Joe Davidson

Washington, D.C.

Columnist focusing on federal government issues

Education: University of Michigan, master's in public policy; Oakland University, bachelor's in social science and education

Joe Davidson writes the Federal Insider, formerly the Federal Diary, a Washington Post column on the federal government. For 13 years he was a Washington and foreign correspondent with the Wall Street Journal. Before joining The Post as an assistant city editor in 2005, he was an editor with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. He is a founding board member of the National Association of Black Journalists and is in its Hall of Fame. At The Wall Street Journal, Davidson covered a broad range of domestic issues and agencies, including health, education and the Justice Department
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Latest from Joe Davidson

Unions scorn Biden’s 2 percent raise for feds as ‘mystifying’ setback

Federal workers are disappointed with President Biden's 2 percent pay raise proposal, which is below inflation and military pay hikes.

September 6, 2024
President Joe Biden returns to the White House after attending a campaign event in Maryland on Aug. 15.

Both Harris, Trump late on transition plans despite mammoth tasks ahead

Only within the last two weeks have the campaigns of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former president Donald Trump named the leaders of their transition teams.

August 30, 2024
Time is critical for Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, with Election Day just a little more than two months away.

CBP agrees to pay $45 million to settle pregnancy discrimination case

Customs and Border Protection’s settlement addresses pregnancy discrimination, policy changes and training for managers that could improve the agency’s culture.

August 23, 2024
Customs and Border Protection officers in Laredo, Tex., in January 2022.

Good-government group pushes a better government agenda for candidates

The Partnership for Public Service lists federal employment issues, bettering government IT and providing “customer-friendly services” among needed improvements.

August 16, 2024

Trump’s second-term agenda plans a purge of the federal workforce

Trump’s platform calls for firing “rogue bureaucrats.” He and a think tank want to limit civil service protections, allowing in more political appointees.

July 26, 2024
A campaign proposal put forth by Republican president nominee Donald Trump, seen Wednesday in Charlotte, would reinstate a category of federal workers he created late in his first administration that would make those employees easier to fire.

Congress passes bill to impose strict scrutiny on embattled prison agency

With strong bipartisan support, Congress approved legislation imposing a Bureau of Prisons inspection regime and creating an ombudsman to field complaints.

July 19, 2024
“They always say sunlight is the best disinfectant. So, it will allow transparency as well as accountability,” says Matthew Charles, a former federal prisoner and current senior policy adviser with Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

Tax-funded youth treatment centers are ‘warehouses of neglect,’ report finds

A Senate report says youth in residential treatment facilities too often suffer physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, while operators profit from tax dollars.

July 12, 2024
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, in 2021.

IRS apology in Trump-related case reveals agency’s shoddy tax security

A lawsuit by billionaire Kenneth Griffin, whose tax records were leaked, led to an IRS apology to more than 80,000 people and businesses who also were affected.

July 5, 2024

Garland says rising threats against civil servants endanger democracy

Increasing threats to public servants represent a deeper threat to a functioning democracy, Attorney General Merrick Garland has recently said.

June 28, 2024
Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies at a House Judiciary Committee hearing June 4. “Our democracy cannot continue if the people who make the democracy run are afraid, if they make their decisions based on fear of being threatened or of being assaulted,” he said.

Feds well-positioned to provide slavery reparations, Harvard study finds

New research shows there is “a moral case, societal norm, and governmental precedent for paying reparations” to Black Americans for continuing harms resulting in the racial wealth gap.

June 21, 2024
President Biden and Vice President Harris host a Juneteenth concert on the South Lawn of the White House on June 10.