Julian Mark

MAGA lobbying firms are booming. This is where their money goes. Business is booming for MAGA-aligned lobbyists in Washington.

Money is pouring into MAGA lobbying firms amid a record surge in spending. Ballard Partners, which once employed Susie Wiles and AG Bondi, has become the most sought after shop for inroads into Trump’s orbit. W/ @federicacocco more here on where how that money is being spent: wapo.st/4nixqrd

Discrimination cases unravel as Trump scraps core civil rights tenet The administration is dismissing cases and unwinding settlements built on "disparate impact," which holds that even neutral policies can lead to biased outcomes.

For decades, the fed’l gov’t used data analysis - known as disparate impact - to ferret out discrimination, winning cases and reaching settlements in housing, education, policing and more. Now the Trump admin is unwinding those cases. w/
@julez.bsky.social

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

Analysis | Trump’s move to fire Democrats puts FTC’s independence in doubt The firing of Democrats, bound to face legal review, poses uncharted challenges to the agency’s role as a business and tech watchdog.

Former FTC officials say Trump's brazen firing of both Democrats on the commission is a bid to crush dissent that, if allowed to stand, could cost the agency its legitimacy. One called it "a big gift to corporate lawbreakers."

Gift link to today's Tech Brief: wapo.st/4hoPPzU w/ @julez.bsky.social

Trump officials start gutting civil rights offices, as part of DOGE’s secret plan Legal experts said that unwinding a civil rights-era bulwark designed to safeguard employees’ rights removes a crucial check on institutional power.

The gutting of a longstanding civil rights bulwark in the federal government has begun. In the 60s, civil rights reforms began with the federal government. Six decades later, so is their dismantling w/ @hannahnatanson.bsky.social and @danielleabril.bsky.social

wapo.st/43aVQg1

My colleagues and I have been working to break news + write stories holding powerful people accountable.

These are the top stories on our homepage right now, one of which I worked on.

Our newsroom work is continuing.

No one has ever told me what to write. If that changes, I’d speak out and leave.

Link to Signal blocked by X.

X is blocking links to @signal.org, now widely used to discuss / report on Washington.

Same technique (flagging as 'potentially harmful') that X has used to block / throttle Bluesky, Instagram, NYT, Reuters & Substack.

When Twitter derailed links to Hunter Biden story, Musk called it "tyranny."

Musk’s DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data, raising alarm at IRS Musk’s DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data at IRS

🚨 SCOOP: DOGE is seeking personal taxpayer data at IRS, sources tell me. 🚨

Trump admin is pushing IRS to agree to an MOU that would give DOGE access to granular data on every taxpayer, business and nonprofit in the country.

It was the deadliest workplace in America. So why didn’t safety regulators shut it down? OSHA issued over 180 citations and millions in fines to this Alabama sawmill, the deadliest workplace in America, but the mayhem didn’t stop.

Phenix Lumber was the deadliest workplace in America over the past five years. OSHA inspectors issued them more than 100 safety violations and millions in fines. Yet deaths and injuries continued.

I obtained documents revealing DOGE’s private plans to soon eliminate at least hundreds of government workers and offices they somehow tag as related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Help us keep doing this kind of reporting: message me on Signal at (202) 580-5477.
wapo.st/4jVWqEd

Trump administration moves to drop transgender discrimination cases The EEOC, citing executive orders targeting gender identity, is aiming to dismiss half a dozen cases, marking a reversal in U.S. civil rights enforcement.

NEW: Over the last few days, the Trump administration has moved to drop cases the EEOC had brought on behalf of transgender workers, some who allege they were groped at work and referred to as "it."

wapo.st/4b0Yc2S

Records show how DOGE planned Trump’s DEI purge — and who gets fired next A DOGE team plans to fire federal workers who are not in DEI roles and employees in offices that protect equal rights, internal documents show.

Here’s the full scope of DOGE’s purge of federal DEI and civil rights office workers: www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Layoffs to hit IRS as DOGE targets tax collections Several people briefed on the matter said cuts to the IRS cuts numbering in the thousands. One target is tax collections.

🚨NEWS: Massive layoffs are about to hit the IRS -- around 10,000 employees -- potentially in the middle of filing season.

Of particular interest to the DOGE: Cutting IRS enforcement capabilities.

-- with @jeffstein.bsky.social + Hannah Natanson

Clerked for Justice Scalia, member of the Federalist Society, picked by Trump administration last month

SCOOP: Elon Musk’s DOGE is feeding sensitive federal data from the Education Department into AI to target cuts.

DOGE was also responsible for placing 100+ non-DEI employees on leave for DEI www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Elon Musk's Takeover Is Causing Rifts in Donald Trump's Inner Circle “He’s getting too big for his britches,” says one Trump world source.

NEW: A half dozen Trump loyalists in and around the admin have told WIRED there’s a fissure emerging between Musk and Trump camps, following Musk’s DOGE takeover.

By @jakelahut.writes.news:

Inside Trump’s Hastily Written Proposal to ‘Own’ Gaza Although the president had been talking about the idea for weeks, there had been no meetings on the subject, and senior members of his government were taken by surprise.

When President Trump announced his proposal for the U.S. to take ownership of Gaza, he shocked even senior members of his own White House and government. His administration hadn't done even the most basic planning to examine the feasibility of the idea, people with knowledge of the discussions said.

Former National Labor Relations Board member sues Trump for her firing Gwynne Wilcox’s lawsuit is the first to challenge the president’s ouster of several members of independent boards — moves that appear to contravene a 1935 Supreme Court ruling.

NEW: Fired NLRB board member is suing for her job back. Gwynne Wilcox alleges Trump is violated the law in removing her, but observers also say the case may tee up an opportunity for SCOTUS to expand presidential power. w/ @laurenkaorigurley.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Diversity officers and professors sue to block Trump’s DEI orders The federal lawsuit contends the executive orders — which request potential investigations against large universities and corporations — are unconstitutional.

NEW: Diversity officers and professors sue to block Trump’s DEI orders www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Trump’s DEI purge targets federal workers who did not work in DEI Dozens of federal employees who didn’t work on diversity or inclusion issues have been placed on administrative leave following Trump's executive order.

Dozens of feds in non-DEI jobs are on leave. The purging suggests the Trump admin is not just seeking to eliminate DEI but also to remove people who expressed interest in or even took a single training on DEI.

w/ @laurameckler.bsky.social @julez.bsky.social

www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

Trump’s DEI purge targets federal workers who did not work in DEI Dozens of federal employees who didn’t work on diversity or inclusion issues have been placed on administrative leave following Trump's executive order.

Trump’s DEI purge is targeting federal workers who did not work in DEI. Some merely had previous DEI experience or were members of affinity groups www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

Control tower at National Airport understaffed before deadly collision Two of Reagan National Airport’s air traffic controllers were doing double duty Wednesday night, according to a government report.

Control tower at National Airport understaffed before deadly collision www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Trump moves to fire members of EEOC, NLRB boards, breaking with precedent The dismissals target two independent agencies that oversee swaths of U.S. workers, employers and labor unions.

President Donald Trump has moved to fire Democratic members of two independent federal commissions, a break from decades of legal precedent that promises to hand Republicans control over boards that oversee swaths of U.S. workers, employers and labor unions.

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

China’s DeepSeek AI app sends U.S. tech stocks reeling www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

In first days, Trump deals ‘death blow’ to DEI and affirmative action The president moved to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs throughout the federal government with a flurry of executive orders, upending decades of policy.

The newly signed executive orders to end “illegal discrimination” and restore “merit to government service” were so sweeping and aggressive that even conservative activists were shocked by their scope and intensity. @washingtonpost.com

wapo.st/3E8QVSo

In first days, Trump deals ‘death blow’ to DEI and affirmative action The president moved to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs throughout the federal government with a flurry of executive orders, upending decades of policy.

Must-read from @julez.bsky.social, Taylor Telford and Susan Svrluga on DEI's 'death blow' by Trump. 'I can't believe he's going this far,' says one anti-DEI activist:

I'm clearly an unbiased observer here but my @washingtonpost.com colleagues have some really thorough coverage of the TikTok ban:

Scoop: We got ahold of a playbook circulating in “DOGE” to ax federal DEI programs.

Details from me & @faizsays.bsky.social: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Washington Post Employees Plead With Jeff Bezos to Meet In a letter, more than 400 employees asked Mr. Bezos, the company’s owner, to meet, saying they were “deeply alarmed” by recent decisions at the paper.

Hundreds of employees at The Washington Post sent a letter to Jeff Bezos on Tuesday evening, asking the Amazon founder for a meeting amid widespread concern about the future of the newspaper.

Arrested by AI: Police ignore standards after facial recognition matches Confident in unproven facial recognition technology, sometimes investigators skip steps; at least eight Americans have been wrongfully arrested.

I've spent the past year obsessed with how police are using facial recognition. What I found: Police in 12 states have used these tools to find and arrest suspects when they have no other evidence, leading to wrongful arrests

wapo.st/4fQYlXn

🧵 what I learned from 1,000 docs & dozens of sources ->

5 dead, more than 2,000 structures burned as new fire hits Hollywood Hills More than 2,000 structures have burned and at least five people are dead in wildfires burning across L.A. County. Red flag warnings remained in effect for Los Angeles County and much of Ventura County...

Shoutout to the Los Angeles Times reporters who are doing essential journalism under very difficult circumstances.

They’ve dropped their paywall, but their ongoing coverage is a good reminder of why local newsrooms need support — and what we lose when those outlets are hollowed out.