High-Ranking Treasury Official Personally Invested in Oil, Nuclear Funds Days Before Iran War Began Assistant Secretary Jonathan Burke selected the funds on Feb. 20 after he was required to offload his existing investments.

Scoop: The Treasury Department official leading the agency’s terrorist financing prevention efforts invested in oil & gas, nuclear energy and cybersecurity funds in the week preceding the Iran war

www.notus.org/money/treasu...

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford agreed to sell of his millions of dollars in airline stock within 90 days of his confirmation to government service.

As @markalfred.bsky.social of @notus.com reports, Bedford was quite tardy.

www.notus.org/money/bryan-...

FAA Chief Dumps Millions in Airline Stock Months After His Ethics Agreement Deadline Bryan Bedford held a multimillion-dollar stake in an airline company his agency oversees.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford held onto millions worth of stock in an airline company his agency regulates for his first seven months in the top job.

Before starting, he’d signed an ethics agreement promising to fully divest from the company within 90 days

www.notus.org/money/bryan-...

U.S. Cadets Were Stuck in the Persian Gulf After Trump Bombed Iran The Trump administration failed to warn vessels with close ties to the U.S. military ahead of the strikes, leaving them trapped in the region.

SCOOP: The Pentagon failed to warn ships carrying supplies for the US military before starting the war in Iran.

The ships got stuck in the Persian Gulf.

They’re still stuck. And for a month, they were stuck w/ a group of college students — merchant marine cadets.

Trump Will Fund New Archway With $15 Million From the National Endowment for the Humanities A spending plan confirms taxpayer dollars will be used for the project.

NEW: The White House plans to finance Trump’s proposed arch with $15 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The spending plan confirms for the first time that taxpayer dollars will be used for the project.

www.notus.org/donald-trump...

Some Republicans Want to Reverse the GOP Cuts to Rural and Tribal Radio Stations After the GOP-controlled Congress slashed public broadcasting funds, some Republican lawmakers say they’re working to secure money to keep vital tribal and rural stations on the air.

Scoop: Some Republican lawmakers say they’re working to fund tribal and rural radio stations after the GOP cut public broadcasting funds last year.

If lawmakers don’t secure continued funding, many Native American public radio stations say they'll close.
www.notus.org/congress/som...

Trump Says He Doesn't Know Whether the Iran War Is Winding Down or Heating Up The president intends to dramatically escalate combat operations if a peace deal is not reached by 8 p.m. EDT.

Trump Says He Doesn’t Know Whether the Iran War Is Winding Down or Heating Up

“I don’t know. I can’t tell. It depends what they do.”

www.notus.org/donald-trump...

Trump Makes Profanity-Laden Threat to Target Civilian Infrastructure in Iran Trump said the United States was one day away from securing a peace deal and two days away from potentially “blowing everything up.”

“This is not making America great again, this is evil,” Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote of Trump’s threat to target civilian infrastructure in Iran
www.notus.org/defense/trum...

Trump Asks for Record-Breaking $1.5 Trillion Military Budget He paired the increase with a 10% reduction in spending that eliminates several programs aimed at assisting minorities, including the Fair Housing Initiatives Program and the Minority Business Develop...

President Trump is requesting a record breaking $1.5 trillion military budget, and is urging Republicans in Congress to cut Democrats out of the process:

www.notus.org/donald-trump...

The Vaccine Industry Is Troubleshooting Its Future Existence Pharmaceutical executives are asking each other: How do they survive MAHA?

Shocking news: This year's World Vaccine Congress had a Weird Vibe www.notus.org/health-scien...

The Trump Administration Is Championing the Lunar Program Trump Once Sought to Eliminate Before Jared Isaacman revitalized the Artemis program, Trump pitched gutting it.

NASA’s Space Launch System is set to launch four astronauts into lunar orbit this week.

The White House tells me Trump is “excited” about the launch.

Less than a year ago he unsuccessfully sought to eliminate SLS and cut millions from the lunar program.

www.notus.org/trump-white-...

Trump Tries to Rebrand His War With Iran as a ‘Little Excursion’ The president notably omitted the word “war” from his remarks, despite having described the conflict with Iran that way for more than a week.

Between his lengthy speech to House Republicans and subsequent news conference yesterday, President Trump didn’t use the word war once.

Instead, he referred to the conflict in Iran as “a little excursion.”

www.notus.org/defense/trum...

Inside DOGE’s EPA Team and Its Multimillion-Dollar Mistakes Internal emails paint the clearest picture to date of the Environmental Protection Agency’s full-throated embrace of DOGE and its subsequent stumbles.

Lee Zeldin’s EPA fully embraced DOGE and made serious errors during its race to gut environmental programs.

From the EPA “accidentally” axing tens of millions of dollars worth of grants to its chief overstating cuts by millions, the errors kept piling up:

www.notus.org/policy/doge-...

How A 25-Year-Old DOGE Staffer Set Policy at USDA New court documents show how an effort to slash climate-related funds played out at one agency.

One longtime Department of Agriculture leader complained that cutting millions worth of federal awards “actually requires opening up every single grant” and asked to use AI.

The 25-year-old DOGE staffer she reported to said he planned to make it happen.
www.notus.org/trump-white-...

Trump Wanted ‘More Action Against Universities.’ His Staff Scrambled to Punish Penn. Internal White House emails reveal a frenzied campaign to strip federal funds from Penn — and target another university the administration never publicized.

“If the premise is we want to show we are on top of it — I think the big 175 million number to a known university will make that splash,” one White House official wrote as the administration stripped funds from the Penn.

www.notus.org/trump-white-...

Trump Wanted ‘More Action Against Universities.’ His Staff Scrambled to Punish Penn. Internal White House emails reveal a frenzied campaign to strip federal funds from Penn — and target another university the administration never publicized.

Exclusive: Internal White House emails I obtained detail the Trump administration’s scramble to strip millions from the University of Pennsylvania after a senior official told staff that “POTUS wants to see more action against universities.”

www.notus.org/trump-white-...

DOGE Has Cut Tens of Thousands of Awards. Musk's Companies Haven’t Lost a Dime in Federal Funds. Trump threatened to turn DOGE on to Musk’s companies. They’ve been immune to the cost-cutting effort until now.

DOGE Has Cut Tens of Thousands of Awards. Musk’s Companies Haven’t Lost a Dime in Federal Funds.

@markalfred.bsky.social reports
www.notus.org/trump-white-...

DOGE Has Cut Tens of Thousands of Awards. Musk's Companies Haven’t Lost a Dime in Federal Funds. Trump threatened to turn DOGE on to Musk’s companies. They’ve been immune to the cost-cutting effort until now.

New: DOGE has cut tens of thousands of awards. Despite Trump’s threats, Elon Musk’s companies haven’t lost a dime in federal funding yet.
www.notus.org/trump-white-...

DOGE’s Victory Lap Overstates Its Own Work and Contradicts Its Own Estimates A list of more than a hundred “wins” from the White House celebrating Elon Musk’s work includes claims that contradict DOGE’s current estimates.

DOGE’s Victory Lap Overstates Its Own Work and Contradicts Its Own Estimates

w/ @markalfred.bsky.social

www.notus.org/trump-white-...

DOGE Vastly Overstated Its Real Estate Cuts — Then Spent Two Months Backtracking DOGE took credit for more than $600 million in real estate savings but has repeatedly cut back its own claims.

DOGE said it saved $660 million from real estate cuts. Then it said $500 million. Then $400 million, then $291 million and so forth. 

My look at how DOGE spent two months walking back lofty savings claims, and still takes credit for cuts it didn’t make.

www.notus.org/policy/doge-...

‘What’s the Benefit For Me’: A Kennedy Ally Suggests She Can Help Make Connections, For a Return Angela Stanton King has posted about her ties to RFK Jr., and what that could mean for her consulting clients. “I'm like a child to Bobby. I'll always have access to him,” she told NOTUS.

“What’s the benefit for me if I give my favor to you?”

A story about the online musings of a self-described “senior advisor” to the health secretary:

www.notus.org/health-scien...

DOGE is touting lease cancellations across the country. Several facilities actually began to close under the Biden administration — including the largest building on DOGE’s list.

www.notus.org/policy/doge-...

Nearly a Billion Dollars in DOGE ‘Savings’ Disappeared Overnight In a late-night update to its webpage, DOGE removed hundreds of previously claimed cuts and altered scores of others to boost the items’ claimed “savings” values.

DOGE went weeks without updating its webpage. Then, just after midnight on Tuesday, it removed nearly a billion dollars worth of previously claimed “savings.”

www.notus.org/policy/doge-...

Three Out of Four of Congress’ Dentists Agree: Fluoride Should Stay in Drinking Water Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for states to remove fluoride from their water, claiming it’s dangerous despite evidence that it improves oral health outcomes. Some Republican medica...

Some Republican lawmakers don't agree with Health Secretary RFK Jr.'s calls for states to stop fluoridating water.

I talked to GOP former medical professionals in Congress — including four dentists, all of whom are House Republicans — about fluoride.

www.notus.org/congress/con...

The People Running the Government Are Letting It All Hang Out on Venmo NOTUS easily identified Venmo accounts tied to more than three dozen Trump administration officials and more than 50 current members of Congress. Their transactions are revealing — as are their friend...

It’s not just Michael Waltz.

We found the Venmo accounts of over three dozen White House officials, including Stephen Miller, Sean Duffy and Karoline Leavitt.

Almost all had open friends lists. Some had open transactions, which is its own security risk.

www.notus.org/congress/peo...

First-term San Jose Congressman Liccardo raises eye-popping $1.5M - San José Spotlight San Jose Congressmember Sam Liccardo raised nearly $1.5 million in his first quarter as a member of Congress, according to a source familiar with the Liccardo camp — a hefty sum for a freshman lawmake...

San Jose Rep. @liccardo.house.gov raised nearly $1.5 million in his first quarter as a member of Congress, according to a source familiar with the Liccardo camp — a hefty sum for a freshman lawmaker.

✍️ @reesegorman.bsky.social, @markalfred.bsky.social, @notusreports.bsky.social

DOGE Orders HHS to Cut 35% of Contract Spending In one email obtained by NOTUS, NIH employees were told they could not “use mission criticality as a justification to not make cuts.”

NEWS: DOGE has directed HHS to cut 35% of all contract spending -- a category that includes everything from equipment maintenance to laboratory staff.
"It will be like another reduction in force," one NIH employee told me. W/ @markalfred.bsky.social: www.notus.org/health-scien...

DOGE Orders HHS to Cut 35% of Contract Spending In one email obtained by NOTUS, NIH employees were told they could not “use mission criticality as a justification to not make cuts.”

In one email obtained by NOTUS, NIH employees were told they could not “use mission criticality as a justification to not make cuts.” via @margaretmanto.bsky.social & @markalfred.bsky.social

DOGE Orders HHS to Cut 35% of Contract Spending In one email obtained by NOTUS, NIH employees were told they could not “use mission criticality as a justification to not make cuts.”

DOGE is directing sweeping contract cuts at HHS — and making it difficult for employees to defend programs.

“We cannot use mission criticality as a justification to not make cuts,” NIH employees were told.

with the best on the beat @margaretmanto.bsky.social

www.notus.org/health-scien...

DOGE’s Multibillion-Dollar Contract Cuts Are Hitting Blue Districts Hardest It’s not even close.

DOGE terminated billions of dollars worth of contracts for work across the country. The vast majority of cuts are in districts represented by Democrats.

My story for @notusreports.bsky.social:

www.notus.org/policy/doge-...