What We’re Watching
During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.
Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Sharon Lerner
I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Andy Kroll
I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Melissa Sanchez
I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Jesse Coburn
I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.
If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.
Federal Monitor Slams NYPD Unit Whose Aggressive Policing ProPublica Exposed
A report from a court-appointed watchdog details “troubling” conduct and “unconstitutional” stops by the Police Department’s Community Response Team — a unit championed by Mayor Eric Adams.
Número récord de policías locales se unen a controversial programa de ICE para ayudar con deportaciones
ICE ha impulsado la expansión sin precedentes del Programa 287(g), el cual se ha basado en acuerdos que les permiten a los agencias locales ejercer funciones de deportación durante actividades policiacas de rutina.
Local Reporting Network
“Demorar, interferir, socavar”
El presidente Trump ha alabado al presidente Bukele de El Salvador como un luchador contra el crimen, pero una investigación periodística revela cómo el gobierno salvadoreño ha impedido una investigación estadounidense de la pandilla MS-13.
Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding
The Trump administration cut research funding that sought cures for future pandemics, examined the causes of dementia and tried to prevent HIV transmission. ProPublica heard from more than 150 researchers to understand the work that’s been lost.
“Delay, Interfere, Undermine:” How El Salvador’s Government Impeded a U.S. Probe of MS-13
President Donald Trump has praised Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele as a crime fighter, but new reporting based on interviews and documents reveals how senior Salvadoran officials have impeded a U.S. investigation of the MS-13 gang.
Senators Demand Transparency on Canceled Veterans Affairs Contracts
Following a ProPublica investigation into how DOGE had developed an error-prone AI tool to determine which VA contracts should be killed, a trio of lawmakers said the Trump administration continues to “stonewall” their requests for details.
Portland Said It Was Investing in Homeless People’s Safety. Deaths Have Quadrupled.
The city responded to an increase in homeless deaths by intensifying encampment sweeps and adding emergency shelter at the expense of permanent housing. Experts say this has perpetuated the problem.
Local Reporting Network
Former Chicago Cop Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Battery of Two Female Colleagues
Eric Tabb is one of 14 Chicago officers accused of sexual assault in the past decade with at least one other alleged incident of sexual misconduct. The cases reveal how the department failed to vigorously investigate such allegations involving police.
Local Reporting Network
The DOGE 100: Musk Is Out, but More Than 100 of His Followers Remain to Implement Trump’s Blueprint
At least 38 DOGE members work, or have worked, for one of Elon Musk’s companies. Meanwhile, nearly two dozen DOGE officials are making cuts to the same federal agencies that regulate the industries that employed them.
EPA Drops Legal Case Against the GEO Group, a Major Trump Donor, Over Its Misuse of Harmful Disinfectant in an ICE Facility
A complaint filed under the Biden administration alleged that on more than 1,000 occasions in 2022 and 2023, the GEO Group had its employees use the disinfectant, which causes irreversible eye damage and skin burns, without proper protection.
Tennessee’s Law on School Threats Ensnared Students Who Posed No Risks. Two States Passed Similar Laws.
Despite an outcry over increased arrests in Tennessee, two states — Georgia and New Mexico — followed its lead by passing laws that will crack down harder on hoax threats.
Arizona’s Largest County Frequently Pursues the Death Penalty. It Rarely Secures That Sentence.
In nearly 350 death penalty cases Maricopa County prosecutors pursued over 20 years, just 13% ended in a death sentence. The numbers indicate the need for a more deliberate and transparent process to decide capital charges, experts say.
North Dakota Ethics Commission Has No Authority to Punish Officials Violating Ethics Laws, State Leaders Argue
Voters created an ethics watchdog agency seven years ago. But officials keep pushing to weaken it, even as North Dakotans are filing a record number of complaints.
Local Reporting Network
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