This tracker documents the erosion and dismantling of oversight and accountability systems within the U.S. Executive Branch. Some changes may reflect genuine reform goals but, cumulatively, they create a more permissive environment for corruption and abuse of power to take root. Key topics include:
- Oversight: Firing inspectors general, defunding watchdog units, and dismantling internal oversight units.
- Enforcement: Eliminating public corruption and anti-bribery units, pausing FCPA enforcement, and disbanding teams focused on foreign influence and illicit finance.
- Transparency: Gutting public records staff, withdrawing from transparency commitments, suppressing whistleblowing, and evading FOIA obligations.
- Workforce: Firing or sidelining career officials, and replacing merit-based hiring with ideological loyalty tests.
- Independent Agencies: Undermining agency independence, asserting direct presidential control, retaliation against and more.
This is a regularly updated document. If we’ve missed something, let us know at [email protected]. You can find more about our overall approach to the tracker and our corresponding series here.
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FEATURED IMAGE: The Washington Monument reflects in the Capitol Reflecting Pool at sunset on a warm evening on June 2, 2025 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
