Former DC daily journo for digital, print, magazine, newsletters, podcast; now relaxing more! Covered 5 presidents, Congress, campaigns. [email protected]
Washington, D.C.
Joined July 2009
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👉Joseph Gera, a frmr Apple App Store sr. platform engineer, on new WH app: “It’s asking for your location data in real time. It also asks for personal information to access your financial data, to access your messages, to access all kinds of information.”washingtonsun.com/whitehouse…
Alexis Simendinger retweeted
Without warning or consultation, Congress just received an $810 million package of pocket rescissions from the Administration. This is the most recent attempt by this Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to undermine Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse.
This move shows that OMB intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law.
Not only is the delay itself an impoundment that was not reported to Congress, but also it is a usurpation of Congress’s appropriations powers. OMB is an agency of the executive branch. It does not get to decide which programs are worth funding.
The independent Government Accountability Office has concluded that pocket rescissions are unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act. Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.
I will work with my colleagues to address these illegal actions.
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
Senator Collins voted to confirm OMB Director Vought, despite Vought’s known support for the President’s efforts to impound Congressionally-approved funds.
thehill.com/homenews/senat…
thehill.com/homenews/senat…
Alexis Simendinger retweeted
An amicus brief defending our colleagues at CNN, MS NOW + Politico, signed by:
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, WHCA, Advance Publications, ABC, AP, the Atlantic, Axios, Bloomberg, the Boston Globe, CBS, Center for Investigative Reporting, Chicago Public Media ...
Hmmm... @TheJusticeDept in 9/23 filing to court objects to "decorum" -- basic reporting -- among 3 news organizations. BUT news stories cited by gov't in Exhibits to court don't cite specific journos who held WH press credentials & then denied "access." cbsnews.com/news/doj-defends…
👉@FortuneMagazine @Reuters Some U.S. lawmakers push for legislative guardrails in wake of more solo actions by rogue AI agents. fortune.com/2026/09/07/opena…
Enjoyed @dougmillsnyt talking about his superb photojournalism career (White House beat + some Olympics assignments) on @cspan Q&A. c-span.org/program/qa/new-yo…
👉Pentagon has a news media blacklist (per warning to a reporter that he could find himself on a "disregard" roster): editorandpublisher.com/stori…
Alexis Simendinger retweeted
In a new court filing, the Trump Administration is explicitly raising the possibility that the Kennedy Center building could be demolished and replaced with an outdoor amphitheater. The filing does not say there is currently a plan to demolish the Kennedy Center, but it presents demolition and replacement as a likely outcome if the Trump-led restoration and fundraising effort is blocked.
storage.courtlistener.com/re…
The filing came in the lawsuit by U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio, a member of the Kennedy Center's board by virtue of her position in Congress, who sued the administration last year to get Trump’s name off the building.
“Without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River that has been proposed, by some, for many years. Such a replacement will fail to adequately honor President John F. Kennedy, but would be simpler and more economical to build, operate, and maintain."
WH speechwriters over the yrs have told me prime time presidential remarks can flop if too long, too disconnected from immediate real-world public worries, missing a specific remedy, viewed as unrealistic in policy or evidence (or both) or chalked up as more partisan "noise."
Alexis Simendinger retweeted
.@POTUS during a tour of the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Bismarck, ND.
Journalists reporting on WH East Wing project should rewind to 2011 West Wing big dig, which swallowed its massively deep construction secrets. nytimes.com/2011/10/18/us/bi…
Alexis Simendinger retweeted
EXCLUSIVE: Last year Kash Patel and his gf flew on an FBI G5 to Philly to see George Strait & Chris Stapleton from a private stadium suite that costs up to $50,000. He won’t say who paid. nytimes.com/2026/05/15/us/po… via @NYTimes
Alexis Simendinger retweeted
Trump to NYT's David Sanger: "I had a total military victory. But the fake news, guys like you, write incorrectly. You're a fake guy. We had a total military victory. I actually think it's sort of treasonous what you write. You should be ashamed of yourself. I actually think it's treason."
Alexis Simendinger retweeted
We are announcing today that The American Revolution will stream for free in its entirety on all PBS platforms from May 25th through July 12. Hope you have a chance to watch, ideally with friends and family, as you think about our 250th anniversary this July 4th. pbs.org/kenburns/the-america…
Bulldozers ahead for West Potomac Park in DC, with no debate or approvals? nytimes.com/2026/05/02/us/po…
Alexis Simendinger retweeted
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump just told me over the phone he has unilaterally cancelled Witkoff and Kushner’s trip to Pakistan to meet with the Iranians.
"I've told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, 'Nope, you're not making an 18 hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you're not going to be making any more 18 hour flights to sit around talking about nothing'."
Who lacks authority over the manner of voting set by states, re: EO? President, according to legal experts. npr.org/2026/03/31/nx-s1-550…
