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Our Biggest Stories of 2025
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Editor’s note: This is our final newsletter of the year. We’ll be back on January 9, with more news on our work to hold the government accountable.

It’s hard to grasp just how much happened this year: We saw DOGE’s takeover of the federal government ([link removed]) , the occupation ([link removed]) of American cities, mass immigrant detention and deportation efforts ([link removed]) , a sweeping trade war ([link removed]) , and so much ([link removed]) more ([link removed]) .

That’s why American Oversight spent 2025 fighting for transparency and accountability — to ensure the public knows what the government is doing and has the information it needs to challenge abuses of power.

Here’s a look at some of our biggest wins this year.


** Accountability for the Signalgate scandal
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** In March, National Security Advisor Tim Waltz accidentally added Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg ([link removed]) to an unsecured Signal group chat where several administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, discussed plans for upcoming strikes in Yemen.
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We filed a lawsuit against Hegseth and the other officials involved in the now-infamous Signalgate scandal in March, and launched an investigation ([link removed]) into the Trump administration’s widespread use of the non-governmental, auto-deleting messaging app.

Our litigation prompted a court order ([link removed]) to preserve records ([link removed]) and exposed a broader pattern of recordkeeping violations across multiple Trump administration agencies. It also spurred an investigation ([link removed]) by the Inspector General for the Department of Defense, which found ([link removed]) that Hegseth put troops’ lives in danger when he used Signal to discuss military plans. We called on Hegseth to resign immediately ([link removed]) in the wake of the report from the
office of the inspector general.

Hegseth has continued his reckless disregard for protocols, and we’re staying on top of him. We sued ([link removed]) the departments of Defense and Justice this month for unlawfully withholding records about the Trump administration’s lethal strikes on boats they claim are associated with drug trafficking. We also demanded DHS and the National Archives ([link removed]) take immediate action to recover and preserve deleted photos and videos of survivors of a strike in October.


** Exposing DHS’ text message problem
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** DHS is central to the Trump administration’s most controversial and far-reaching actions, including mass deportations and the federal occupation of American cities, and its problematic record-keeping practices ([link removed]) prevent the public from accessing information about those actions. We filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests ([link removed]) , demand letters ([link removed]) , and lawsuits ([link removed]) for DHS records
([link removed]) about its role in several Trump administration actions this year, and uncovered new details about its document preservation failures.
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This summer, we sent FOIA requests to DHS seeking its communications about the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles ([link removed]) . In July, DHS told us it “no longer maintained ([link removed]) ” text message data — and hadn’t since April ([link removed]) . In October, we sued ([link removed]) DHS and other Trump administration agencies and officials ([link removed]) for failing to preserve their texts — a flagrant
violation of federal laws. We also asked the court to require DHS develop policies to ensure its texts are preserved in the future.

In litigation, DHS backtracked and said it had provided us with “erroneous information ([link removed]) ” about its text message preservation policies. The agency says it preserves texts, but that it relies on individual officials to take screenshots ([link removed]) of their text messages. Because of our lawsuit, DHS demanded top DHS officials “preserve documents and electronic records that relate to the subject matter of the complaint in this case,” making it clear that it expects officials to follow the law and properly preserve records. That’s essential, given the content of these messages, which may include details of actions that impacted many families’ lives.

To date, though, the agency has not released the records or provided evidence that they were preserved, as federal law requires.


** Revealing attacks on voting rights
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** The Trump administration dramatically expanded a DHS system for use as a citizenship-checking tool ([link removed]) for voters. It has raised serious concerns about voter data safety and puts citizens at risk of losing their voter registration ([link removed]) .
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We filed several public records requests and lawsuits ([link removed]) for information about what data is being used by the system, and how it is being used. Records we obtained ([link removed]) revealed Texas’s early agreement to use the DHS system to check its voters’ citizenship. Other records ([link removed]) shed light on the Trump administration’s plans to expand the system to include drivers’ licenses and passport data.

We’ve also been tracking changes to election administration in individual states. In Georgia, we were able to demand transparency after election-deniers at the State Election Board (SEB) tried to influence the way elections work in the state.

Our litigation resulted in a requirement for SEB members ([link removed]) to conduct business solely through official government email accounts, and to properly preserve their communication records. Those requirements will strengthen public oversight of the election board actions ahead of the 2026 elections.


** Enabling oversight of ICE activity
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** The Trump administration dramatically changed the way immigration works ([link removed]) in the U.S. this year, substantially expanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE’s) budget, staffing, and discretion.
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This week, a federal court ruled that Congress members must be allowed to conduct unannounced oversight at ICE detention facilities, in a lawsuit represented by American Oversight ([link removed]) and Democracy Forward on behalf of a dozen lawmakers. “Members of Congress have an unquestioned right to conduct real-time oversight of immigration detention facilities,” our Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said. “By blocking those visits, the administration wasn’t simply breaking the law, it was trying to conceal the reality inside these facilities from the public: people in overcrowded, inhumane conditions without adequate beds, showers, or medical care.”

Our work this year also revealed the bleak conditions ([link removed]) many immigrants face in ICE detention at the U.S. Naval base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. We sued ICE ([link removed]) for records about its use of Guantánamo as a detention center and, through that lawsuit, obtained records that showed the agency was unprepared for the hundreds of migrants ([link removed]) the Trump administration sent to the base.


** Fighting Trump’s efforts to conceal his mishandling of classified documents
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** It’s been more than two years since Trump was indicted on 37 federal charges ([link removed]) for mishandling classified documents at the end of his first term, but the public still hasn’t seen Special Counsel Jack Smith’s full investigation report. Our litigation forced action in the case ([link removed]) this year.
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We sued the DOJ ([link removed]) for the full release of Smith’s report in February. Judge Aileen Cannon sat on our fully-briefed case for nearly ten months, but in November, a federal appeals court told Cannon she must resolve the issues ([link removed]) within 60 days. Trump urged ([link removed]) Cannon to keep the report under seal this month, even as Smith defended the investigation ([link removed]) and said it uncovered “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election results.


** And that’s not all we uncovered this year. Here’s a look at some of our other major wins.
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* We sued ([link removed]) the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ([link removed]) over its transparency failures and pushed for answers ([link removed]) about the agency’s staff, work, and priorities.
* A judge ruled in our long-running FOIA lawsuit ([link removed]) that Congress could not withhold records related to the 2017 attempt to overturn the Affordable Care Act.
* Records we obtained ([link removed]) suggest an error in a Texas gang database could have led to the wrong man being sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador ([link removed]) — raising grave questions about the lack of due process in Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
* The government fought to hide key details about a data-sharing agreement between the DHS and IRS. We successfully lifted redactions to that agreement in May, revealing important information about how the IRS is sharing individuals’ personal tax information with ICE ([link removed]) .
* Records we obtained ([link removed]) show Missouri AG Andrew Bailey’s plan to hinder access to abortion-inducing medication in the state may have originated from his conversations with an anti-abortion rights group.


** Other top stories we followed this year:
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** House and Senate both approve releasing the Epstein files by a near unanimous margin (NPR ([link removed]) )
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** What we know and don’t know about DOGE’s reported demise (CNN ([link removed]) )
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** “Anna, Lindsey Halligan here.” (Lawfare ([link removed]) )
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** Trump’s billion-dollar war on Harvard, explained (NPR ([link removed]) )
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** How Bill Pulte learned the art of the attack, from his own family to Letitia James (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
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** Inside the Trump administration’s manmade hunger crisis (ProPublica ([link removed]) )
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** Inside week 1 of Trump’s ‘hostile takeover’ of DC police (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
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** Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the “junkyard dogs”: The White House chief of staff on Trump’s second term (Vanity Fair ([link removed]) )
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