We hacked ourselves into government. We never fixed the machine. New piece out today on what civic tech got right, wrong, and what comes next with @donmoyn.bsky.social donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-did-civic-tech-learn-over-the

Ambitious change is possible. We have brilliant ideas, a passionate movement, and the energy needed to pull digital services forward into a more impactful, more confident future. Now’s the time to get started. @merici.bsky.social ✍️ @donmoyn.bsky.social donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-did-c...

We spoke to over one hundred digital government practitioners across the country. What we learned is when you get knocked down (or have your best products dismantled, RIP Direct File), you have to get up again, and get up stronger, with a theory of change, and the right team.

“wE aRe A mErItOcRaCy” ~🇺🇸 news.sky.com/video/share-...

What a great evening on ‘Money and taxes’ at @digitalservice.bund.de last night. Our 3 speakers, @merici.bsky.social, Manuel Großmann from Taxfix, and Sonja Wilczek from @digitalservice.bund.de co-delivered a broader view on how governments can deliver better tax services that work for users.

A reminder 🔔 Tomorrow, 2 June, we are running our 13th public sector innovation meetup on ‘Money + taxes’. 💶 We’ll hear from 3 great speakers: @merici.bsky.social, formerly with the USDS, Manuel Großmann from Taxfix, and Sonja Wilczek from @digitalservice.bund.de Join us from 6pm:

I put @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social’s resignation speech in to an AI checker and here are the results

It’s tax day! In addition to the loss of truly free tax filing with Direct File, many taxpayers are facing additional fees when filing. Forced upgrades to save your data. Upsells for state filing. Processing fees to actually pay your bill. I paid a $29.30 fee just to file in Nebraska.

The problem with sacred cows isn't that they existed – it's that they have taken on new life as facts, even as the world changes around them. @merici.bsky.social takes on the sacred cows of digital government delivery, and what we can win if we put them out to pasture. fas.org/publication/...

Polls released in the wake of the US President and Vice President showing their support for Viktor Orban tell quite the story...

‼️ NEW Trump tells MS NOW he didn’t know anything about Melania’s statement beforehand

It’s tax season and Direct File is dead. I went on the Killswitch podcast with @dexdigi.bsky.social to talk about what we built, who killed it, and why I’m certain it’ll make a comeback.

Merici Vinton led the team who created Direct File: a free, easy-to-use service that let you file your taxes without being upsold or having your data sent to Facebook. So who wanted it gone? full episode in the profile.

“This tax season, as you wade through the absurdly expensive and complicated process of filing income taxes, remember to thank the Trump administration” for killing the Direct File program, Binyamin Appelbaum writes.

"Filing taxes should be really easy and completely free. It is in most other developed countries. In 2024, the Biden administration debuted a program called Direct File to make tax filing easy and free for most American taxpayers, too. President Trump killed it." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/o...

"Filing taxes should be really easy and completely free. It is in most other developed countries. And in 2024, the Biden administration debuted a pilot program called Direct File that could have made tax filing easy and free for most American taxpayers, too. President Trump killed it."

Trump Killed the One Thing That Made Filing Taxes Easier www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/o...

Very notable that the pincers have been closing in on Bondi’s subpoena to testify behind closed doors, a real deposition on the Epstein files. Deadline in two weeks. Her role in stalling and covering up ran out of runway and he had to just pull the plug. Seems to me she can still testify though. 👀

Of course Trump thinks Americans benefit from high gas prices, his administration is filled with them! Our Julian Scoffield reveals who Trump is referring to in his claim that “when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money."

"Top Trump officials acknowledged to lawmakers during recent classified briefings that they did not plan for the possibility of Iran closing the strait in response to strikes, according to three sources familiar with the closed-door session." How is this real life? AYFKM

War without reason or purpose.

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...

In competitive authoritarianism (US right now) there's often a "loyal opposition" that's essential to the regime. They are so wedded to "decorum," they go along with rites & rituals that help regime prop up veneer of normalcy, undermining clear view of regimes actions & aims.

Wow.

At Yosemite, Rangers Are Scarce and Visitors Have Gone Wild www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/u...

Government can build efficiently. Take the IRS free file tool for example. The problem isn't a lack of can-do by the government. It's wealthy companies who have stepped in to block the development of government capacity, and who killed the free file tool when Democrats finally made it a reality.

“Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois and Colorado will be cut off from around $7 billion in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance to households with children, according to two people familiar with the matter.” Monstrously cruel.

WH sources say Venezuela's opposition leader committed the "ultimate sin": She accepted the Nobel Peace prize. “If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier

With Help of Lina Khan, Mamdani Looks to Quickly Cut Costs for New Yorkers www.nytimes.com/2025/12/26/n...

My first MozzFest! What a crowd, what an agenda. Nice to be around optimistic leaders speaking truth to power. And, of course, to see @melissaryan.bsky.social

SCOOP: Direct File is officially dead. The IRS emailed states yesterday telling them that the free, online tax filing service won't happen next year and has no future launch date. Republicans and tax prep companies both opposed the service. www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...

Direct File is survived by its code, lovingly preserved on GitHub for potential revival whenever the leaders of the executive branch are no longer bent on looting the country.

The West Wing is now just the Wing.

Today is the last day the IRS accepts tax returns. It’s also the last day to use Direct File, the IRS’ beloved, free tax filing service, before it’s shut down. 💔 ✊❤️

Yep, boy howdy, and absolutely. I’m not a civic tech person, but I know some good ones — @erie.bsky.social, @merici.bsky.social, @waldo.net. A Democratic Party serious about rebuilding state capacity would give folks like them the latitude to supplant contractors with internal tech.

SCARBOROUGH: The Nebraska Rural Health Association says at least 6 rural hospitals would have to close bc of the big beautiful bill FLOOD: Here's the deal: Some hospitals that are rural hospitals are going to eventually have to transition from being acute bed hospitals into being an ER model

We are worse off, by far, without Direct File. Just look at the metrics! I'm proud to know @merici.bsky.social and @cmgiven.bsky.social; thanks @mattbracken.bsky.social for covering. fedscoop.com/direct-file-...

I gave a talk at the @codeforamerica.org summit about what we learned building Direct File and why it should be the bare minimum standard for gov services, not some miraculous exception. And the product model approach shouldn’t just be for product teams, but all teams. fas.org/publication/...

The pro-cancer lobby rn 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥳🍾🎉😘💋💋💋

This administration just dropped the CFPB case against the Navy Federal Credit Union which defrauded our servicemembers to the tune of $95 million in illegal overdraft fees.

The State Department is proposing requiring applicants for business and tourist visas to post a bond of up to $15,000 to enter the United States, a move that may make the process unaffordable for many.

The IRS Commissioner confirms what we’ve known for months: Direct File is dead. After initial signals of interest from DOGE, turns out they aren’t actually interested in modern, efficient services that ppl love & the Trump admin finally admits it news.bloombergtax.com/financial-ac...

I cannot believe that the dems, dnc, and most electeds on every side are sitting on the sidelines as this happens. I don’t know how you can ask for voters’ trust if you can’t work towards humanity here-

New from me for @meidastouch.com - How Musk Monetized Government While Killing What Actually Works www.meidasplus.com/p/how-musk-m...

The Guadeloupe River rose from seven feet at midnight in Hunt, Texas, to over 29 feet at 4 a.m, stranding campers and devastating RV Parks . www.nytimes.com/live/2025/07... via @NYTimes

“Three Things in Trump’s Budget That Aren’t Getting Enough Attention”, with a Direct File shoutout. @petebuttigieg.bsky.social you forgot to mention that Direct File is a huge hit with users-user satisfaction is higher than Netflix or Apple💥 Great read 👇 petebuttigieg.substack.com/p/three-thin...

➕! “We’d better listen to what voters are screaming in our faces,” says @alyssacass.bsky.social, “which is that they want real, authentic voices… leaders who bear no resemblance to the status quo & they want people who are fighting on the issues that are close to them” on.ft.com/44qUwFX

the political lesson everyone should take from Iraq is that you will regret being in favor of this sooner or later and the earlier you were against it the better off you’ll be ignore the media frenzy and stake your position now, it’s the right thing to do and it’s the ambitious thing to do too