Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sent messages to all members of Congress terminating their positions, stating “Your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment.” All Democratic and independent members of Congress, as well as two Republicans, found themselves locked out of their offices after everything inside had been confiscated.   read more

In 2009, two days after the inauguration of President Obama, Urs, stationed in Bolivia, caused a controversy when he walked out of a speech by Bolivian President Morales, who said: “The U.S. has fomented the regional disintegration of the country, holding secret meetings to promote disturbances against the national government.” Urs was then chargé d’affaires because Morales had already kicked out the U.S. envoy amid accusations the he was involved in a plot to overthrow the Bolivian leader.   read more

On August 1, 2017, the Senate's 92-5 vote to confirm Wray reflected bipartisan confidence in his professed commitment to independence--a concern of lawmakers in the wake of the James Comey firing and Trump’s alleged attempts to influence the Russia investigation. Wray promised that any such attempts under his watch would be dealt with “very sternly,” and that he'd “never allow the FBI’s work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period.”   read more

A member of Trump's transition team, Nesterczuk was announced in May as Trump’s nominee to lead OPM. However, on July 31, Nesterczuk withdrew his name from consideration five days after 16 unions representing hundreds of thousands of federal workers sent a letter to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs citing multiple objections to his nomination.   read more

The nation’s top train man will be a retired railroad executive with nearly 50 years’ experience in the industry. Ron Batory, recently retired president of Conrail, had, in his youth, been advised by his father not to “waste a college education on a railroad.” But young Batory rejected that advice and joined DT&I Railroad, where he worked for years before taking top posts at CMW, Southern Pacific and others. In 1997, CSX and Norfolk Southern recruited Batory to become operations VP of Conrail.   read more

President Trump’s dubious claims that he will “drain the swamp” continued when on June 19, 2017, he nominated James H. Clinger to chair the FDIC, which insures bank deposits. A mere three weeks after that announcement, Clinger—on July 12—abruptly withdrew his nomination, citing “family-related obligations.” Although he has a reputation as a hard-working follower, as the new FDIC chairman he was expected to be more sympathetic to bankers than to their customers.   read more

The Trump administration added another member of the Goldman Sachs alumni association to its roster when it was announced that financier Lewis Eisenberg would be the next ambassador to Italy. Eisenberg was also the chairman of the Trump Victory Fund, which coordinated fundraising between Trump’s campaign and that of the Republican National Committee. There was some talk that Eisenberg might be in line for a cabinet post in the Trump administration, but he had to settle for the ambassadorship.   read more

Fitzgerald is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist who practiced medicine for more than 30 years. Her medical practice has been criticized, however, for her use of so-called “anti-aging” remedies not approved by the FDA. As Georgia's Public Health Commissioner, she focused on reducing infant mortality, curbing tobacco use, and fighting obesity. She and her husband have donated more than $25,000 to Republican candidates, including $2,000 to then-House member Tom Price, now her new boss.   read more

It is not uncommon for ICE agents to detain a person on suspicion of immigration status without a warrant. ICE agents have reportedly claimed to be police officers to gain consent to enter a person’s home – a tactic that is viewed as unethical, but within the powers granted to the officers. Civil rights groups supported the bill, looking to stymie the Trump administration’s promise to use any and all available tools to deport undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes.   read more

No sooner had Williams taken charge of DLA than he was presented with a damaging report by the GAO about his agency. Williams, who has worked in Army logistics his entire career, has said that his three most important standards are “Lead by example, take care of soldiers and families, and mission accomplishment. I talk about taking care of soldiers and families [first] ...because, I still believe…that if you take care of the troops, the mission will happen. The reverse is not always true.”   read more

Risch joined DHS's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) in 2006. After serving as an appeals officer and a manager, he worked as a field officer in the Philippines and at the embassy in Seoul, South Korea and served as acting chief of staff at CIS at the time of his nomination. While with CIS, he made refugee processing visits to Thailand, Pakistan, Namibia and Malaysia to encourage the resettlement to the United States of victims of persecution and torture.   read more

Burman worked for four years in private practice as an attorney handling natural resource issues before going to work in 2002 as legislative counsel for energy and water for then-Sen. Jon Kyl. At both jobs, she dealt extensively with Native American water rights issues. In 2005, Burman joined the Dept of the Interior as counselor to the assistant secretary for water and science. She then began her first stint at USBR as deputy commissioner for external and intergovernmental affairs.   read more

Buzby participated in NATO command operations during the Kosovo crisis of 1998-1999, and later in two deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. After a 2007 detainee suicide at Guantánamo, then under Buzby's command, he announced that prison conditions would be improved to promote “increased mental stimulation." He also warned that torture leads to false confessions, and that more useful information could be obtained from prisoners by "treating them like human beings in a businesslike manner.”   read more

The next safety net chief will be Lynn A. Johnson, currently executive director of the Jefferson County (Colorado) Department of Human Services. For 14 years, Johnson worked for the federal court system as a probation and parole officer, specializing in dealing with offenders with mental health problems and those convicted of sex offenses. She also owned and ran a consulting firm focusing on mental health, high-risk youth, developmental disabilities, child welfare, and early childhood education.   read more

When the George W. Bush administration took over in 2001, Farias was named to head the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, the same position to which she was appointed in 2017, but the job fell through at that time. Instead, she started as counsel to HUD Secretary Martinez and later joined the Office of Community Planning and Development. Farias was named HUD’s director of faith-based and community initiatives in 2007.   read more

A panel of experts at the Ninth Circuit’s judicial conference agreed on one thing: the type of voter fraud President Trump claims is widespread in the U.S. is virtually nonexistent. Four Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to V.P. Mike Pence asking him to remove Kris Kobach as vice chair of the commission. They said his request for voter rolls replete with sensitive voter information was rife with privacy concerns. The also argued the data request will more likely be used for voter suppression.   read more

Following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, McDonnell took a job with the U.S. Dept of Energy as the founding director of the Office of Energy Assurance, responsible for protecting the nation’s energy infrastructure. In 2002, McDonnell began working for the Homeland Security Transition Planning Office in the White House, helping to plan the newly created Dept of Homeland Security. He got into a bit of trouble at DHS, however, and was investigated for loose contracting practices.   read more