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May 14, 2025

Xaver Clarke

Blog Post DOGEElon MuskTrump 2.0

Musk’s DOGE Cuts to AmeriCorps Have Triggered a Nationwide Public Service Collapse

The gutting of AmeriCorps is yet another callous move made by Elon Musk’s team at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. AmeriCorps is the national service program that sends full-time volunteers to some of the most vulnerable and underserved communities in the country, reaching where other public or private sector services fall short. In cutting $400 million in AmeriCorps grant funding, nearly a third of the program’s already modest $1.3 billion annual budget, DOGE has displaced over 30,000 volunteers and disrupted more than 1,000 programs. These cuts are already triggering ripple effects in communities across the country, from halted disaster recovery projects to abandoned school programs and shuttered food banks.

May 12, 2025

Blog Post BigLawEthics in GovernmentExecutive BranchTrump 2.0

Democrats at Law Firms That Surrendered to Trump

Trump started his second term in the White House by targeting law firms in retaliation for their past legal work and personnel decisions that displeased him. While some firms pushed back against these assaults on their independence, more than a few BigLaw firms caved. Within the first months of the year, they bowed to Trump’s demands, surrendering in order to avoid (potentially illegal) executive orders that could damage their business interests.

May 09, 2025 | Watchdog Weekly

Xaver Clarke

Newsletter Consumer ProtectionCorruption CalendarCryptocurrencyDOGEElon MuskEthics in GovernmentRevolving DoorTechTrump 2.0

Corruption Calendar Week 16: The Grift That Keeps On Giving

This week, the Trump brothers Eric and Don Jr. embarked on a world tour to make real estate deals while the administration used the threat of tariffs to push Starlink into other countries. Trump allies engaged in price fixing and fraud were given a pass seemingly as a reward for their donations to the president, our retirement savings were placed under the eye of a greedy insurance executive, and consumer protections were targeted by House Republicans eager to find tax breaks for the rich.

April 23, 2025 | The American Prospect

Xaver Clarke

Op-Ed Congressional OversightElon MuskExecutive BranchGovernanceJudiciarySupreme CourtTrump 2.0

The GOP Is Destroying Justice to Embolden Trump’s Lawlessness

Since returning to office, Donald Trump has been repeatedly blocked by judges ruling against his most extreme actions: unconstitutional impoundments of congressionally appropriated funds, illegal purges of civil servants, and executive orders attacking law firms that don’t accede to his arbitrary and capricious demands.

April 22, 2025

Press Release DOGETrump 2.0

Trackers Help the Public Follow DOGE’s Chaos

The Revolving Door Project (RDP) is trying to help make sense of DOGE’s chaos by making tangible the harm that the Trump administration is doing. RDP is providing a range of resources for the media and the public. RDP is regularly updating resources that track public health crises and the Trump administration’s defiance of court orders as well as profiles of DOGE personnel.

April 11, 2025 | Watchdog Weekly

Andrea Beaty

Newsletter Corruption CalendarDepartment of JusticeDOGEDoug BurgumElon MuskEthics in GovernmentScott BessentTrump 2.0

Corruption Calendar Week 12: Ethics Be Damned

This week’s stories show that from the Justice Department to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Trump admin is simultaneously eroding, side-stepping, and outright defying the checks and balances that distinguish a government that is accountable to the public from one that exists simply to enrich the elite.