David Fahrenthold
@fahrenthold.bsky.social
New York Times investigative reporter, writing about the world of nonprofits. CNN political analyst. Please send story tips! daf@nytimes.com
NEW: A shaky pilot, a wary instructor, an overwhelmed air-traffic controller: How three lives intersected tragically in the Jan. 29 disaster over the Potomac. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/u...
How 3 Lives Intersected in the Final Moments of the D.C. Crash
nytimes.com
NEW: How conservative Christians convinced the I.R.S. to grant them an exemption from a 70 year-old law, and let them endorse candidates from the pulpit. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/u...
How Conservative Christians Cracked a 70-Year-Old Law
nytimes.com
Why we almost got a MAGA Instant Pot. www.nytimes.com/video/busine...
Video: Why We Almost Got a MAGA-Branded Instant Pot
Instant Brands announced a new line of pots emblazoned with the slogan “Make America Great Again.” David Fahrenthold explains what’s behind this decision and explores the link between this brand and o...
nytimes.com
NEW: What happened to the MAGA Instant Pot? A tale of a private equity company -- and a beloved rice cooker -- trying and failing to navigate Washington's new rules.
NEW: The V.A. was under pressure to slash its spending. Then it started to feed DOGE misleading budget cuts.
NEW TONIGHT: The IRS says that churches can now endorse candidates from the pulpit, carving out an exemption to the decades-old ban on politicking by nonprofits. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...
I.R.S. Says Churches Can Endorse Candidates From the Pulpit
nytimes.com
NEW TONIGHT: The IRS says that churches can now endorse candidates from the pulpit, carving out an exemption to the decades-old ban on politicking by nonprofits. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...
I.R.S. Says Churches Can Endorse Candidates From the Pulpit
nytimes.com
NEW: DOGE seeks to investigate another government budget watchdog, the Government Accountability Office.
Update: @DOGE removes 31 more incorrect claims -- and $122M in savings -- from its "Wall of Receipts" after we identified they were wrong. The listings were wrong b/c the contracts DOGE claimed credit for killing were not dead anymore: agencies had revived them. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/u...
DOGE Removes Dozens of Resurrected Contracts From Its List of Savings
nytimes.com
NEW: Dozens of contracts killed by DOGE have now been resurrected by federal agencies. DOGE's website still lists them as "terminated," however, inflating the group's success with $200M+ in savings that have already vanished. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/u...
DOGE’s Zombie Contracts: They Were Killed but Have Come Back to Life
nytimes.com
NEW: After USDA cuts aid to food banks, one charity in WV tries to make lunch out of craisins, crackers and vegetable soup. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/28/u...
After Trump Aid Cuts, Food Banks Scrounge and Scrimp
In one of the country’s poorest areas, the quantity and quality of government deliveries have dropped, forcing one charity to make do with thin soup and dried cranberries.
nytimes.com
The chief executive of Acadia Healthcare, one of the largest providers of mental health services in the U.S., was awarded a $1.8 million bonus to respond to “unprecedented governmental inquiries” into allegations of holding psychiatric patients against their will.
Leaders of Mental Health Giant Promised Big Bonuses to Deal With Federal Investigations
Acadia Healthcare’s chief executive was awarded a $1.8 million bonus to respond to “unprecedented governmental inquiries” into allegations of holding psychiatric patients against their will.
nytimes.com
A charity tied to Gov. Ron DeSantis’s wife, Casey DeSantis, gave $10 million to nonprofit political committees that helped the governor defeat a ballot measure.
Why Did a Charity Tied to Casey DeSantis Suddenly Get a $10 Million Boost?
The Hope Florida Foundation quietly gave the money to two nonprofit political committees that helped Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies defeat a ballot measure.
nytimes.com
The executive director of the Texas State Lottery resigned abruptly on Monday in the latest fallout from the agency’s decision in 2023 to help professional bettors in Europe purchase and print millions of its tickets and guarantee themselves a $95 million jackpot win.
Texas Lottery Director Resigns Amid Scrutiny of Rigged 2023 Draw
Investigators are looking into how bettors were allowed to guarantee themselves a $95 million jackpot win, as state leaders question whether the lottery should go on.
nytimes.com
NEW: @schumer.senate.gov asks for the biggest "receipt" that's missing from DOGE's "Wall of Receipts" -- a $318M claim posted without documentation. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/u...
Schumer Asks for Documents That Prove a Claim on DOGE’s Website
Elon Musk’s group says it saved $318 million by canceling a “request for proposal” from the Office of Personnel Management but did not release the request itself.
nytimes.com
Exclusive: Immigrants falsely labeled dead by the Social Security Administration are showing up at field offices with documents proving they are alive, leading staff to reinstate nearly three dozen people over the past week, according to records obtained by The Post.
Immigrants prove they are alive, forcing Social Security to undo death label
The immigrants who have requested a reversal and been reinstated in Social Security databases include a Haitian asylum seeker and a minor child.
washingtonpost.com
This is going to be an interesting experiment. I've got this request up now on X, BlueSky and LinkedIN, and we'll see which produces the mystery doc first. If that doesn't work, I'm doing an investigative TikTok dance, which frankly we're all going to regret.
David Fahrenthold@fahrenthold.bsky.social · last yr.A DOGE MYSTERY! I'm trying to find OPM request for proposal #47QFEA24K0008. DOGE says they saved $318,310,328 by cancelling it. But OPM won't release this doc, and it's not listed in govt databases. Free @nytimes coffee mug to anyone with a copy! I'm at daf@nytimes.com
Elon Musk now admits his Department of Government Efficiency will produce only 15% of the savings it promised. But even that estimate is inflated with errors and guesswork. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/u...
A DOGE MYSTERY! I'm trying to find OPM request for proposal #47QFEA24K0008. DOGE says they saved $318,310,328 by cancelling it. But OPM won't release this doc, and it's not listed in govt databases. Free @nytimes coffee mug to anyone with a copy! I'm at daf@nytimes.com
DOGE Is Far Short of Its Goal, and Still Overstating Its Progress Via our colleagues @fahrenthold.bsky.social and @jsvine.com www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/u...
NEW: DOGE is falling far short of its goals — and still drastically over-stating its success. Here’s why: www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/u...
DOGE Is Far Short of Its Goal, and Still Overstating Its Progress
Elon Musk now says his group will produce only 15 percent of the savings it promised. But even that estimate is inflated with errors and guesswork.
nytimes.com
The IRS has agreed to share information with ICE to help locate people for deportation, court records show, a fundamental change in how the tax collector uses its tightly regulated records. nyti.ms/3XQ9vWk
NEW: DOGE deletes more than 100 entries from its list of cancelled leases. Suggests it is losing some of the internal battles over what offices to axe. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u...
On Its Website, DOGE Deletes More Than 100 Government Leases It Said Were Canceled
Elon Musk’s cost-cutting group dropped its total purported savings from eliminating federal office space after losing some battles within the Trump administration.
nytimes.com
NEW: DOGE reverses change that made its claims near-impossible to check. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/u...
DOGE Reverses Move That Made Its Claims Nearly Impossible to Check
After getting called out, Elon Musk’s cost-cutting group reinstated details about the grants that it canceled.
nytimes.com
THREAD: DOGE's "Wall of Receipts" is one month old this week. But the largest item on that list has always been wrong. Here's how:
Elon Musk said @doge would be “maximally transparent.” Now, after posting data riddled with errors, it’s backtracking from that pledge. www.nytimes.com/video/us/pol...
Video: Elon Musk’s Team Is Less Transparent, and Still Making Big Errors.
After a series of news reports called out DOGE’s error-filled claims, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has made its newest claims harder to check — for “security purposes,” according to...
nytimes.com
"The picture of these shifting contracts reflects what has become the erratic hallmark of much of the team’s work" www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/u... @emmbadger.bsky.social @ethansinger.bsky.social
See How Elon Musk’s Team Inflated, Deleted and Rewrote Its Savings Claims
The cost-cutting group removed hundreds of contracts from its “wall of receipts,” added back many of them, and inflated savings values.
nytimes.com
How often has @DOGE gotten its facts wrong? Watch this visualization of its errors, from the @UpshotNYT. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/u...
See How Elon Musk’s Team Inflated, Deleted and Rewrote Its Savings Claims
The cost-cutting group removed hundreds of contracts from its “wall of receipts,” added back many of them, and inflated savings values.
nytimes.com
Elon Musk said @doge would be “maximally transparent.” Now, after posting data riddled with errors, it’s backtracking from that pledge. www.nytimes.com/video/us/pol...
Video: Elon Musk’s Team Is Less Transparent, and Still Making Big Errors.
After a series of news reports called out DOGE’s error-filled claims, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has made its newest claims harder to check — for “security purposes,” according to...
nytimes.com