Natalie Alms
@almsnatalie.bsky.social
journalist who covers how the government's tech affects you🫵
NC native, DC resident.
Tips = nalms@govexec.com and Signal at nalms.41
https://www.nextgov.com/voices/natalie-alms/18881/?oref=ng-post-author?oref=rf-post-author
NC native, DC resident.
Tips = nalms@govexec.com and Signal at nalms.41
https://www.nextgov.com/voices/natalie-alms/18881/?oref=ng-post-author?oref=rf-post-author
Pinned
Natalie Alms
@almsnatalie.bsky.social
· Nov 12
Hi Bluesky!
I’m a reporter that covers federal agencies, especially how they deliver services like SNAP. I also cover how agencies use technology.
I’m a reporter that covers federal agencies, especially how they deliver services like SNAP. I also cover how agencies use technology.
Reposted by Natalie Alms
The budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency that upended the federal government at the start of President Donald Trump's second term has stalled out on Capitol Hill, a reality that's left conservative lawmakers fuming. https://cnn.it/4rPIfUA
February 12, 2026 at 11:30 AM
The budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency that upended the federal government at the start of President Donald Trump's second term has stalled out on Capitol Hill, a reality that's left conservative lawmakers fuming. https://cnn.it/4rPIfUA
From @jheckman.bsky.social: The Interior Department is directing all its bureaus and offices to delete non-English content from their websites by the end of the day Tuesday, according to an internal notice from its IT shop.
federalnewsnetwork.com/technology-m...
federalnewsnetwork.com/technology-m...
Interior Dept directs IT shop to ‘scrub’ non-English content from its websites | Federal News Network
A new disclaimer on Interior Department websites states “English is the official language and authoritative version of all federal information.”…
federalnewsnetwork.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:27 AM
From @jheckman.bsky.social: The Interior Department is directing all its bureaus and offices to delete non-English content from their websites by the end of the day Tuesday, according to an internal notice from its IT shop.
federalnewsnetwork.com/technology-m...
federalnewsnetwork.com/technology-m...
Reposted by Natalie Alms
A large Pride flag has been removed from a flagpole at the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan, weeks after the Department of the Interior issued federal guidance on displaying “non-agency” flags in the National Park System. nyti.ms/4aqu6G4
February 10, 2026 at 5:50 PM
A large Pride flag has been removed from a flagpole at the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan, weeks after the Department of the Interior issued federal guidance on displaying “non-agency” flags in the National Park System. nyti.ms/4aqu6G4
Reposted by Natalie Alms
A federal government MAHA website, advertised during the superbowl, is directing users to Grok to "get real answers about real food"? (Via @almsnatalie.bsky.social)
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
Trump’s nutrition website directs users to Elon Musk’s Grok
The inclusion of Elon Musk’s chatbot in the government website follows backlash over the chatbot creating millions of sexualized images of women and children.
www.nextgov.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:43 PM
A federal government MAHA website, advertised during the superbowl, is directing users to Grok to "get real answers about real food"? (Via @almsnatalie.bsky.social)
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
NEW: The government's nutrition website directs users to Grok.
After I asked about it, the site lost the name drop shown below, but users are still sent to Grok. This follows uproar over Grok's creation of millions of sexualized deepfakes of women and children.
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
After I asked about it, the site lost the name drop shown below, but users are still sent to Grok. This follows uproar over Grok's creation of millions of sexualized deepfakes of women and children.
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
February 10, 2026 at 6:28 PM
NEW: The government's nutrition website directs users to Grok.
After I asked about it, the site lost the name drop shown below, but users are still sent to Grok. This follows uproar over Grok's creation of millions of sexualized deepfakes of women and children.
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
After I asked about it, the site lost the name drop shown below, but users are still sent to Grok. This follows uproar over Grok's creation of millions of sexualized deepfakes of women and children.
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
Reposted by Natalie Alms
1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
February 9, 2026 at 12:25 PM
1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
The Social Security Administration is shifting more employees to its phone line, a move that employees say risks adding to backlogs
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
Social Security is directing employees who normally process benefits to answer phones instead
After shedding thousands of employees, SSA is reassigning workers amid fears the moves will cause backlogs to grow.
www.nextgov.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:26 PM
The Social Security Administration is shifting more employees to its phone line, a move that employees say risks adding to backlogs
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
NEW: The Trump administration is looking to hire technology employees... after it lost nearly 20,000 employees last year.
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
Agencies lost around 20,000 tech workers last year — and now the Trump admin is hiring
All six departments and agencies that lost the most IT talent currently have open job listings for such roles.
www.nextgov.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:28 PM
NEW: The Trump administration is looking to hire technology employees... after it lost nearly 20,000 employees last year.
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
www.nextgov.com/people/2026/...
Reposted by Natalie Alms
🚨BREAKING: Steve Bannon said Tuesday that the federal government is planning to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to patrol polling stations during this year’s midterm elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Steve Bannon says ICE will ‘surround the polls’ as Trump doubles down on taking over elections
Trump doubled down on his comments to nationalize voting Tuesday during an Oval Office press conference. “If you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections,” Trump sai...
www.democracydocket.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:33 PM
🚨BREAKING: Steve Bannon said Tuesday that the federal government is planning to send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to patrol polling stations during this year’s midterm elections. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Reposted by Natalie Alms
Once again, the total amount of fraud alleged so far in Minnesota's social services programs is $218 million, according to a @startribune.com analysis of court records.
www.startribune.com/trump-claims...
www.startribune.com/trump-claims...
February 2, 2026 at 9:31 PM
Once again, the total amount of fraud alleged so far in Minnesota's social services programs is $218 million, according to a @startribune.com analysis of court records.
www.startribune.com/trump-claims...
www.startribune.com/trump-claims...
Reposted by Natalie Alms
That fraud scheme in Minnesota involving Somali Americans that Trump has trumpeted? FBI agents were pulled off the case to do routine immigration work, delaying the investigation, according to this revelatory oral history by Emily Bazelon and @rachelposer.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Inside Kash Patel’s F.B.I.: Meltdowns, Chaos, Vendettas
Forty-five current and former employees on the changes they say are undermining the agency and making America less safe.
www.nytimes.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:06 AM
That fraud scheme in Minnesota involving Somali Americans that Trump has trumpeted? FBI agents were pulled off the case to do routine immigration work, delaying the investigation, according to this revelatory oral history by Emily Bazelon and @rachelposer.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Natalie Alms
Haunting photo from the Epstein files. The shadow is so small.
February 3, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Haunting photo from the Epstein files. The shadow is so small.
The U.S. has withdrawn from a multilateral initiative focused on government transparency that it helped found over a decade ago
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
US withdraws from the Open Government Partnership — which it helped create
“Anyone who has followed developments over the last year will not be surprised by this decision of the U.S. government,” the CEO of the multilateral global initiative said in a statement.
www.nextgov.com
February 2, 2026 at 8:20 PM
The U.S. has withdrawn from a multilateral initiative focused on government transparency that it helped found over a decade ago
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
One govt contractor I spoke with told me that her business - which helped govt agencies implement anti-fraud frameworks - has shuttered completely since the govt cancelled all its contracts.
January 30, 2026 at 7:03 PM
One govt contractor I spoke with told me that her business - which helped govt agencies implement anti-fraud frameworks - has shuttered completely since the govt cancelled all its contracts.
As Trump administration cries ‘fraud,’ some officials make baseless claims while others fire anti-fraud watchdogs.
It’s making the problem worse, not better, experts told me.
www.nextgov.com/policy/2026/...
It’s making the problem worse, not better, experts told me.
www.nextgov.com/policy/2026/...
As Trump administration cries ‘fraud,’ experts worry it does more harm than good
“It’s dismaying,” one longtime anti-fraud expert told Nextgov/FCW of how the administration is using fraud as rationale but firing the watchdogs that are tasked with finding it.
www.nextgov.com
January 30, 2026 at 6:31 PM
As Trump administration cries ‘fraud,’ some officials make baseless claims while others fire anti-fraud watchdogs.
It’s making the problem worse, not better, experts told me.
www.nextgov.com/policy/2026/...
It’s making the problem worse, not better, experts told me.
www.nextgov.com/policy/2026/...
The Secret Service also characterizes this as a voluntary engagement with businesses to look for skimmers, not a raid.
January 30, 2026 at 2:44 PM
The Secret Service also characterizes this as a voluntary engagement with businesses to look for skimmers, not a raid.
USDA told me that it "raided" Cleveland retailers to combat SNAP theft when I asked them for a comment.
But it turns out this was actually a Secret Service-led operation. I've updated the story.
But it turns out this was actually a Secret Service-led operation. I've updated the story.
A govt watchdog recently reported that USDA is failing to prevent $555 million in SNAP benefits from being stolen from those that need them.
This comes as the Trump admin says it’s focused on fraud.
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
This comes as the Trump admin says it’s focused on fraud.
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
Agriculture’s failure to force SNAP card upgrades is causing $555M in lost benefits, watchdog says
The Trump administration’s imperative to combat fraud has largely focused on recipients scamming the system, rather than becoming victims of fraudsters themselves.
www.nextgov.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:39 PM
USDA told me that it "raided" Cleveland retailers to combat SNAP theft when I asked them for a comment.
But it turns out this was actually a Secret Service-led operation. I've updated the story.
But it turns out this was actually a Secret Service-led operation. I've updated the story.
Reposted by Natalie Alms
Trump officials have ordered national parks to remove dozens of signs and displays related to climate change, environmental protection and settlers’ mistreatment of Native Americans.
More history exhibits pulled from national parks, including Grand Canyon
A new wave of takedown orders from Trump officials targets signs about climate and Native Americans at several national parks, including Big Bend and Glacier.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Trump officials have ordered national parks to remove dozens of signs and displays related to climate change, environmental protection and settlers’ mistreatment of Native Americans.
Reposted by Natalie Alms
Breaking Axios:
Kristi Noem's language that Alex Pretti wanted to "massacre" federal agents was dictated to Noem and her department by the man most responsible for the controversial operation: Stephen Miller.
That's according to four sources who spoke to Axios. www.axios.com/2026/01/27/t...
Kristi Noem's language that Alex Pretti wanted to "massacre" federal agents was dictated to Noem and her department by the man most responsible for the controversial operation: Stephen Miller.
That's according to four sources who spoke to Axios. www.axios.com/2026/01/27/t...
Scoop: Stephen Miller behind misleading claim that Alex Pretti wanted to "massacre" agents
The episode illustrates the sheer power of Miller, Trump's close and longest-serving political adviser
www.axios.com
January 27, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Breaking Axios:
Kristi Noem's language that Alex Pretti wanted to "massacre" federal agents was dictated to Noem and her department by the man most responsible for the controversial operation: Stephen Miller.
That's according to four sources who spoke to Axios. www.axios.com/2026/01/27/t...
Kristi Noem's language that Alex Pretti wanted to "massacre" federal agents was dictated to Noem and her department by the man most responsible for the controversial operation: Stephen Miller.
That's according to four sources who spoke to Axios. www.axios.com/2026/01/27/t...
The top Democrat and Republican on Senate Finance are asking the Social Security Administration for more info on a recent court filing that revealed that SSA doesn’t know the full extent of agency data accessed and shared by DOGE.
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
Senators demand details on DOGE’s data access following revelations of improperly shared SSA data
While Sens. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are asking for more information from SSA, Democrats in the lower chamber want to compel the agency to hand it over using a “resolution of inq...
www.nextgov.com
January 27, 2026 at 7:31 PM
The top Democrat and Republican on Senate Finance are asking the Social Security Administration for more info on a recent court filing that revealed that SSA doesn’t know the full extent of agency data accessed and shared by DOGE.
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
Reposted by Natalie Alms
Breaking MS NOW:
Trump's Justice Department has decided there will be no civil rights investigation of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, and instead two units of DHS will investigate their own officers and the man they killed.
Trump's Justice Department has decided there will be no civil rights investigation of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, and instead two units of DHS will investigate their own officers and the man they killed.
No civil rights violation probe into latest MN shooting, sources tell MS NOW
As DHS takes over the federal investigation, current and former law enforcement agents warn that Trump’s DOJ isn’t committed to facts or fairness.
www.ms.now
January 27, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Breaking MS NOW:
Trump's Justice Department has decided there will be no civil rights investigation of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, and instead two units of DHS will investigate their own officers and the man they killed.
Trump's Justice Department has decided there will be no civil rights investigation of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, and instead two units of DHS will investigate their own officers and the man they killed.
Reposted by Natalie Alms
How many STEM Ph.D.s were lost from the U.S. federal government last year?
My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive.
www.science.org/content/arti...
My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive.
www.science.org/content/arti...
January 26, 2026 at 11:39 PM
How many STEM Ph.D.s were lost from the U.S. federal government last year?
My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive.
www.science.org/content/arti...
My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive.
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Natalie Alms
A bloodbath at The Washington Post. What a terrible day for journalism.
January 26, 2026 at 7:42 PM
A bloodbath at The Washington Post. What a terrible day for journalism.
Reposted by Natalie Alms
NEW: The Transportation Department, which oversees the safety of airplanes, cars and pipelines, plans to use Google Gemini to draft new regulations.
“We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer. “We want good enough.”
By @jessecoburn.bsky.social
“We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer. “We want good enough.”
By @jessecoburn.bsky.social
Government by AI? Trump Administration Plans to Write Regulations Using Artificial Intelligence
The Transportation Department, which oversees the safety of airplanes, cars and pipelines, plans to use Google Gemini to draft new regulations. “We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer....
www.propublica.org
January 26, 2026 at 1:05 PM
NEW: The Transportation Department, which oversees the safety of airplanes, cars and pipelines, plans to use Google Gemini to draft new regulations.
“We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer. “We want good enough.”
By @jessecoburn.bsky.social
“We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer. “We want good enough.”
By @jessecoburn.bsky.social