keeping practices.
Other Stories We’re Following
Trump Administration Accountability
- Trump sidelines Justice Dept. legal office, eroding another check on his power (New York Times)
- Gabbard’s pick to run counterterrorism center aided start of a right-wing paramilitary group (Mother Jones)
- Trump signs executive order targeting law firm Susman Godfrey (Reuters)
- Trump suddenly backs off major tariff plan after days of economic and market turmoil (NBC News)
- Ex-official says he was forced out of FDA after trying to protect vaccine safety data from RFK Jr. (Associated Press)
- Trump’s EPA plans to stop collecting greenhouse gas emissions data from most polluters (ProPublica)
- Justice Dept. raises executive privilege to try to muzzle fired pardon attorney (New York Times)
- Trump sends DOGE to review the Navy (Politico)
- National Park Service removes references to Harriet Tubman from Underground Railroad webpage (CNN)
- Bondi: Justice Department cut funding for Maine corrections department over transgender inmate (The Hill)
Election Denial and Voting Rights
- Trump is dismantling election security networks. State officials are alarmed (CNN)
- Arizona voter citizenship rulings lead to disparate treatment for voters across state (Votebeat)
- Georgia elections bill dies, leaving absentee ballot drop off before Election Day intact (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
In the States
- In DEI purge, Morrisey administration quietly guts office preventing workplace discrimination (Mountain State Spotlight)
- Kansas governor vetoes flat tax, restriction on local lawsuits, anti-abortion videos in schools (Kansas Reflector)
- ‘Hands Off!’ protesters across US rally against President Donald Trump and Elon Musk (CNN)
Abortion and Reproductive Rights
- Federal judge rules part of Illinois 'right of conscience' abortion law is unconstitutional (Chicago Sun-Times)
- Missouri House GOP starts over with new bill to ban abortion with limited exceptions (Missouri Independent)
- State lawmakers are weighing bills that would treat abortion as homicide (19th News)
Government Transparency and Public Records Law
- A key fight over the most infamous police project in the country is coming to a head (Slate)
- New FOIA bill makes it harder for the public to access information and records (Mountain State Spotlight)
- Trump wants mail votes to arrive by Election Day. Red states are rushing to toe the line. (Bolts)
Immigration
- Supreme Court allows Trump to enforce Alien Enemies Act for rapid deportations for now (CNN)
- Trump administration aims to spend $45 billion to expand immigrant detention (New York Times)
- Trump administration prepares to send more deported migrants to notorious El Salvador prison (CNN)
- Top I.R.S. officials said to resign after deal to give ICE migrants’ data (New York Times)
- ICE director envisions Amazon-like mass deportation system: ‘Prime, but with human beings’ (Michigan Advance)
- Trump’s DHS revokes legal status for migrants who entered the US on Biden-era CBP One app (Associated Press)
- Trump plans to fine migrants $998 a day for failing to leave after deportation order (Reuters)
- Judge tells government to provide evidence, or case against Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil is over (Associated Press)
- Caught off-guard, California colleges scramble to determine scope of student visa cancellations (Los Angeles Times)
- U.S. says it is now monitoring immigrants' social media for antisemitism (NPR)
- Rulings in New York and Texas curb deportations of Venezuelans to El Salvador (New York Times)
- How a landlord and a Florida PR firm helped Trump kick off the Tren de Aragua gang panic (Intercept)
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