Meryl Kornfield
@MerylKornfield
Staff writer for @washingtonpost. Reach me at [email protected], DM or Signal. Forever proud of my @thealligator/@ufjschool roots 🐊
I had a blast on the newsletter, and I’m grateful to the subscribers who read and wrote in, the lawmakers and their aides who talked with me and my brilliant coauthor @PatrickSvitek. For my next act, I’ll be helping on our rockstar DOGE team covering federal workers. Send tips!
Early Brief’s new authors @merica and @matthewichoi are out with their first edition this morning! And it’s about how Congress isn’t a happy place with some members looking for an escape hatch. Read and subscribe!!!! s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?track…
just a reminder that the federal government is spending more money this year than it had last year
NEW: The IRS is considering ending non-English language services That’d drop phone and in-person interpreters + translations of common tax forms and notices. It’s to comply with Trump’s order designating English the US’s official language. Link in thread…
Between us @etuckerAP and I have probably read as much as anyone without a security clearance about the 2016 Russia investigation. We look at Gabbard's latest claims and find them unsupported (and in some cases contradicted) by the documents she released: apnews.com/article/gabbar…
Early favorite for next year's @PulitzerPrizes for photography?
A Chuck E. Cheese employee in full costume was arrested by Tallahassee officers for credit card fraud tallahassee.com/story/news/loc…
USDA will relocate most of its DC-based workforce. The agency will move about 2,600 people to 5 other locations and shutter several key facilities in the capital region, including its main research center, by @MerylKornfield @oliviacgeorge @hannah_natanson washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/…
For the second time in 8 months — each time for different states — the president's daughter-in-law has decided that she will not try to become a US senator.
NEW: Tim Walz and Laura Kelly leaving NGA.
Some Democratic members of the National Governors Association have privately fumed over the organization’s tepid reaction to President Donald Trump’s federal incursions into state matters, @michaelscherer and @AshleyRParker report: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…
Uber will soon introduce a new feature that allows women to request female drivers, and gives women drivers the option to only accept trip requests from women. wapo.st/4kVAJUa
The nominee to run the Office of Special Counsel is a recent law school grad and got accepted into the New York bar last year. Meanwhile, the Office just posted it’s seeking recent grads for entry level jobs washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/…
OSC is seeking recent law school graduates and early-career attorneys for entry-level Law Clerk or Attorney positions in our DC office. An exciting opportunity to contribute to OSC's mission! usajobs.gov/job/841521000
ICE moves to shackle some 180,000 immigrants with GPS ankle monitors, from @dmac1 @SilviaElenaFF washingtonpost.com/immigration/20…
A Project 2025 questionnaire under Paul Ingrassia’s name and obtained by @noturtlesoup17/@theintercept has some new details: theintercept.com/2025/07/23/pro…
Update on the update: Ingrassia was removed from the schedule because committee members requested more time to review his nomination, per Senate staffer familiar with discussions. White House has not withdrawn his nomination.
Update: Ingrassia was removed from today’s hearing schedule. I’ve contacted the committee’s majority staff and the White House to figure out why. Will update here.
SCOOP: RNC Chair Michael Whatley will soon announce his run for Senate in North Carolina with the full support of President Trump. Lara Trump opted to stay in her gig at Fox News and will also support Whatley in what will be one of next year’s most hotly watched (and $$) races.
% of Republicans saying we "should be doing less" to help Ukraine, per @FoxNews poll: May 2024: 53% October 2024: 55% Today: 32% Trump's flip seems to have registered with the base.
Office of Special Counsel nominee Paul Ingrassia will appear before a Senate committee today, vying to get confirmed. He’ll need Republican support, even though he has been critical of Republican senators in the past. washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/…
Paul Ingrassia said bureaucracy magnifies “the worst elements of human nature,” called federal workers “parasites” and “bugmen” and said civil servants aren’t apolitical. He now wants to run the office that protects federal workers. His hearing is today. washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/…
you can venmo the United States to help pay off the national debt
SCOOP: The Pentagon’s inspector general has received evidence that messages from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Signal account previewing a U.S. bombing campaign in Yemen derived from a classified email labeled “SECRET/NOFORN,” people familiar with the matter said.