Lindsay

Democrats to introduce bill aimed at resurrecting IRS Direct File Democrats want to bring back Direct File.

You can kill the product but not the idea - today, 160 Congressional co-sponsors introduced a bill to bring back the IRS’ much beloved free tax filing product, Direct File.

www.theverge.com/policy/88522...

Cover page of a report. Text reads, "Breaking Government: How DOGE and Trump Cost Taxpayers, Federal Workers, and Public Services. Interim Staff Analysis. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. U.S. House of Representatives. February 12, 2026. oversightdemocrats.house.gov"

Though this hasn't received much news coverage, we're sharing in case our community is interested in reading the report in full. Link in 🧵.

As we hit the one year anniversary of DOGE's start (and the subsequent disruption that followed), there still is a lot we don't know about its activities across the government.

I have been tracking what I can here dogetrack.info and will continue to update editorial content and data this year too

This is why you start a project by listening to users and the people who have been doing the work. If you’re too arrogant to listen, you will miss the point and solve the wrong problem. Thanks again Matt!

The WIRED Guide to Digital Opsec for Teens Practicing good “operations security” is essential to staying safe online. Here's a complete guide for teenagers (and anyone else) who wants to button up their digital lives.

ICYMI: This weekend, we published the @wired.com guide to digital opsec for teens (tho it applies to pretty much everyone!) We hope you and the kids in your life will read it and stay safe out there. No paywall! @lhn.bsky.social and JP Aumasson report: www.wired.com/story/digita...

DOGE no longer has ‘centralized leadership’ under White House tech team, personnel head says The team that was altered to house DOGE — formerly the U.S. Digital Service — is also still doing its own technology work across agencies.

The "DOGE is gone" articles are clickbait but this one gets it closer to the truth: DOGE is not gone, it just claims to have "no centralized leadership" anymore -- in other words, its leadership is hiding in an attempt to avoid blame.

Thank you for putting in your skill and attention into making digital experiences better for the whole public. I also hold out hope for a future where the government wants to build quality services.

Thanks for carrying on and not giving up!

Direct File won’t happen in 2026, IRS tells states The free service that allowed taxpayers to file online directly with the IRS was used by hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in 2024 and 2025, who gave it high marks — although tax prep companies and R...

The administration has pulled the plug on IRS Direct File, a tool that helped eligible taxpayers file for free. This decision comes despite Direct File’s immense popularity with its users.

Our friends at @usdigitalresponse.org are hosting the 2025 Digital Service Champions Awards to recognize folks doing great work in #civictech. Nominations close this Friday, October 10. ⏳

Government awards: usdr.link/champions-government
Individual awards: usdr.link/champions-individual

"The inspector general’s office for the General Services Administration ... said it will look at the impact of several DOGE-backed projects at GSA—including its mass termination of government leases and its decision to shutter its tech office 18F."

Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for posting!

New legislative branch data map courtesy of the Congressional Data Task Force & Congressional Data Coalition: github.com/LibraryOfCon... kudos Steve Dwyer + @americalabs.org

#opengov #opendata

Federal Courts Slow to Fix Vulnerable System After Repeated Hacking

Shot: "The last [18F] report urged the courts to 'start small.'"

Chaser: "In mid-2022, the administrative office awarded a five-year, $298 million contract to General Dynamics Information Technology."

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...

Many of us did work for him before. Either on 18F special projects, or for COE. 18F was fully prepared to work with the administration again— for the good of the American public— until we were illegally fired.

Chuck Borges resignation letter

The resignation letter that the government does not want you to see

How Healthcare.gov’s botched rollout led to a digital services revolution in government The botched rollout of a federal website 12 years ago became a turning point for digital services across government.

"Young stressed that those working on digital tools within the federal government 'have a responsibility to the security and privacy of the public.'" @not-young.bsky.social

Flags representing international countries

The expanding universe fountain in the State Dept courtyard

Diplomacy conference room

Defense of Human Freedoms mural in the State Dept building

This week, I’m honoring the State Dept foreign and civil servants whose service was cut short. No one can take away their impact.. in every flag they stood beside, the rooms where diplomacy took shape, and the global ties they built. We will feel this loss for years. Images from my last visit.

The Ku Klux Klan Acts (passed in 1870 & 1871 to protect 14th amend rights) were particularly focused on masked gunmen who violated the civil rights of Black people. We should remember this history when masked law enforcement ofcrs are deployed in our communities.
open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...

Does it come with steel toe boots? All I can think of is this landing on my toe.

Top House Democrat ask Microsoft about DOGE code allegedly tied to NLRB data removal A top House Democrat is asking Microsoft for information about a DOGE staffer's GitHub account connected to whistleblower allegations of sensitive data leaving the National Labor Relations Board.

A top House Democrat is asking Microsoft for information about a DOGE staffer's GitHub account connected to whistleblower allegations of sensitive data leaving the National Labor Relations Board.

Workforce cuts could complicate IRS goal to modernize in the next two years Agency leaders say they want to complete the “vast majority” of its modernization efforts within the next couple of years.

“Systems break and it takes days to fix them because no one is left who knows how,” they said. It’s making modernization projects take longer because of time dedicated to “putting out fires” where “the guy who knows how to fix it is gone.”

www.nextgov.com/modernizatio...

Screenshot of a section of 18F employees' appeal to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board. Highlighted text reads, "There are protective protocols in place that require vetting and following procedures to become an Authorizing Official or System Owner. Shedd had not completed these steps nor had the DOGE personnel who also wanted access." Full text of the excerpt is transcribed in the threaded post below.

When it comes to handling sensitive systems and data, we believe government officials should follow best practice and the law—and we said so. (Text in🧵)

The former leader of 18F speaks out on the digital services team’s ‘deletion’ Lindsay Young, executive director of 18F when it was shuttered, joins the podcast to talk about the appeal she and other 18F members filed with the Merit Systems Protection Board.

I talked to Fedscoop about how 18F is fighting back against DOGE’s dangerously naive approach to efficiency and security.

fedscoop.com/radio/lindsa...

My invitation (not really optional!) to be questioned by DOGE came in without a name. During the interrogation, I was scared to share too much, and scared to share too little.

It turns out I shouldn't have worried about how to protect our work. It was impossible.

Fired federal tech staffers file retaliation claim to a panel whose chairwoman Trump also fired A group of roughly 80 fired federal employees are appealing their terminations to an administrative body in charge of protecting the rights of federal employees from partisan political practices.

Our appeal to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board seeks to hold the administration accountable for its actions and defend the rule of law.

The chaos Elon Musk and Doge are leaving behind in Washington Though Musk promised modernization and efficiency, what’s left is a trail of uncertainty and reduced functionality

"Former 18F director Lindsay Young ... is concerned that Doge’s cuts will have long-lasting effects on government functions. 'In government, it’s just so much easier to tear things down than it is to build things up,' Young said." @not-young.bsky.social

It was a great crowd- standing room only