DOE News Dig Deeper. Report Harder. Know More.

DOE News

Dig Deeper. Report Harder. Know More.

Latest Articles

Bench and Bar: The Hidden Corporate Loyalties Shaping Federal Court Decisions
Investigative

Bench and Bar: The Hidden Corporate Loyalties Shaping Federal Court Decisions

Federal judges carry their professional histories into the courtroom, and for many, those histories are deeply entwined with the corporations that later appear before them. An examination of financial disclosure records and case outcomes across several circuit and district courts reveals troubling patterns that raise fundamental questions about impartiality in America's most consequential legal chambers.
Insiders at the Controls: When Corporate America Moves Into Federal Agencies and Writes Its Own Rules
Investigative

Insiders at the Controls: When Corporate America Moves Into Federal Agencies and Writes Its Own Rules

A growing number of corporations are placing their own executives and paid consultants inside federal regulatory agencies as temporary advisors, granting them direct influence over the very rules designed to govern their industries. Through a legal mechanism that has received little public scrutiny, companies across sectors from pharmaceuticals to transportation have found a pathway to regulatory power that makes conventional lobbying look blunt by comparison. DOE News examines the agencies, the
Internal Affairs: The Federal Transfer System That Lets Regulators Police Their Former Allies
Investigative

Internal Affairs: The Federal Transfer System That Lets Regulators Police Their Former Allies

When a federal employee moves from one desk to another within the same agency, few alarm bells sound. Yet a growing body of evidence suggests that strategic lateral transfers are allowing government workers to sidestep conflict-of-interest rules and assume oversight roles over the very industries they once served — creating a system of accountability that exists largely on paper.
Hired by the Enemy's Ally: How American Power Brokers Are Selling Access Back to Washington
Investigative

Hired by the Enemy's Ally: How American Power Brokers Are Selling Access Back to Washington

Former senators, retired generals, and ex-intelligence chiefs are quietly accepting consulting contracts from foreign governments — often with minimal public disclosure. A DOE News investigation reveals how a largely unregulated shadow industry is giving overseas powers a direct line into the corridors of American decision-making.
After the Gavel Falls: The Quiet Fortunes Made When Legislators Become Lobbyists
Investigative

After the Gavel Falls: The Quiet Fortunes Made When Legislators Become Lobbyists

Dozens of former members of Congress have converted decades of legislative relationships into multimillion-dollar lobbying arrangements, often within months of leaving office. DOE News examined the financial disclosures, client rosters, and policy timelines that reveal how Capitol Hill experience is monetized at a scale that rivals Wall Street. The findings raise urgent questions about whose interests are truly being served while these lawmakers are still casting votes.
Elections

Drawn to Win: The Data-Driven Machinery Locking In Legislative Maps for a Generation

In statehouses across the country, the once-opaque art of drawing legislative districts has been transformed into a precise science — one that can engineer electoral outcomes with statistical reliability for an entire decade. DOE News spoke with redistricting experts, voting rights attorneys, and former mapmakers to trace how computational tools and legal architecture are being used to insulate partisan maps from meaningful challenge. What emerges is a portrait of a democratic process being syst
Cashing Out: When the Government's Watchdogs Go to Work for the Wolves
Investigative

Cashing Out: When the Government's Watchdogs Go to Work for the Wolves

Hundreds of senior officials at the FDA, EPA, and FCC leave their posts each year to join the very industries they once policed — often within months of shaping consequential policy decisions. DOE News examined career records, lobbying disclosures, and agency rulings to trace a pattern of regulatory capture that costs taxpayers in ways that rarely make headlines.
Elections

The Algorithm Draws the Line: Inside the AI Tools Reshaping Who Gets Represented in America

Political operatives in both parties are deploying machine learning software capable of generating thousands of electoral map configurations in minutes, optimizing districts for partisan advantage with a precision that human mapmakers could never achieve alone. The technology is outpacing the legal frameworks designed to govern it, and voting rights advocates warn that competitive elections — already a rarity in many states — may soon be a relic.
Accounting in the Dark: The Federal Budget Tricks That Keep Congress — and Taxpayers — Guessing
Investigative

Accounting in the Dark: The Federal Budget Tricks That Keep Congress — and Taxpayers — Guessing

Billions of federal dollars move through obscure line items, classified appropriations, and accounting workarounds that effectively neutralize congressional oversight. A DOE News investigation identifies the agencies, the mechanisms, and the watchdogs who say the problem is far worse than the public realizes.
Elections

The Policy Architects: How Washington's Think Tanks Write the Rules Before Anyone Votes on Them

Long before legislation reaches the floor of Congress, much of it has already been drafted, refined, and strategically positioned by policy research organizations whose funding sources and ideological commitments remain largely invisible to the public. DOE News maps the networks, the personnel pipelines, and the quiet power that think tanks exercise over American governance.
The Most Powerful Officials You've Never Heard Of: Secretary of State Races Are Reshaping Election Administration
Elections

The Most Powerful Officials You've Never Heard Of: Secretary of State Races Are Reshaping Election Administration

While presidential and Senate contests dominate the headlines, both major parties are investing heavily in down-ballot Secretary of State races that most voters overlook entirely. These officials hold extraordinary power over how elections are run, who gets to vote, and whether results are certified—making them a critical and underappreciated front in the broader battle over American democracy.
Untraceable Millions: The Shadow Donors Quietly Deciding Who Controls Congress
Investigative

Untraceable Millions: The Shadow Donors Quietly Deciding Who Controls Congress

A sprawling network of politically active nonprofits and super PACs is funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into the most competitive House and Senate races of 2024—with little to no public accountability. DOE News traces the money trails, the messaging strategies they fund, and what it all means for the future of representative democracy.