Orion Donovan Smith
@orionds.bsky.social
Baltimore resident and DC reporter covering the other Washington for The Spokesman-Review in Spokane. Member of the Standing Committee of Correspondents, Regional Reporters Association board member, Report for America alum, amateur bike mechanic.
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
'We are alive:' federal workers get hugs, validation in fraught period of shutdown and layoffs
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/03/w...
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/03/w...
‘We are alive:’ federal workers get hugs, validation in fraught period of shutdown and layoffs
WASHINGTON — The poem about vulnerability and persistence was hitting its mark. It could hardly have found a more appropriate audience. “We are alive and we are trying,” Drew Tye Ruby-Howe recited…
www.baltimoresun.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:44 PM
'We are alive:' federal workers get hugs, validation in fraught period of shutdown and layoffs
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/03/w...
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/10/03/w...
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
Some news:
The Trump administration notified some AmeriCorps programs this week it was reinstating funding that had been abruptly terminated in April, a sudden about-face that came with no explanation for the reversal or clarity on its scope.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/17/n...
The Trump administration notified some AmeriCorps programs this week it was reinstating funding that had been abruptly terminated in April, a sudden about-face that came with no explanation for the reversal or clarity on its scope.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/17/n...
Months after widespread cuts, some AmeriCorps programs receive sudden notice of reinstatement - The Boston Globe
The sudden about-face came with no explanation for the reversal or clarity on its scope.
www.bostonglobe.com
July 17, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Some news:
The Trump administration notified some AmeriCorps programs this week it was reinstating funding that had been abruptly terminated in April, a sudden about-face that came with no explanation for the reversal or clarity on its scope.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/17/n...
The Trump administration notified some AmeriCorps programs this week it was reinstating funding that had been abruptly terminated in April, a sudden about-face that came with no explanation for the reversal or clarity on its scope.
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/07/17/n...
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
Senate version of the "big, beautiful bill" would raise the debt limit by $5 trillion, a $1 trillion increase over the $4 trillion included in the House version
www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-ne...
www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-ne...
June 16, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Senate version of the "big, beautiful bill" would raise the debt limit by $5 trillion, a $1 trillion increase over the $4 trillion included in the House version
www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-ne...
www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-ne...
Last week, before Trump ordered ICE to stop targeting farmworkers (as the NYT and others have reported), I talked to several GOP lawmakers about the open secret that U.S. relies heavily on unauthorized migrant workers.
Could Congress finally reform immigration law for them?
Could Congress finally reform immigration law for them?
Republicans in Congress urge Trump to target criminals, not farmworkers, as ICE arrests increase
WASHINGTON – Amid a recent surge in arrests of immigrants allegedly living in the country illegally, some raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have drawn quiet concern from Republicans in...
www.spokesman.com
June 16, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Last week, before Trump ordered ICE to stop targeting farmworkers (as the NYT and others have reported), I talked to several GOP lawmakers about the open secret that U.S. relies heavily on unauthorized migrant workers.
Could Congress finally reform immigration law for them?
Could Congress finally reform immigration law for them?
There's plenty of troubling-to-horrifying stuff going on in the world these days, but this @kashhill.bsky.social story stands out.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/t...
June 13, 2025 at 2:00 PM
There's plenty of troubling-to-horrifying stuff going on in the world these days, but this @kashhill.bsky.social story stands out.
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/t...
President Trump wants to boost U.S. mining, commercial fishing and oil/gas drilling. But his administration has closed a Spokane office responsible for protecting workers' safety in those same industries.
I spoke with researchers at NIOSH's Spokane Research Lab whose jobs are in jeopardy.
I spoke with researchers at NIOSH's Spokane Research Lab whose jobs are in jeopardy.
As Trump administration aims to boost mining, drilling and fishing, Spokane office dedicated to workers' safety remains in jeopardy
WASHINGTON – Among the more than 150 executive actions President Donald Trump has taken since assuming office in January are orders that aim to boost oil and gas drilling, mining and commercial fishin...
www.spokesman.com
June 10, 2025 at 12:37 PM
President Trump wants to boost U.S. mining, commercial fishing and oil/gas drilling. But his administration has closed a Spokane office responsible for protecting workers' safety in those same industries.
I spoke with researchers at NIOSH's Spokane Research Lab whose jobs are in jeopardy.
I spoke with researchers at NIOSH's Spokane Research Lab whose jobs are in jeopardy.
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
A music and art festival nestled in an Appalachian river valley wouldn‘t immediately seem like a place where DOGE would be top of mind.
But when I went, I indeed found a community that feels like DOGE is closing in all around.
My dispatch:
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/09/n...
But when I went, I indeed found a community that feels like DOGE is closing in all around.
My dispatch:
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/09/n...
‘It’s all connected’: In Appalachia, a bustling community struggles under the weight of mounting DOGE cuts - The Boston Globe
The omnipresence of concern illustrated how President Trump’s dramatic efforts to downsize the federal government through DOGE are reverberating around the country.
www.bostonglobe.com
May 9, 2025 at 1:54 PM
A music and art festival nestled in an Appalachian river valley wouldn‘t immediately seem like a place where DOGE would be top of mind.
But when I went, I indeed found a community that feels like DOGE is closing in all around.
My dispatch:
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/09/n...
But when I went, I indeed found a community that feels like DOGE is closing in all around.
My dispatch:
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/09/n...
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
A Prince George's County community is on edge after Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported from that Maryland county.
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/04/19/a...
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/04/19/a...
A Prince George’s County community is on edge after Abrego Garcia deported
Five weeks after Kilmar Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to an El Salvador prison, an immigrant community in Prince George’s County is on edge.
www.baltimoresun.com
April 19, 2025 at 1:26 PM
A Prince George's County community is on edge after Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported from that Maryland county.
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/04/19/a...
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/04/19/a...
I'm proud and grateful to work for The Spokesman-Review, a local news outlet with both an illustrious past (second-worst paper in America, per Harry Truman) and a bright future.
They also continue to pay me, even though I'm so bad at social media that I'm posting this a day late.
They also continue to pay me, even though I'm so bad at social media that I'm posting this a day late.
Cowles family plans to donate The Spokesman-Review to local nonprofit
The Cowles family intends to donate The Spokesman-Review to a recently formed Spokane-based community nonprofit organization that plans to continue publishing the newspaper amid the changes and challe...
www.spokesman.com
April 16, 2025 at 9:56 PM
I'm proud and grateful to work for The Spokesman-Review, a local news outlet with both an illustrious past (second-worst paper in America, per Harry Truman) and a bright future.
They also continue to pay me, even though I'm so bad at social media that I'm posting this a day late.
They also continue to pay me, even though I'm so bad at social media that I'm posting this a day late.
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
🧵 1/6 I spoke w/ former State Department folks and foreign policy aids who raised concerns about the Leahy Law being violated with the State Department paying El Salvador $6 million for a year to detain roughly 300 men the U.S. removed.
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-h...
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-h...
U.S. human rights law likely violated in $6M payment for El Salvador prison, experts say
WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department is paying El Salvador $6 million to house hundreds of immigrants deported from the United States in an immense and brutal prison there, Centro de Confinamiento d...
www.newsfromthestates.com
April 14, 2025 at 2:48 PM
🧵 1/6 I spoke w/ former State Department folks and foreign policy aids who raised concerns about the Leahy Law being violated with the State Department paying El Salvador $6 million for a year to detain roughly 300 men the U.S. removed.
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-h...
www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-h...
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
“Oakland…fine me.”
Mariners broadcast some gangsters! 😎
Mariners broadcast some gangsters! 😎
March 28, 2025 at 4:18 AM
“Oakland…fine me.”
Mariners broadcast some gangsters! 😎
Mariners broadcast some gangsters! 😎
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
Still got it! In full uniform, Ichiro Suzuki throws an 84 mph first pitch for the Mariners' #OpeningDay.
March 28, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Still got it! In full uniform, Ichiro Suzuki throws an 84 mph first pitch for the Mariners' #OpeningDay.
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
If successful in their races, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee would be taking on roles with little similarity to their time in Congress — and the likelihood that they will be blamed for anything that goes wrong, even if it isn’t directly their responsibility or fault www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...
Katie Porter and Barbara Lee are running for executive roles. Did Congress prepare them?
If successful in their races, Porter and Lee would be taking on roles with little similarity to their time in Congress.
www.sfchronicle.com
March 25, 2025 at 2:08 PM
If successful in their races, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee would be taking on roles with little similarity to their time in Congress — and the likelihood that they will be blamed for anything that goes wrong, even if it isn’t directly their responsibility or fault www.sfchronicle.com/politics/art...
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
In 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on Yemen in a Signal group--and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.
www.theatlantic.com
March 24, 2025 at 4:11 PM
In 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on Yemen in a Signal group--and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
This story can be republished under a Creative Commons license thanks to the support of The Spokesman-Review's subscribers and donations from the Spokane community.
We're the smallest paper in the country with a reporter in DC, yet my editors were quick to send me to Chicago for this story.
We're the smallest paper in the country with a reporter in DC, yet my editors were quick to send me to Chicago for this story.
I talked with several of the roughly 1,700 VA employees who were fired in February, supposedly to improve efficiency, and are now being paid not to work as court cases play out.
They include an HVAC technician who likely saved taxpayers >$10 million and a pharmacy worker who helped save $775k.
They include an HVAC technician who likely saved taxpayers >$10 million and a pharmacy worker who helped save $775k.
They were fired in the name of efficiency based on 'a lie.' Now the VA is paying them not to work
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. – The night before Valentine’s Day, Ricky Noschese and his wife Laurie left their jobs at a military and veterans hospital and stopped to pick up a heart-shaped chocolate cake to s...
www.spokesman.com
March 24, 2025 at 1:32 PM
This story can be republished under a Creative Commons license thanks to the support of The Spokesman-Review's subscribers and donations from the Spokane community.
We're the smallest paper in the country with a reporter in DC, yet my editors were quick to send me to Chicago for this story.
We're the smallest paper in the country with a reporter in DC, yet my editors were quick to send me to Chicago for this story.
I talked with several of the roughly 1,700 VA employees who were fired in February, supposedly to improve efficiency, and are now being paid not to work as court cases play out.
They include an HVAC technician who likely saved taxpayers >$10 million and a pharmacy worker who helped save $775k.
They include an HVAC technician who likely saved taxpayers >$10 million and a pharmacy worker who helped save $775k.
They were fired in the name of efficiency based on 'a lie.' Now the VA is paying them not to work
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. – The night before Valentine’s Day, Ricky Noschese and his wife Laurie left their jobs at a military and veterans hospital and stopped to pick up a heart-shaped chocolate cake to s...
www.spokesman.com
March 23, 2025 at 5:49 PM
I talked with several of the roughly 1,700 VA employees who were fired in February, supposedly to improve efficiency, and are now being paid not to work as court cases play out.
They include an HVAC technician who likely saved taxpayers >$10 million and a pharmacy worker who helped save $775k.
They include an HVAC technician who likely saved taxpayers >$10 million and a pharmacy worker who helped save $775k.
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
My latest for the @ajc.com: A deep dive into the campaign spending of former U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, who after announcing his retirement kept up a busy scheduled that included high-end hotels, thousands of dollars in flights and even concert tickets. (w/ Phoebe Quinton)
www.ajc.com/politics/on-...
www.ajc.com/politics/on-...
Former US Rep. Drew Ferguson's campaign donation spending raises questions
Despite being the only member of Georgia’s U.S. House delegation not on the 2024 ballot, Ferguson outspent almost a third of his colleagues after his retirement announcement.
www.ajc.com
March 14, 2025 at 4:40 PM
My latest for the @ajc.com: A deep dive into the campaign spending of former U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, who after announcing his retirement kept up a busy scheduled that included high-end hotels, thousands of dollars in flights and even concert tickets. (w/ Phoebe Quinton)
www.ajc.com/politics/on-...
www.ajc.com/politics/on-...
Ken Kizer, who led a transformation of VA health care in the late ‘90s, told me that the department’s plan to cut >80k jobs is “back-asswards” and doing it while accelerating the Oracle EHR rollout is “lunacy.”
Trump administration to cut more than 80,000 jobs at Department of Veterans Affairs, internal memo says
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to cut more than 80,000 jobs in the next six months as part of the Trump administration's effort to dramatically downsize the federal workforce, a...
www.spokesman.com
March 6, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Ken Kizer, who led a transformation of VA health care in the late ‘90s, told me that the department’s plan to cut >80k jobs is “back-asswards” and doing it while accelerating the Oracle EHR rollout is “lunacy.”
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
Kind of incredible that, btwn Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett, the Seahawks had arguably the two most underrated receivers of their respective generations.
Feel fortunate to have watched both for so long.
Feel fortunate to have watched both for so long.
March 5, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Kind of incredible that, btwn Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett, the Seahawks had arguably the two most underrated receivers of their respective generations.
Feel fortunate to have watched both for so long.
Feel fortunate to have watched both for so long.
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
Behind the scenes of the state Supreme Court race, a 'turf war' simmers between Wisconsin GOP and Turning Point
"There’s a war. It’s a quiet war. Nobody’s really paying attention to the war. But there’s a war going on."
www.jsonline.com/story/news/p...
"There’s a war. It’s a quiet war. Nobody’s really paying attention to the war. But there’s a war going on."
www.jsonline.com/story/news/p...
Behind the scenes of the Supreme Court race, a 'turf war' simmers between Wisconsin GOP and Turning Point
Behind the scenes of a tough race for Wisconsin Supreme Court, a turf battle is playing out in the GOP as the group Turning Point seeks influence.
www.jsonline.com
February 24, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Behind the scenes of the state Supreme Court race, a 'turf war' simmers between Wisconsin GOP and Turning Point
"There’s a war. It’s a quiet war. Nobody’s really paying attention to the war. But there’s a war going on."
www.jsonline.com/story/news/p...
"There’s a war. It’s a quiet war. Nobody’s really paying attention to the war. But there’s a war going on."
www.jsonline.com/story/news/p...
“It has to come from [Republicans], b/c when Democrats speak in this environment, it’s like the teacher on the old Charlie Brown cartoon,” a WSU regent and wheat grower said.“No one’s listening. It’s got to be brave Republicans that want to act in the public interest."
@amandasullender.bsky.social
@amandasullender.bsky.social
A federal 'clown show': WSU board of regents warns of cuts to research amid Trump federal grant chaos
Washington State University administrators are warning of funding cuts to research amid fallout from the Trump administration’s crackdown on federal grants.
www.spokesman.com
February 18, 2025 at 8:42 PM
“It has to come from [Republicans], b/c when Democrats speak in this environment, it’s like the teacher on the old Charlie Brown cartoon,” a WSU regent and wheat grower said.“No one’s listening. It’s got to be brave Republicans that want to act in the public interest."
@amandasullender.bsky.social
@amandasullender.bsky.social
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
Five years ago, Collin Martin's teammates walked off the pitch to protest a gay slur directed at him. Few other male athletes have come out since, and he holds tightly to that scene as proof of what is possible. Here’s what’s happened with him since then:
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/01/31/a...
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/01/31/a...
Activist Maryland soccer player who faced gay slur battles hidden barriers
For professional soccer player Collin Martin, a homophobic taunt remains a guidepost pointing him toward a core mission: trying to battle unseen cultural barriers preventing other male athletes fro…
www.baltimoresun.com
January 31, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Five years ago, Collin Martin's teammates walked off the pitch to protest a gay slur directed at him. Few other male athletes have come out since, and he holds tightly to that scene as proof of what is possible. Here’s what’s happened with him since then:
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/01/31/a...
www.baltimoresun.com/2025/01/31/a...
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
“I think it’s harmful to transparency and it’s also going to impact the accountability of government officials. You’re less likely to be able to hold people accountable if you don’t have truly nonpartisan, independent IG offices.” www.spokesman.com/stories/2025... via @orionds.bsky.social
Chief VA watchdog who helped expose flawed computer system in Spokane speaks out after being fired by Trump
WASHINGTON – A year after the Inland Northwest became the testing ground for a new computer system that promised to revolutionize veterans’ health care, leaders at the Department of Veterans Affairs h...
www.spokesman.com
January 31, 2025 at 2:51 PM
“I think it’s harmful to transparency and it’s also going to impact the accountability of government officials. You’re less likely to be able to hold people accountable if you don’t have truly nonpartisan, independent IG offices.” www.spokesman.com/stories/2025... via @orionds.bsky.social
Reposted by Orion Donovan Smith
The FAA people-with-disabilities program President Trump has blamed for the crash - with no evidence, with no investigation, and despite the fact that two air-traffic controllers were having to do the job of four - started under President Trump www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Analysis | Trump launched air controller diversity program that he now decries
At a news conference, Trump read a list of conditions he called disqualifying, but his administration started such hiring in 2019.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 31, 2025 at 2:22 PM
The FAA people-with-disabilities program President Trump has blamed for the crash - with no evidence, with no investigation, and despite the fact that two air-traffic controllers were having to do the job of four - started under President Trump www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
I spoke with former VA IG Mike Missal after he was fired by Trump a week ago along with the IGs at 17 other agencies.
The dis-Missal (sorry) came after he led investigations that ID'd $37.6 billion in savings and exposed patient harm related to the new EHR, likely averting more harm to veterans.
The dis-Missal (sorry) came after he led investigations that ID'd $37.6 billion in savings and exposed patient harm related to the new EHR, likely averting more harm to veterans.
Chief VA watchdog who helped expose flawed computer system in Spokane speaks out after being fired by Trump
WASHINGTON – A year after the Inland Northwest became the testing ground for a new computer system that promised to revolutionize veterans’ health care, leaders at the Department of Veterans Affairs h...
www.spokesman.com
January 31, 2025 at 2:15 PM
I spoke with former VA IG Mike Missal after he was fired by Trump a week ago along with the IGs at 17 other agencies.
The dis-Missal (sorry) came after he led investigations that ID'd $37.6 billion in savings and exposed patient harm related to the new EHR, likely averting more harm to veterans.
The dis-Missal (sorry) came after he led investigations that ID'd $37.6 billion in savings and exposed patient harm related to the new EHR, likely averting more harm to veterans.