Hannah Natanson

Donate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel Siegel On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We ar… Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund

If you are a Washington Post reader eager to send a signal with your wallet right now, please donate to two fundraisers for our hundreds of dismissed, exceptional journalists (one for domestic and one for international staff): www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t... and www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo....

I expected the cuts would be bad but I'm honestly stunned and sickened seeing how many great journalists the Washington Post just lost. People who nailed huge investigations, documented war zones, exposed horrific crimes, dropped all at once for failures they did not cause.

Donate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel Siegel On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We ar… Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund

We at the @postguild.bsky.social are raising money for the hundreds of journalists the Post just laid off. This goes to the people who are hurting, not the Post. Or if you'd rather, go subscribe to an independent journalist. Support is hugely appreciated.

www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t...

Judge blocks government from searching data seized from Post reporter The Post demanded in a court filing Wednesday that federal law enforcement officials return electronic devices the government seized from a staff reporter’s home.

"I need my devices back to do my job." wapo.st/4jUxQEe

And extremely unsurprising to learn you are a deft, kind, excellent editor of all three types of journalism — all while also editing pretty much daily A1s from a stellar team I’m overjoyed and so lucky to have joined this year!

I am The Post’s ‘federal government whisperer.’ It’s been brutal. One reporter’s effort to show how Trump was transforming government brought her 1,168 new sources — and nearly broke her.

“One day, a woman wrote to me on Signal, asking me not to respond. She lived alone, she messaged, and planned to die that weekend. Before she did, she wanted at least one person to understand: Trump had unraveled the government, and with it, her life.” @hannahnatanson.bsky.social essay:

Interviews with 1200+ government workers about DOGE:

“.. staff searched for words they hoped would save the work they believed in. .. So he .. began deleting: Any mention of ‘carbon.’ ‘Sustainability.’ The word ‘green.’”

@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

The year Trump broke the federal government How DOGE and the White House carried out a once-unthinkable transformation of the nation’s sprawling bureaucracy.

Inside the federal government as Trump and DOGE pushed it past its breaking point in 2025, as told by some of the more than 1,200 federal workers @hannahnatanson.bsky.social and @merylkornfield.bsky.social have spoken to this year

The year Trump broke the federal government How DOGE and the White House carried out a once-unthinkable transformation of the nation’s sprawling bureaucracy.

This account of how the Trump admin carried out a once-unthinkable overhaul of government in 2025 is based on a year’s worth of messages and interviews with more than 1,200 current and former federal workers. Please read from me and @merylkornfield.bsky.social. wapo.st/4b14KAy

Trump administration admits to targeting blue states for energy grant cuts Justice Department lawyers argue in court documents that it is legal for the administration to withhold funding based on partisan politics.

Trump administration admits to targeting blue states for energy grant cuts. DOJ lawyers argue in a court filing that it is constitutional to withhold funding based on partisan politics, via @merylkornfield.bsky.social @hannahnatanson.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

I spent the summer with 3 elderly Forest Service retirees who warned Trump's staffing cuts were imperiling the land — and the public. Now an internal government report I obtained confirms it, finding Forest Service trails are being "abandoned" by Trump: wapo.st/3MJKv07

Venezuela’s Maduro, shaken but still standing, aims to wait out Trump Five months into the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is feeling the pressure but refusing to go into exile.

Amid the U.S. military buildup, the boat strikes and Trump's threats, Maduro has added security and limited public appearances. But he's upbeat, his inner circle remains tight and he's refusing to go into exile, people close to his government say

wapo.st/4pSNaCS

Please read this story, which wouldn't exist w/o our brilliant @washingtonpost.com team: Matt McClain Kelley French @mikemadden.bsky.social @kamaria.bsky.social @hannahdormido.bsky.social @maureenlinke.bsky.social Andrew Braford Tyler Remmel Christian Font Jeremy Hester @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social

Barb Gustin is 69. After Trump cut staff, the Forest Service office she manned for 20 years closed — so she came back to keep it open. But because she was a volunteer, she couldn't sell anything. People walking in had to order the maps and supplies they could see in store online.

Del Nelson is 81. This summer marked his 50th living in a Forest Service cabin by Louis Lake, this time as a volunteer. For $50 a day, he cleaned five bathrooms daily, using exactly one piece of paper towel per set of bathrooms, to save supplies after Trump slashed the budget.

Bill Lee is 73. He drives through the Shoshone National Forest 2x a week, scanning for what's broken. He keeps track in a notebook. Each repair forces a decision. If he fixes it, the Trump administration can better justify its cuts to staff. If he doesn't, people could get hurt.

They retired from the government. Now they’re back, protecting forests Trump abandoned. The U.S. Forest Service lost thousands of workers under Trump. Volunteers and retirees are trying to help — but things are breaking.

Come with me to Lander, Wyo. to meet Bill, Lee and Barb. They were supposed to be retired from the Forest Service. But they're back as volunteers — driving 100s of miles a week, cleaning 5 bathrooms a day — determined to protect forests Trump abandoned. wapo.st/4r4727z

They retired from the government. Now they’re back, protecting forests Trump abandoned. The U.S. Forest Service lost thousands of workers under Trump. Volunteers and retirees are trying to help — but things are breaking.

Fantastic design and graphics work to show off gorgeous photos from Wyoming on this great @hannahnatanson.bsky.social story about how retired Forest Service volunteers are filling gaps left by the Trump administration's staff cuts www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

As U.S. ramps up the pressure, Venezuela pleads with Moscow, Beijing for help Documents show Maduro drafted letter asking Russia for missiles, radars and upgraded aircraft as U.S. forces amass in the Caribbean.

POST EXCLUSIVE Pressured by the largest U.S. deployment off Venezuela in decades, Nicolás Maduro is asking friends Russia, China and Iran for help

Anthony Faiola @hannahnatanson.bsky.social @ilyushina.bsky.social and Ana Vanessa report

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

When will federal workers get paid? Ask us your shutdown questions. Our reporters covering the shutdown will answer your questions during a live chat on Thursday at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

The government shutdown is entering its 4th week. Join me,
@jacobbogage.bsky.social and @hannahnatanson.bsky.social
tomorrow at 11 AM ET to answer your questions live (and/or submit your questions in advance below) www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown The Trump administration has said mass firings are coming, but officials have quietly warned several agencies that the move could violate appropriations law.

🚨Senior federal officials are privately warning against firings during a government shutdown, saying the strategy may violate appropriations law.

Trump & top aides have threatened mass firings if the Dems don't budge.

Scoop, with @hannahnatanson.bsky.social:

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown The Trump administration has said mass firings are coming, but officials have quietly warned several agencies that the move could violate appropriations law.

Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown, warning the strategy may violate appropriations law - another exclusive from my Post colleagues @emilydavies.bsky.social & @hannahnatanson.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

His wife was dying, his federal job crumbling. It tested his faith — in God and Trump. One federal worker was rejected three times from the administration’s early resignation offer. Would he blame the president he voted for?

Edward Brandon Beckham tried three times to take the federal government's deferred resignation offer while his wife was dying, but the administration kept turning him down. It tested his faith — in God, and in Trump. Terribly sad story, deeply reported, by @hannahnatanson.bsky.social

EPA tells scientists to stop publishing studies, employees say Staff from the EPA’s Office of Water were summoned to a town hall meeting this week and told to pause the publication of most research, pending a review.

Breaking news: The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered scientists in at least one of its research offices to immediately pause almost all research and stop publishing their studies.

National park to remove photo of enslaved man’s scars The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of “corrosive ideology.”

“The Trump administration has ordered the removal of signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple national parks, according to four people familiar with the matter, including a historic photograph of a formerly enslaved man showing scars on his back.”

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

told lovingly and beautifully by the brilliant @teoarmus.bsky.social

Trump expands use of tariffs to reach national security goals The Trump administration is using trade negotiations to achieve national security goals, including containing China’s strategic influence, documents show.

EXCLUSIVE www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

U.S. plans to ease human rights criticism of El Salvador, Israel, Russia Leaked draft reports show the Trump administration is planning to eliminate or downplay accounts of prisoner abuse, corruption, LGBTQ+ discrimination and other claims.

POST EXCLUSIVE (GIFT LINK) The Trump administration intends to dramatically limit U.S. government criticism of El Salvador, Israel and Russia, all with extensive records of abusing human rights @mradamtaylor.bsky.social @hannahnatanson.bsky.social @johnphudson.bsky.social report

wapo.st/4mAYX7v

U.S. plans to ease human rights criticism of El Salvador, Israel, Russia Leaked draft reports show the Trump administration is planning to eliminate or downplay accounts of prisoner abuse, corruption, LGBTQ+ discrimination and other claims.

Leaked draft reports show the Trump administration is planning to eliminate or downplay accounts of prisoner abuse, corruption, LGBTQ+ discrimination and other alleged abuses. @mradamtaylor.bsky.social @hannahnatanson.bsky.social @johnphudson.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

SCOOP: Leaked drafts of the State Dept's annual human rights reports on El Salvador, Israel & Russia show the Trump admin is planning to eliminate or downplay accounts of prisoner abuse, corruption & LGBTQ discrimination www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...