Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 21hGAO: **11 pages of legal reasoning as to what changed in the law since the '70s leading it to reverse itself** Vought: **Snarky tweet** 120
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 29/09/2026"DOGE: Congress and the Public Lack Assurance That Systems and Data Were Protected at Multiple Agencies." Oh.gao.govU.S. GAO - DOGE: Congress and the Public Lack Assurance That Systems and Data Were Protected at Multiple AgenciesAn executive order required federal agencies to establish Department of Government Efficiency teams to implement the administration's goals. We... 110
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 17/09/2026I think it's bad when the President breaks the law. 041
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 15/09/2026via Politico: "OUT AND ABOUT — Town & Country magazine celebrated its 180th anniversary last night at Library Bar inside Ned’s Club. Guests enjoyed passed hors d’oeuvres by the chef Joshua Smith — including steak tartare croutons, lobster rolls and limoncello cheesecake." 000
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 02/09/2026Just realized that the #DCBikeRide is scheduled for Rosh Hashannah morning. Really? In the year 5787 we're still forgetting that this could be a conflict?? 🚲😢 030
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 06/08/2026My favorite anecdote in the GAO report: DOGE claimed $28 billion in savings from narrowing an Air Force contract, but then the Air Force just waited a few months and awarded a $27.4 billion no-bid contract to the same contractor to perform the same work that had been "descoped." 0115
Reposted by Joshua SmithPam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Absolutely brutal takedown. "For grants, DOGE did not provide sufficient information to verify the method used to calculate 96 percent of DOGE-reported savings. Similarly, the Wall of Receipts does not include an explanation of how the savings from terminated leases were calculated." 03016
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 06/08/2026The Government Accountability Office, the actual professionals trying to root our government waste, is out with a 52-page report cataloging methodological errors and data limitations with DOGE's "Wall of Receipts." (I bet this was fun for them to write.)gao.govU.S. GAO - DOGE Wall of Receipts: More Transparency Needed on How Savings Are Derived from Contract, Grant, and Lease TerminationsThe President established the Department of Government Efficiency to transform federal spending. DOGE instructed agencies to review federal contracts... 10511182
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 05/08/2026Another $1.4 billion for armed federal troops to patrol out city and yet they've had "no measurable effect on violent crime."niskanencenter.orgWashington, D.C.’s crime decline and its lessons for American policing - Niskanen CenterWashington, D.C., offers a rare opportunity to study how police departments throughout the country might, and in fact must, do more with less. 031
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 23/07/2026Fun fact! The “SAVE” part of the SAVE America Act stands for “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility,” so the bill is called the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility America Act.” 040
Reposted by Joshua SmithSenate Budget Committee @senatebudget.bsky.social · 23/07/2026NEW: @senatebudget.bsky.social analysis finds Trump's ICE and CBP are flush with more than $152 BILLION after the passage of Republicans' second partisan funding bill. All while American families struggle just to get by with no help from Trump. www.budget.senate.gov/ranking-memb...budget.senate.govICE, CBP Now Sitting on $152 Billion After Republican Funding Bills | U.S. Senate Committee On The BudgetThe Official U.S. Senate Committee On The Budget 2810
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 16/07/2026500,000 (!!!!) formal comments to this rule have been submitted to the Federal Register. Insane. (And well deserved.) 030
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 14/07/2026👎 I, for one, would not like the sun to rise at *8:27 a.m.* in the dead of winter here in DC. 030
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 14/07/2026Somone is taking the France loss hard. (Don't worry, Senator! Spain and England are still in it!) 000
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 13/07/2026“The proposal in question comes, not surprisingly, out of the Office of Management and Budget, headed by Russell Vought, the architect of Project 2025.” 021
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 11/07/2026“The center said in its statement that it had confirmed with the Office of Management and Budget that, as an independent entity, it was not bound by federal contracting regulations.” Yeah man I checked with the arsonist and he said it’s cool to light ‘er upnytimes.comWhistle-Blowers Accuse Kennedy Center of Contracting Flaws Under TrumpDocuments submitted to Congress detailed concerns about competitive bidding processes and a White House order to tear up new bathroom tile because of its color. 051
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 06/07/2026Texted this on the group chat literally two days ago. Ah well nevertheless 020
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 06/07/2026Et tu, official MLB app? Somewhere Pete Rose is laughing his ass off 030
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 02/07/2026There are fences *everywhere* blocking movement and they all say "FREEDOM" 1226
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 02/07/2026Went down to the Great American State Fair. My personal highlight might have been this Madison cosplayer arguing before literally ones of people that we’re a republic and not a democracy. 1251020226
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 20/06/2026Great op-ed in the Times today about serendipitous scientific discoveries. I think about this every time a certain Senator pretends we could balance the budget if only we would stop funding experiments where we give quails cocaine.nytimes.comOpinion | The Science That Turned Lizard Venom Into GLP-1s Is Under Attack 1133
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 19/06/2026And his company is called “Greenwater Services”?!?? Stop it. This is too much. 061
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 15/06/2026“Note: To activate the account, you enter willingly into an agreement with Robinhood Securities, LLC, which serves as the trustee for Trump Accounts.” 🇺🇸 011
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 15/06/2026He really is the luckiest man to have ever lived 240
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 09/06/2026I added it up for all the other sickos out there: The Senate has endured 2 days, 18 hours, and 12 minutes of vote-a-rama this Congress. 051
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 07/06/2026Idly reminiscing about this dumb take from one Mr. Nick Bilton.nytimes.comFare Thee Well, My Pen (Published 2014) 010
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 31/05/2026Now the Post is spinning off the weather guys? What are we doing here.washingtonpost.comA new chapter for the Capital Weather GangCWG is returning to its independent roots as Capital Weather, at capitalweather.com. 134
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 29/05/2026The WSJ sent a push notification on this, I guess sending subscribers to their fainting couches? Oh no not my passive income being taxed, though at rates much lower than earned income!wsj.comYou Won the Battle on Investment Fees. You’re Losing the War Against Taxes.New research shows that federal taxes eat up more than a third of investors’ wealth over time. 330
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 27/05/2026I find it strange the things that backbench members of Congress do to humiliate themselves in order to win re-election when it seems that former members are having a much better time.tmz.comRep. Thomas Massie Vacationing with Marjorie Taylor Greene in Costa RicaWelcome to President Trump's worst nightmare ... Rep. Thomas Massie shaking off his primary defeat by letting loose in the sand with fellow Trump-nemesis -- one Marjorie Taylor Greene. 140
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 21/05/2026This is an excellent column about how the Senate has evolved in the last ~ decade.nytimes.comG.O.P. Twists a Budget Weapon to Beat a Democratic Filibuster 110
Reposted by Joshua SmithBobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 21/05/2026New from @senatebudget.bsky.social : as of the end of April, ICE and CBP still have $100 billion left over and completely unused from the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Congressional Republicans are in the midst of trying to provide another $69 billion to ICE and CBP despite this. 14471214
Reposted by Joshua SmithSenate Budget Committee @senatebudget.bsky.social · 21/05/2026🚨🚨NEW DATA from @SenateBudget: Republicans are moving to give ICE and Border Patrol $70 BILLION, but the agencies are already sitting on $100 BILLION. All while families are struggling to afford the basics. www.budget.senate.gov/ranking-memb...budget.senate.govAs Senate Republicans Move to Give ICE, CBP $70 Billion, Agencies Are Sitting on $100 Billion from Previous Reconciliation Bill | U.S. Senate Committee On The BudgetThe Official U.S. Senate Committee On The Budget 23723
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 19/05/2026I feel like someone once got a lot of heat for saying "Well, when the President does it, that means that it is not illegal," but I suppose that train has sailed.politico.comJustice Department expands Trump settlement to cover his tax auditsActing Attorney General Todd Blanche signed a broadly worded addendum that appears to end the president’s long-running disputes with the IRS. 230
Reposted by Joshua SmithSenate Budget Committee @senatebudget.bsky.social · 15/05/2026🚨🚨HUGE UPDATE: Senate Democrats forced Republicans to rewrite parts of their ICE and Border Patrol funding bill to add critical protections for children in DHS custody. It’s a win for the rule of law as Democrats continue fighting every provision in this harmful legislation. 54517
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 15/05/2026Team Waste, Fraud, and Abuse strikes againnytimes.comTrump’s Push to Keep Coal Plants Open Is Costing Hundreds of Millions 042
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 10/05/2026It sucks how we’ll all have to live with his shitty decisions well after he’s gone. “Hains Point, the tip of the peninsula popular with early-morning birdwatchers and weekend barbecuers, would be incorporated into the new course and seemingly inaccessible to anyone not playing golf.”washingtonpost.comThose who love this D.C. park fear Trump’s golf proposal will push them outA high-end course that the president’s top fundraiser has proposed for East Potomac Park could sharply limit access for birding, fishing and cycling. 073
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 08/05/2026There is no greater indignity than when your cell phone carrier sneakily changes its pricing structure, raises your rates, hopes you don't notice, and then forces you to argue with a chatbot to switch plans just to get back to what you already had but at the old rate. Enshittification personified. 030
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 07/05/2026This is the most relatable thing a professional athlete has done since LeBron missed time with sciatica pain 020
Joshua Smith @smithmachine.bsky.social · 04/05/2026AI is good now 🤖langui.shTen Years of Frinkiac 000
