"When it comes to the War Powers Resolution, said Project on Government Oversight policy analyst David Janovsky, 'presidents have kind of taken it and run with it for 60 days, and then dared Congress to stop them.'”

POGO's @virginiajburger.bsky.social appeared at @thehill.com's #VeteranVoices Summit today. Check it out:

"Hegseth appears to be cultivating a leadership style not dissimilar to that of a company-grade infantry officer, the pinnacle of his leadership experience in uniform, micromanaging each process rather than creating strategy to streamline solving problems, @virginiajburger.bsky.social said."

ICYMI: POGO's own experts-- a Pulitzer Prize-winning Pentagon reporter and former USMC press officer-- reflect on the latest restrictions from Hegseth’s DOD.

URGENT: The Senate is slated to vote on the bipartisan legislation that would bar the U.S. from conducting operations inside Venezuela without congressional authorization as soon as TODAY. Tell your representatives to vote YES:

Read this article from @chicagotribune.com, feat. a great explanation of the differences between ICE & CBP: "I think [the Trump admin. has] realized that Border Patrol gives them extra manpower and probably less pushback when they’re told to just go round up everyone" -@krhawkins.bsky.social

Over the last few weeks, there have been hearings for a few Inspector General nominees that we’ve raised serious concerns about. We watched the hearings, and here’s what we thought ⬇️

Land strikes would mark a dangerous escalation in the administration's illegal acts of war against Venezuela. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, not the president. Congress must intervene now. https://bit.ly/4qAT9NZ

Over the last few weeks, the Trump administration has authorized multiple airstrikes in the Caribbean Sea & the eastern Pacific, killing 50+ civilians without approval or input from Congress. JOIN US in demanding Congress stop the admin's blatant overreach:

We're #hiring! POGO is looking for an IT Support Specialist to play a crucial role as the organization’s first line of support for technology troubleshooting. Learn more and apply below ⬇️

We've long warned about the dangers of facial recognition technology, and this is the embodiment of those warnings. Using this app on the street to determine people's citizenship is invasive and unconstitutional, and it must stop.

We're glad to hear the court is reconsidering this opinion. The president's attempts to deploy National Guard troops to American cities is a dangerous abuse of power and we hope the courts do the right thing here.

It’s just ONE DAY until our letter to the editor training! We’re hosting a second virtual Advocacy Training TOMORROW, Wednesday night, where you can get the skills you need to make your voice heard. There’s only a few spots left!

The White House released a memo last week marks another dangerous overreach from the executive branch. It suggests that if the WH doesn't like a rule, they can just ignore it. Read our April piece explaining the public MUST be part of this process:

The census is one of the most important undertakings of our government. It directs trillions of $$ to programs across the country-- if you want to know what that spending looks like in your state, look no further than our essential new report:

“If on a bipartisan basis, Congress would come together... and say, ‘The power of the purse is ours and here’s what that means,’ I think that would go a long way toward preventing the White House from continuing to give Congress a runaround when it comes to appropriated funding."

Military families endure dire housing conditions, while negligent landlords continue to dodge accountability. Learn more about this problem and what needs to happen from our latest fact sheet:

COMING UP IN A FEW DAYS: our letter to the editor training! Join us on Oct. 29 to learn the ABCs of LTE's—what they are, writing your letter, how you can pitch publications, and more. Get more info and sign up here before space runs out:

"Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) handed a massive aviation contract, potentially worth nearly $1 billion, to a relatively new company with no federal contracting experience, following an opaque and seemingly hurried process."

Have you checked out the latest additions to our merch store? Wear your values with our shirts, pins, stickers, and more! https://shop.pogo.org/

"One of the reasons why the use of these technologies is uniquely dangerous is that there are virtually no legal guardrails in place to prevent mass surveillance, and what did exist has been bulldozed." -POGO's surveillance expert Don Bell quoted in this story

“Someone who shows so much disdain for federal workers is entirely unfit to lead a key whistleblower office. Senators were right to question his fitness for the role, and I hope they will give the next nominee the same level of scrutiny." -@jdspielberger.bsky.social in @govexec.bsky.social

It's just one week until our virtual Advocacy Training! Learn everything you need to know about writing letters to the editor about the urgent issue of domestic deployment, from the first draft all the way to print. SPACE IS LIMITED, so make sure to reserve your spot now! ⬇️

This memo is just the latest crackdown on transparency at the Pentagon, both in terms of the flow of information and inhibiting whistleblowers from speaking out. This just further solidifies Sec. Hegseth's abuses of power.

Thank you all for raising your voices and letting the Senate know that Paul Ingrassia could not lead OSC. We're glad to see senators using their power to push the administration to withdraw someone so clearly unfit for this role.

More honors keep rolling in for #BadWatchdog! The second season of our podcast has won gold at the #DaveyAwards. Congratulations to @marenmachles.bsky.social#BadWatchdog#DaveyAwardsnd the entire Bad Watchdog team! 🎉

Good to see senators ready to do the right thing. Ingrassia is a completely unfit nominee. Keep calling your senators and encouraging them to reject this nomination.

We've been warning about the expanding reach of government surveillance, and now here we are. This kind of mass surveillance program is dangerous for every single person in this country.

This week, the Senate Homeland Security and Gov't Affairs Committee is having a hearing on the nomination of Paul Ingrassia to lead the Office of Special Counsel. He's a dangerous nominee, and we all need to speak up. Here's a script you can use to call your senators:

This is a must-read interview with whistleblower Erez Reuveni, who has spoken out about judicial nominee Emil Bove telling DOJ employees to disregard court orders:

Thank you @warren.senate.gov and @norcross.house.gov for pushing the Pentagon for more information on the cuts to DOT&E. This office provides essential weapons testing that keeps our military safe, and that cannot be sacrificed.

Now, we don't think anyone should work without pay. But this is another example of the administration breaking the law and stomping all over Congressional power. There's processes to make sure the military gets paid, and it's not too much to ask that the administration follow them.

“They have absolutely kind of done their best to turn down transparency, to sort of dim the switch on transparency when it comes to how funds are actually being spent by government agencies,” [POGO's] Faith Williams told NOTUS of the Trump administration.

Must-read analysis from two POGO experts: Pulitzer-winner Mark Thompson and former USMC press officer @virginiajburger.bsky.social reflect on the latest restrictions from the DOD⬇️

“As millions pour into Trump’s presidential library, there must be greater transparency about the funding sources to prevent conflicts of interest — taxpayers and lawmakers are left in the dark when disclosures are not filed,” said Omar Tabuni, government affairs manager at [POGO].

Big news! @ziembavision.bsky.social won a @milreporters.bsky.social Award for Investigative Reporting, for her incredible series on oversight failures in military housing. Read this essential investigation:

These are lethal, unprovoked strikes on noncombatant ships, and the administration's justifications for them are ridiculous. Congress must step in and ensure the president cannot use the military as his own personal police force.

We're so honored that the second season of our podcast, #BadWatchdog, has been named a finalist in the #AnthemAwards! Make sure to head on over to their website to help recognize the incredible work of the #BadWatchdog team, led by host @marenmachles.bsky.social:#BadWatchdog#AnthemAwards

Check it out! POGO's VP of Policy, @veritasdhg.bsky.social, was on the #PoliticsPA podcast to talk all things congressional stock trading ⬇️

In case you missed it: our latest investigation, in partnership with @motherjones.com ⬇️ A massive DHS contract worth up to $915 million was handed to a firm with “no track record” as a federal contractor, a rival's lawsuit alleges.

"Regarding claims that the U.S. is acting in self-defense, David Janovsky, the acting director of The Constitution Project at Project on Government Oversight said, 'The situation in the Caribbean is not that.'"

In case you missed it: our latest investigation, in partnership with @motherjones.com ⬇️ A massive DHS contract worth up to $915 million was handed to a firm with “no track record” as a federal contractor, a rival's lawsuit alleges.

We're glad to see Governor Stitt speaking out about the deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois. Just goes to show this shouldn't be a partisan issue-- it's a constitutional one.

THE LATEST FROM POGO'S INVESTIGATIONS DESK: Earlier this year, DHS handed a massive contract to a relatively new company with no federal contracting experience. Records obtained by @motherjones.com reveal the involvement of a senior DHS official who once worked with the company’s CEO. Learn more:

The president's executive order on Info Silos enables deportation goals at the expense of privacy. Read more:

With this vote, 51 senators failed to rein in the president's blatant abuse of war powers against cartels. Every senator who voted against this resolution ceded their constitutional power to the president.

"Don Bell, policy counsel at the Constitution Project at the Project on Government Oversight, an advocacy group, warned that the surveillance tools could let ICE get around the privacy protections of the warrant process and the Fourth Amendment."

Once again the executive branch is attempting to go around the Senate's Constitutional role, this time putting a new "CEO" in place at the IRS. On top of the clear overreach at hand here, this raises serious privacy concerns about the consolidation of IRS and Social Security data.

"But @virginiajburger.bsky.social said the simple presence of heavily armed military personnel on the streets set a dangerous precedent: 'It’s just getting people used to having what is essentially an overtly authoritarian presence in their streets.'”

In the face of the dangerous overreach that these deployments represent, we're glad to see the judiciary ruling in favor of the constitution. As Judge Immergut's decision says “This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law"