Transparency

New HHS Policy Requires All Information to Be Released for Upcoming Rules

Experts criticize and question its purpose as the Trump administration winds down.

  • Courtney Bublé

Judge Orders the Release of Data on Emergency Loans for Small Businesses

A consortium of news organizations, including ProPublica, has won a legal fight against the Small Business Administration. It will now have to publicly release the names of borrowers who got government pandemic loans.

  • Lydia DePillis, ProPublica

House Passes Bipartisan Bill to Boost Agencies’ Spending Transparency

Lawmakers of both parties resoundingly support measures to more clearly show the public how agencies spend taxpayer money.

  • Courtney Bublé

Administration’s Decision to Halt Election Security Briefings Worries Many

Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said that in an effort to prevent leaks, the intelligence community will no longer provide in-person briefings to Congress about threats, only written updates.

  • Courtney Bublé

Senate Panel Advances TikTok Ban for Feds, More Transparency on Agency Leaders

Top federal officials would see positions and salaries posted monthly.

  • Eric Katz

Democrats Propose Requiring Federal Law Enforcement Officers to Identify Themselves During Protests

“Transparency is a building block of public trust and federal law enforcement officials who hid their identities were not serving the public's interest,” said one lawmaker.

  • Courtney Bublé

Justice Department Advises Agencies on Continuing to Meet FOIA Requests During the Pandemic

Watchdogs and journalists have been using FOIA to shed light on the federal government’s coronavirus actions.

  • Courtney Bublé

Government Transparency Is More Critical Now Than Ever, Experts Say

“If there was ever a time for citizen oversight and media oversight and, obviously, insider oversight ... it’s now,” says one former USAID official.

  • Courtney Bublé

GovExec Daily: Transparency in the Trump Administration

Courtney Bublé and Tom Shoop join the podcast to examine the White House's claim that it is the "most transparent ever."

  • Ross Gianfortune and Adam Butler

Transparency in the Trump Era

To hold government officials and agencies accountable, citizens need timely and accurate information about their work.

  • Courtney Bublé

Bipartisan Bill Would Make It Easier for the Public to See How Agencies Plan to Spend Their Budgets

House and Senate panels advanced the legislation last week.

  • Courtney Bublé

The Costs of Spying

A new study reveals that from 2015 to 2019, the NSA’s call-metadata program cost taxpayers $100 million and provided practically no useful information.

  • Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic

GovExec Daily: Bureaucrat-Bashing at the Highest Levels of Government

With President Trump aiming his words increasingly at federal employees, Tom Shoop explains why we're reaching a dangerous new low.

  • Ross Gianfortune and Adam Butler
Featured eBooks
Managing the Federal Workforce After Trump
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How EPA Could Be More Transparent With the Public

Think tank suggests more support for the newly established C-suite level position of chief data officer. 

  • Courtney Bublé

Democratic Candidates Defend Their Records on Transparency During Nevada Primary Debate

Presidential contenders who have criticized Trump for his secrecy were forced to explain their own actions.  

  • Courtney Bublé

Viewpoint: Bill Barr Must Resign

The attorney general is working to destroy the integrity and independence of the Justice Department, in order to make Donald Trump a president who can operate above the law.

  • Donald Ayer, The Atlantic

The Founding Generation Showed Their Patriotism With Their Money

History suggests the value of a broader understanding of patriotism, one that goes beyond saluting-the-flag loyalty and battlefield bravery.

  • Tom Shachtman, The Atlantic

Viewpoint: Trump’s Defense Against Subpoenas Makes No Legal Sense

Like so many contentions of the president’s legal team, this is malarkey thinly draped with plausible-sounding distortions of facts, rules, court opinions, and the Constitution itself.

  • Frank O. Bowman III, The Atlantic

The Worst Kind of Medical Debt

When treated at military hospitals, civilians can end up with tens of thousands of dollars in debt that the federal government relentlessly tries to collect.

  • Olga Khazan and Jared Bennett, The Atlantic

The Civil Servant Who Changes the Constitution

One federal employee will determine whether the ERA gets added to America’s founding document—the question is which authority he’ll turn to for guidance.

  • Robinson Woodward-Burns, The Atlantic

These Emails Show a Trump Official Helping Her Former Chemical Industry Colleagues

A lobbyist turned senior Agriculture Department official repeatedly shared information with her former industry on policy and enforcement. “It’s highly inappropriate conduct,” said one ethics expert.

  • Derek Kravitz, ProPublica