Jesse Coburn

Government by AI? Trump Administration Plans to Write Regulations Using Artificial Intelligence The Transportation Department, which oversees the safety of airplanes, cars and pipelines, plans to use Google Gemini to draft new regulations. “We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer....

You can read the full story here: www.propublica.org/article/trum...

I’m still reporting this story. If you work for the federal government and would like to talk confidentially, you can reach me on Signal at jesse_coburn.56 or at jesse.coburn[at]propublica.org.

Is this part of an administration-wide plan for AI-written rules? DOT’s general counsel said that Pres. Trump is “very excited” about the project and that DOT is the “point of the spear,” per meeting notes. The White House wouldn’t say. DOT and its general counsel also didn’t comment.

At a demonstration to DOT staff, a presenter said AI can do 80-90% of the work writing regulations, some of which is just “word salad” anyways.

The plan has alarmed some agency staffers, given that LLMs are error prone and incapable of human reasoning. "It seems wildly irresponsible," said one.

Federal rulemaking is an exacting process, and the stakes are high at DOT, whose regs stop pipelines from exploding and planes from falling out of the sky. Major rules can take years to write+revise.

With Google Gemini, DOT’s top lawyer now expects rules drafted in 20 minutes.

NEW: The Trump administration is planning to use AI to write federal regulations despite the risk of hallucinations.

“We don't even need a very good rule,” the Transportation Department’s top lawyer said of the plan, per meeting notes reviewed by ProPublica. “We want good enough.”🧵

Amid Trump’s Proposed Pipeline Safety Rollbacks, Senator Questions Regulators’ Industry Ties After reporting by ProPublica revealed industry connections among Transportation Department regulators and showed how they are seeking to loosen oil and gas pipeline safety regulations, Sen. Maria Can...

NEW: After reporting by ProPublica revealed industry connections among Transportation Department regulators and showed how they are seeking to loosen oil and gas pipeline safety regulations, Sen. Maria Cantwell is demanding answers.

By @jessecoburn.bsky.social

I'm still reporting this story. If you work for DOT or an industry regulated by the agency and have relevant information to share, my email is jesse.coburn@propublica.org and I’m on the encrypted messaging app Signal (you can message me at jesse_coburn.56).

How Trump’s Transportation Department Is Loosening Safety Rules Meant to Protect the Public ProPublica has identified dozens of instances in which the Trump administration’s DOT has moved to cut, soften or delay safety regulations for cars, trucks, planes, trains and even oil pipelines. Expe...

Read my full investigation here: www.propublica.org/article/trum...

And the pipeline group said its members “will continue to engage with PHMSA to advance rulemakings that prioritize the safety of our members and the communities that they serve.” Kochman did not respond to requests for comment.

Regarding the industry ties of agency leadership, DOT added: “Each of the appointees are here because they care about the safety of the American people, and they have the Secretary’s full vote of confidence to carry out that mission.”

DOT defended its safety record, saying: “The insinuation that slashing duplicative and outdated regulations contradicts that mission isn’t just wrong — it ignores the fact that doing so enhances focus on enforcing the key rules that actually keep the American people secure.”

All of this has alarmed safety advocates and current + former DOT officials: "The consequence of this, of pulling back on these safety regulations, is that more daughters, mothers, children, bread winners are going to lose their lives,” said one.

This industry/regulator alignment is clearest at DOT's pipeline safety office. It's put out a flurry of deregulatory proposals, many signed by one Trump appointee: Ben Kochman.

Until January, he worked for a pipeline trade group.

One proposal cribs language from his old employer.

Overseeing all of this are dozens of Trump appointees who used to work in industries regulated by DOT: lobbyists, consultants, CEOs, trade group lawyers and more.

Some of them disclosed $12M to $52M in financial interests in transportation companies and adjacent industries.

Take road safety. The last admin pushed rules for speed limiters+side guards in big rigs and automatic emergency braking in cars+trucks—est. to save 1k lives annually.

After industry blowback, the Trump admin has killed, made plans to weaken or signaled delays/changes for each.

How Trump’s Transportation Department Is Loosening Safety Rules Meant to Protect the Public ProPublica has identified dozens of instances in which the Trump administration’s DOT has moved to cut, soften or delay safety regulations for cars, trucks, planes, trains and even oil pipelines. Expe...

DOT is on an unprecedented deregulatory blitz. The Trump admin calls this cutting red tape. Left unmentioned is just how many of the targeted rules sought to prevent deaths/injuries.

"The regulations are written in blood," one former official told me. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

NEW: Sean Duffy frequently calls safety his “top priority” as transportation secretary. But I spent months wading through regulatory notices and found something far different: that USDOT has been delaying, weakening and killing dozens of safety rules, many opposed by the transportation industry.🧵

ProPublica is publishing the rule drafts in their entirety:

Work requirements and term limits: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Mixed-status families: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

Millions Could Lose Housing Aid Under Trump Plan Drafts of unpublished rules obtained by ProPublica detail plans that would open the door to full-time work requirements, two-year limits on living in federally supported housing and stripping aid from...

The rules from the Department of Housing and Urban Development would allow major changes to public housing and Section 8 vouchers:

- full-time work requirements
- 2-year time limits
- stripping aid from whole families if one member is in the country illegally

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

New: four million people could be forced to leave public housing and other federally assisted housing under new plans from the Trump administration, according to experts who reviewed drafts of two unpublished rules obtained by @propublica.org.

Trump Administration Prepares to Drop Seven Major Housing Discrimination Cases Federal housing officials spent years investigating cities from Chicago to Memphis to Corpus Christi for putting industrial plants and unwanted facilities in poor, nonwhite neighborhoods. Now, under T...

New: the Trump administration is preparing to shut down seven major housing discrimination and segregation cases — including high-profile investigations in Chicago, Houston and Flint — despite findings in some that civil rights violations occurred. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

How the Trump Administration Is Weakening the Enforcement of Fair Housing Laws Starting with cases involving sexual orientation and identity, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is hobbling enforcement of the Fair Housing Act. Said one HUD attorney: “People are reall...

Investigations frozen.
Charges withheld.
Defendants emboldened not to cooperate.

The Trump administration is mounting a major retreat in the government's fight against housing discrimination and segregation, according to ten federal officials. Story here: www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Representatives Demand Housing Agency Halt Any Cryptocurrency Experiments Following reporting by ProPublica, three Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee have warned HUD against using crypto, which they said could be “dangerous, speculative, and harmful to work...

NEW: Following reporting by ProPublica, three Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee have warned HUD against using crypto, which they said could be “dangerous, speculative, and harmful to working families.”

By @jessecoburn.bsky.social

Federal Investigators Were Preparing Two Texas Housing Discrimination Cases — Until Trump Took Over The government spent years probing allegations that a Dallas HOA created rules to kick poor Black people out and that Texas discriminated against minority residents in Houston after Hurricane Harvey, ...

Federal investigators spent years on two major housing discrimination cases in Texas, finding what they believed were stark civil rights violations.

Then the Trump Admin assumed office and quietly took steps that officials think will likely kill both cases.

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

U.S. Housing Agency Considers Launching Crypto Experiment The Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees billions in aid and insures more than a trillion dollars in mortgages, is pondering using the blockchain and a stablecoin. One HUD offic...

New: HUD officials recently discussed using the blockchain and maybe cryptocurrency at a division that oversees billions in grants for affordable housing, homeless shelters, disaster recovery etc. A staffer said it'd be like paying grantees in "monopoly money." www.propublica.org/article/hud-...

DOGE Gains Access to Confidential Records on Housing Discrimination, Medical Details — Even Domestic Violence While some agencies have resisted efforts by Elon Musk’s team to access confidential records, HUD has opened the door. The potential harm to privacy could be significant.

New: DOGE has gained access to a Department of Housing and Urban Development system containing confidential personal information about hundreds of thousands of alleged victims of housing discrimination. www.propublica.org/article/doge...

The Housing Loophole That Lets Wealthy Investors Raise Rents on Poor Tenants As the U.S. struggles with a housing shortage, investors continue to exploit a gap in an affordable housing law to raise rents on 115,000 apartments. Congress has repeatedly failed to act.

The Housing Loophole That Lets Wealthy Investors Raise Rents on Poor Tenants www.propublica.org/article/affo...

A ProPublica social media graphic with information on how to contact reporter Jesse Coburn. It reads: “I'm tracking how the Trump administration reshapes policy at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Transportation. If you work for HUD or DOT or are affected by what they do, l'd like to hear from you. jesse.coburn@propublica.org or 917-239-6642 on Signal and WhatsApp.

9/ @jessecoburn.bsky.social is concerned about how shifting HUD and DOT policies — such as restrictive zoning laws or highway expansions — will affect those who depend on affordable housing and public transit.

Reach out to him if you work for or are impacted by these agencies.

THE MOPED KING: Meet the Ex-Delivery Worker who Upended NYC Streets A Streetsblog investigation into a key player behind the city's wild, sometimes dangerous e-bike and moped boom.

“When Musk makes rockets, he himself does not need to read all the details about how a rocket would be made"

a fascinating @nyc.streetsblog.org investigation

www.streetsblogprojects.org/fly-electric...