Hannah Natanson
@hannahnatanson.bsky.social
Narrative enterprise reporter at The Washington Post. Email: hannah.natanson2@washpost.com and Signal @HannahNatanson.2026.
It's been hard to do my job this year. Being back reporting — and in print again — means more than I can say. Please spend some time with my story about a Trump administration crackdown on faculty speech at West Point, and one professor's lonely rebellion. wapo.st/4fo0lts
If you are a Washington Post reader eager to send a signal with your wallet right now, please donate to two fundraisers for our hundreds of dismissed, exceptional journalists (one for domestic and one for international staff): www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t... and www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo....
Donate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel Siegel
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We ar… Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund
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I expected the cuts would be bad but I'm honestly stunned and sickened seeing how many great journalists the Washington Post just lost. People who nailed huge investigations, documented war zones, exposed horrific crimes, dropped all at once for failures they did not cause.
We at the @postguild.bsky.social are raising money for the hundreds of journalists the Post just laid off. This goes to the people who are hurting, not the Post. Or if you'd rather, go subscribe to an independent journalist. Support is hugely appreciated. www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t...
Donate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel Siegel
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We ar… Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund
gofundme.com
“One day, a woman wrote to me on Signal, asking me not to respond. She lived alone, she messaged, and planned to die that weekend. Before she did, she wanted at least one person to understand: Trump had unraveled the government, and with it, her life.” @hannahnatanson.bsky.social essay:
I am The Post’s ‘federal government whisperer.’ It’s been brutal.
One reporter’s effort to show how Trump was transforming government brought her 1,168 new sources — and nearly broke her.
washingtonpost.com
Interviews with 1200+ government workers about DOGE: “.. staff searched for words they hoped would save the work they believed in. .. So he .. began deleting: Any mention of ‘carbon.’ ‘Sustainability.’ The word ‘green.’” @washingtonpost.com www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Inside the federal government as Trump and DOGE pushed it past its breaking point in 2025, as told by some of the more than 1,200 federal workers @hannahnatanson.bsky.social and @merylkornfield.bsky.social have spoken to this year
The year Trump broke the federal government
How DOGE and the White House carried out a once-unthinkable transformation of the nation’s sprawling bureaucracy.
washingtonpost.com
This account of how the Trump admin carried out a once-unthinkable overhaul of government in 2025 is based on a year’s worth of messages and interviews with more than 1,200 current and former federal workers. Please read from me and @merylkornfield.bsky.social. wapo.st/4b14KAy
The year Trump broke the federal government
How DOGE and the White House carried out a once-unthinkable transformation of the nation’s sprawling bureaucracy.
wapo.st
Trump administration admits to targeting blue states for energy grant cuts. DOJ lawyers argue in a court filing that it is constitutional to withhold funding based on partisan politics, via @merylkornfield.bsky.social @hannahnatanson.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Trump administration admits to targeting blue states for energy grant cuts
Justice Department lawyers argue in court documents that it is legal for the administration to withhold funding based on partisan politics.
washingtonpost.com
I spent the summer with 3 elderly Forest Service retirees who warned Trump's staffing cuts were imperiling the land — and the public. Now an internal government report I obtained confirms it, finding Forest Service trails are being "abandoned" by Trump: wapo.st/3MJKv07
Internal Forest Service report finds ‘unpassable trails, unsafe bridges’
A report obtained by The Post says the U.S. Forest Service’s trails are deteriorating rapidly due to staff cuts under the Trump administration, posing risks to visitors.
wapo.st
Hannah Natanson@hannahnatanson.bsky.social · 8mo agoCome with me to Lander, Wyo. to meet Bill, Lee and Barb. They were supposed to be retired from the Forest Service. But they're back as volunteers — driving 100s of miles a week, cleaning 5 bathrooms a day — determined to protect forests Trump abandoned. wapo.st/4r4727z
Amid the U.S. military buildup, the boat strikes and Trump's threats, Maduro has added security and limited public appearances. But he's upbeat, his inner circle remains tight and he's refusing to go into exile, people close to his government say wapo.st/4pSNaCS
Venezuela’s Maduro, shaken but still standing, aims to wait out Trump
Five months into the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is feeling the pressure but refusing to go into exile.
wapo.st
Come with me to Lander, Wyo. to meet Bill, Lee and Barb. They were supposed to be retired from the Forest Service. But they're back as volunteers — driving 100s of miles a week, cleaning 5 bathrooms a day — determined to protect forests Trump abandoned. wapo.st/4r4727z
They retired from the government. Now they’re back, protecting forests Trump abandoned.
The U.S. Forest Service lost thousands of workers under Trump. Volunteers and retirees are trying to help — but things are breaking.
wapo.st
Fantastic design and graphics work to show off gorgeous photos from Wyoming on this great @hannahnatanson.bsky.social story about how retired Forest Service volunteers are filling gaps left by the Trump administration's staff cuts www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
They retired from the government. Now they’re back, protecting forests Trump abandoned.
The U.S. Forest Service lost thousands of workers under Trump. Volunteers and retirees are trying to help — but things are breaking.
washingtonpost.com
POST EXCLUSIVE Pressured by the largest U.S. deployment off Venezuela in decades, Nicolás Maduro is asking friends Russia, China and Iran for help Anthony Faiola @hannahnatanson.bsky.social @ilyushina.bsky.social and Ana Vanessa report www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
As U.S. ramps up the pressure, Venezuela pleads with Moscow, Beijing for help
Documents show Maduro drafted letter asking Russia for missiles, radars and upgraded aircraft as U.S. forces amass in the Caribbean.
washingtonpost.com
The government shutdown is entering its 4th week. Join me, @jacobbogage.bsky.social and @hannahnatanson.bsky.social tomorrow at 11 AM ET to answer your questions live (and/or submit your questions in advance below) www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
When will federal workers get paid? Ask us your shutdown questions.
Our reporters covering the shutdown will answer your questions during a live chat on Thursday at 11 a.m. Eastern time.
washingtonpost.com
🚨Senior federal officials are privately warning against firings during a government shutdown, saying the strategy may violate appropriations law. Trump & top aides have threatened mass firings if the Dems don't budge. Scoop, with @hannahnatanson.bsky.social: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown
The Trump administration has said mass firings are coming, but officials have quietly warned several agencies that the move could violate appropriations law.
washingtonpost.com
Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown, warning the strategy may violate appropriations law - another exclusive from my Post colleagues @emilydavies.bsky.social & @hannahnatanson.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Senior government officials privately warn against firings during shutdown
The Trump administration has said mass firings are coming, but officials have quietly warned several agencies that the move could violate appropriations law.
washingtonpost.com
Edward Brandon Beckham tried three times to take the federal government's deferred resignation offer while his wife was dying, but the administration kept turning him down. It tested his faith — in God, and in Trump. Terribly sad story, deeply reported, by @hannahnatanson.bsky.social
His wife was dying, his federal job crumbling. It tested his faith — in God and Trump.
One federal worker was rejected three times from the administration’s early resignation offer. Would he blame the president he voted for?
washingtonpost.com
Breaking news: The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered scientists in at least one of its research offices to immediately pause almost all research and stop publishing their studies.
EPA tells scientists to stop publishing studies, employees say
Staff from the EPA’s Office of Water were summoned to a town hall meeting this week and told to pause the publication of most research, pending a review.
wapo.st
“The Trump administration has ordered the removal of signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple national parks, according to four people familiar with the matter, including a historic photograph of a formerly enslaved man showing scars on his back.” www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
National park to remove photo of enslaved man’s scars
The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of “corrosive ideology.”
washingtonpost.com
told lovingly and beautifully by the brilliant @teoarmus.bsky.social
Julia Gelatt@juliagelatt.bsky.social · 11mo agoWapo article does a good job covering two realities: How deeply watching a parents‘ immigration arrest affects kids, and how DC residents are organizing “walking buses” and neighborhood lookouts to help kids with immigrant parents get safely to school. wapo.st/3VNYZ08
POST EXCLUSIVE (GIFT LINK) The Trump administration intends to dramatically limit U.S. government criticism of El Salvador, Israel and Russia, all with extensive records of abusing human rights @mradamtaylor.bsky.social @hannahnatanson.bsky.social @johnphudson.bsky.social report wapo.st/4mAYX7v
U.S. plans to ease human rights criticism of El Salvador, Israel, Russia
Leaked draft reports show the Trump administration is planning to eliminate or downplay accounts of prisoner abuse, corruption, LGBTQ+ discrimination and other claims.
wapo.st
Leaked draft reports show the Trump administration is planning to eliminate or downplay accounts of prisoner abuse, corruption, LGBTQ+ discrimination and other alleged abuses. @mradamtaylor.bsky.social @hannahnatanson.bsky.social @johnphudson.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
U.S. plans to ease human rights criticism of El Salvador, Israel, Russia
Leaked draft reports show the Trump administration is planning to eliminate or downplay accounts of prisoner abuse, corruption, LGBTQ+ discrimination and other claims.
washingtonpost.com
SCOOP: Leaked drafts of the State Dept's annual human rights reports on El Salvador, Israel & Russia show the Trump admin is planning to eliminate or downplay accounts of prisoner abuse, corruption & LGBTQ discrimination www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
washingtonpost.com
Oodles of deeply reported, exclusive stories you can read first and only in the @washingtonpost.com this morning: Top Hegseth aide tried to oust senior White House liaison from Pentagon, scoops @danlamothe.bsky.social t.co/AzvsTV1WBl
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/08/04/hegseth-buria-white-house-liaison-mcnitt/
t.co
Latest in a string of stories you can read only/first from the @washingtonpost: The federal government is paying more than 154,000 people not to work right now, under the Trump admin's resignation program w/ @merylkornfield.bsky.social @laurameckler.bsky.social wapo.st/3IRXIlK
The federal government is paying more than 154,000 people not to work
Early resignation offers and other programs have reduced the workforce, but critics say the moves are also wasting money.
wapo.st
We sought this number for months, and we finally got it this week when @merylkornfield.bsky.social and @hannahnatanson.bsky.social presented their own tally — compiled through reporting from sources and constant calls to more than a dozen agencies. No one else has been able to report it until now.
The federal government is paying more than 154,000 people not to work, in the name of cost-cutting www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
The federal government is paying more than 154,000 people not to work
Early resignation offers and other programs have reduced the workforce, but critics say the moves are also wasting money.
washingtonpost.com
