Meryl Kornfield

The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune Win 2026 Toner Prizes for Excellence in Political Reporting The Washington Post won the 2026 Toner Prize for national political reporting. The Chicago Tribune won for local political reporting. Ceremony set for March 23 in Washington, D.C.

Congrats to star Washington Post reporters @hannahnatanson.bsky.social , William Wan and @merylkornfield.bsky.social for winning the 2026 Toner Prize for Excellence in National Reporting for their series on “The year Trump broke the federal government” tinyurl.com/2sk3xphw

IRS improperly disclosed confidential immigrant tax data to DHS The tax agency only recently discovered it improperly disclosed tax information on thousands of the wrong people to immigration enforcement.

🚨 SCOOP: The IRS improperly disclosed confidential immigrant tax information to DHS, per sources.

It opens up HUGE liability for the US government.

Trump is suing the IRS over substantially the same disclosures -- for $10 billion.

🎁 Gift link:

Both in his personal capacity and as president, Donald Trump has taken aim at media outlets and personalities he dislikes.

Here is a running tally of where Trump’s lawsuits against media companies stand. https://wapo.st/45wMefY

Trump administration admits DOGE accessed personal Social Security data A DOGE employee signed an agreement to share Social Security data with the aim of overturning election results in certain states, according to a new court filing.

My god…this story by @merylkornfield.bsky.social

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

Trump aides’ official religious messages for Christmas draw objections Explicitly sectarian religious messages for Christmas on official government social media accounts drew complaints from advocates for church-state separation.

Thank you! We have more on this here: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

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.

The year Trump broke the federal government wapo.st/3MGmBTt by @hannahnatanson.bsky.social
@merylkornfield.bsky.social @washingtonpost.com

#NIH #CDC #FDA #CMS #HHS #DOGE #science #publichealth

Four takeaways from the latest release of Epstein files, via @merylkornfield.bsky.social

Link: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

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

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...

"If any lobbyist is granted permission to enter the Club
Premises, such lobbyist must sign a non-disclosure agreement presented by Management prior to
entry."

Oh no, what a terrible restriction, lobbyists will hate that.

This email. #FOIA. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/20/m...

The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.

NEW: When Andrew Tate landed in the US, Customs & Border Protection seized his electronic devices. But @propublica.org found that a White House official told DHS to return the devices, emphasizing that the request came from the White House.

By @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Schapiro

Screenshot of part of the Washington Post article. Text: Some of the art is pure Americana. The agency used Michigan-based artist William Brody's painting of a rural farmhouse with an American flag basking in sunlight that he had named "An American Dream." But Brody said he was not asked for permission by the Labor Department. He especially didn't approve of seeing his painting included as part of a messaging campaign that he views as a far cry from the diverse country the American Dream has come to represent. "I feel like they hijacked it," he said. Painting by William Brody

Artist William Brody told me his painting of a Michigan farmhouse was used by the Labor Department in a recent social media campaign without his permission. And he said he disagrees with the rest of the campaign, which illustrates a White, male workforce. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Callers to Social Security wait for hours to get help. Hear their ordeals. Millions of seniors and disabled people call Social Security’s 1-800 number every month. What they experience is often maddening.

Here's what it's like to call Social Security these days: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

The mysterious rise of cancer among young adults in the Corn Belt Communities across the Corn Belt are confronting a rise in cancers among young adults — and few clear explanations.

“Cancer rates among young adults in the Corn Belt, a patchwork of golden fields and straight-line highways stretching across the heart of the Midwest, are rising more rapidly than in the country as a whole, a Washington Post data analysis reveals.” www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Trump plan would limit disability benefits for older Americans Trump administration officials are considering eliminating age as a factor in deciding whether someone is capable of working.

Amid this broader convo about SNAP, I'm re-upping our story about what's coming for Social Security benefits, including a rule change to rescind a Biden-era expansion of SSI eligibility for people in households receiving SNAP or other public assistance. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Photograph of ongoing demolition of the East Wing of the White House.

Monday's photo from the Washington Post

NEW: After The Washington Post reported Monday on the demolition of the "East Wing facade," a new picture obtained by Law Dork that was taken on Tuesday shows that a substantial portion of the entirety of the East Wing has been demolished.

Shutdown layoffs target services for vulnerable students, homeless, seniors The most at-risk Americans will suffer from the Trump administration’s latest layoffs, current and former federal officials warned.

Employees who help regulate hazardous waste. Inspectors who check the quality of federal housing. An office that makes sure students with disabilities get the help they need. These are the targets of the latest government layoffs: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

JUST IN: Chicago journalistsa re suing DHS and ICE over force used against reporters:

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Trump plan would limit disability benefits for older Americans Trump administration officials are considering eliminating age as a factor in deciding whether someone is capable of working.

The Trump administration wants to make it harder for older Americans to qualify for Social Security www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202... @merylkornfield.bsky.social

Trump administration moves to defund inspector general watchdog group The decision marks the latest example of the administration’s push to limit government oversight activities.

The Trump administration plans to end funding starting Wednesday for an oversight group that helps inspectors general root out waste, fraud and abuse.

Trump administration moves to defund inspector general watchdog group The decision marks the latest example of the administration’s push to limit government oversight activities.

Read @washingtonpost.com on administration plans to end funding of CIGIE.

“I think this is just another star in the constellation of dismantling the federal inspector general community.”
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

#IGs #OMB #InspectorsGeneral #Watchdogs @merylkornfield.bsky.social

As shutdown looms, federal agencies have no public plans for one How the Trump administration would handle a shutdown and who it plans to furlough remains a mystery.

"Federal agencies are just eight days away from seeing their funding lapse and having to shutter their offices, though which employees will be sent home remains unknown." www.govexec.com/workforce/20...

What happens now that the D.C. emergency order has ended? Plus: Solving the mystery of a new helicopter, and trying to get Congress to cough up more money for police.

D.C. usually gets blamed for local crime, but Congress also a role to play. Specifically, the feds are supposed to reimburse D.C. for the costs of using local police for things like big protests and motorcades. But congressional funding hasn't kept up with costs: 51st.news/trump-dc-tak...

In case you might be wondering, VA's secretary did not say anything publicly when Fox News anchor Brian Kilmeade suggested that mentally ill homeless people, which includes many veterans, should be killed.

But he did criticize a reporter for seeking comment from officials.

Most Americans critical of Trump on crime, economy and other issues, poll finds The Post-Ipsos survey paints a downbeat picture of Trump’s presidency, as Americans disapprove of his performance by double-digit margins on a broad range of issues.

Most Americans are critical of Trump on crime, the economy, immigration and other issues, a new Post-Ipsos poll finds. The survey paints a downbeat picture of the first eight months of Trump’s presidency www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The impending retirement that could rock Capitol Hill The director of the Government Accountability office will step down in a few short months, leaving a void atop the agency that has found the White House guilty of violating congressional spending law.

A new ref in the separation-of-powers battle? When the legislative branch’s chief watchdog retires soon, Trump will get to nominate his replacement www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

X post by Milo Yiannopoulos: "28 pilots have been suspended or fired so far after I made their airlines aware of gruesome remarks made about Charlie Kirk’s death. Of the big three, Delta has the biggest problem by far; United the smallest."

Hard to think of a more on-the-nose encapsulation of how far the online speech wars have swung in the year of our lord 2025 than major U.S. corporations racing to fire people whose tweets offended Milo Yiannopoulos

“Officials organized the state visit to minimize the president’s public exposure. Most of the pomp and ritual unfolded behind Windsor’s manicured hedges and its stone parapets”

The group behind Project 2025 wants a ‘Manhattan Project’ for more babies A draft position paper from the Heritage Foundation proposes massive revisions to U.S. economic policy to encourage heterosexual married couples to have more children.

The group behind Project 2025 wants a ‘Manhattan Project’ for more babies @jacobbogage.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...