Waste, Fraud & Abuse
Driscoll refuses order to list FBI employees involved in Jan. 6 cases amid ouster of agency leaders
Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll is on shaky ground with Department of Justice leaders for refusing to deliver the names of bureau employees involved in Jan. 6 cases and other Trump investigations.
DOGE navigates choppy waters from the start
The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency is dealing with some growing pains.
FBI purge: 20+ top officials ousted in sweeping shake-up
FBI employees were terminated or forced to quit Thursday within hours of FBI Director nominee Kash Patel's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Watchdog says DOJ broke law by removing database on Jan. 6 defendants
A watchdog has challenged the Trump Justice Department's decision to erase the government's main database of Jan. 6 defendants from the web, saying it amounted to an illegal destruction of an official record.
Senators release whistleblower docs showing anti-Trump FBI agent helped launch lawfare case
Two senior Republican lawmakers released protected whistleblower disclosures Thursday revealing how an anti-Trump FBI agent went outside established agency protocols for opening probes to help launch the federal election interference case against the president.
‘This is a warning’: Airport close calls a common occurrence as air traffic volume soars
Three months before the fatal midair collision near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration launched an audit of near misses at the nation's busiest airports after a series of close calls that could have killed hundreds of passengers.
Ex-New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years in prison for bribery conviction
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison for his conviction for accepting bribes of gold bars, cash and a car and what his lawyers said made him a "national punchline" and earned him a new nickname: "gold bar Bob."
Comer launches bid to rightsize government, brings Iowa model to federal reform push
House Oversight Chairman James Comer will hold a hearing next week to explore how the federal government got so big, as he moves to add some legislative heft to President Trump's goal of slashing the bureaucracy down to size.
Grassley, Durbin demand answers from White House over inspector general firings
In a rare bipartisan move, the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to President Trump seeking an explanation for why he fired 18 inspectors general, who serve as federal agency watchdogs.
Trump pause on federal payouts hits Biden’s big spending on DEI and climate change
The Trump administration's order freezing certain federal grants follows President Biden's massive expansion of spending at home and abroad to implement "woke" ideology and far-left "Green New Deal," policies, according to budget analysts.
Watchdog report finds 75 non-existent agencies in Federal Register
A new study says the Federal Register's records are so out-of-date that it lists 75 agencies that no longer exist.
Sen. Warren offers Musk $2 trillion savings blueprint for DOGE
Sen. Elizabeth Warren sent Elon Musk a liberal wish list of possible spending cuts and tax increases on the wealthy, which she says would let the Department of Government Efficiency identify trillions of dollars in taxpayer savings over the next decade.
Steve Bannon says Elon Musk’s credibility on the line with DOGE
Longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon says Elon Musk's star will implode inside the Trump White House if he fails to deliver his commitment to finding at least $1 trillion in wasteful government spending as the head of the new Department of Government Efficiency.
Mascot mess: Ernst challenges federal agencies to nix their dress-up characters
The Phillie Phanatic, the big green dress-up mascot for Philadelphia's pro baseball team, is world famous. D.C. has its racing presidents. But did the Border Patrol really need its own dress-up mascot, a German shepherd named Tracker?
Biden issues pardons to Fauci, Milley and Jan. 6 panel on his way out
President Biden issued preemptive pardons Monday to former medical adviser Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark A. Milley and members of the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 to guard against retribution by incoming President Donald Trump.
Biden’s DOJ rushes to file Jan. 6 cases ahead of Trump’s inauguration, promised pardons
President-elect Donald Trump's plans to pardon Jan. 6 protesters have done little to slow the FBI and federal prosecutors, who continue to make arrests and pursue hefty sentences for those who breached the U.S. Capitol grounds more than four years ago.
American Express agrees to pay more than $138M to resolve investigation into sales and marketing
American Express has agreed to pay more than $138 million to resolve a wire fraud investigation related to its sales and marketing practices, federal authorities announced Thursday.
‘Santo Mayorkas’: DHS secretary’s final tally tops $3 billion in extra vacation time for employees
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas blessed his employees with another three days of taxpayer-funded vacation time, bringing his four-year total to more than six weeks -- the equivalent of $3 billion -- of bonus time off.
Giuliani doesn’t show up to trial over whether he must give up his home and World Series rings
A trial to decide whether Rudolph W. Giuliani must give up his Florida condominium and three World Series rings or turn them over to satisfy a $148 million defamation judgment was delayed until at least Thursday afternoon after the former New York City mayor didn't show up to testify.
Toyota’s truck division Hino to pay $1.6 billion as part of emissions scandal
A Toyota division that manufactures trucks will pay more than $1.6 billion and plead guilty to violations related to the submission of false and fraudulent engine emission testing and fuel consumption data to regulators and the illicit smuggling of engines into the United States.
