Homeland Security spending: The department created after 9/11 has cost taxpayers more than $1 trillion, and its own auditor flagged five weak spots.
Nevada election subpoenas: The secretary of state’s office received seven voter-related federal subpoenas in three months, part of a fight over who controls elections heading into the midterms.
Illinois immigration enforcement: University researchers put a $1.26 billion price tag on lost retail and restaurant business in one county, and say the decline corresponds with federal immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security disagrees.
Missouri congressional map: The U.S. Supreme Court blocked a redrawn map that could have given Republicans an extra seat in Congress, leaving the fight unsettled with the midterms approaching.
Pennsylvania data centers: Records obtained by The Center Square show four of nine municipalities with fast-tracked data center projects had signed NDAs, and a fifth stopped responding to records requests.
The department 9/11 built has cost taxpayers about $1.4 trillion
Photo: Cameron Cox / Unsplash / Edited in Canva
What we found: Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Department of Homeland Security has cost about $1.4 trillion from 2003 through 2025, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The department was built in response to the attacks, and its own auditor found serious problems last year with the systems it uses to track its money, flagging weaknesses in five areas. Congress's watchdog agency, the Government Accountability Office, reviewed 27 major DHS purchasing programs and found 15 of the 19 with approved cost baselines had revised them, pushing projected costs up $11.4 billion, or 26%.
The stakes: The 2025 DHS budget equaled the full annual income of more than 1.2 million typical American households, said David Ditch, a budget analyst at the Cato Institute. He told The Center Square the department's cost has grown faster than inflation without a matching improvement in security.
The backstory: Before the attacks, private companies screened airline passengers, and federal rules allowed knives with blades under four inches. The response put the government in charge of screening, folded 22 agencies into one department, and grew the FBI's terrorism task forces from 34 to more than 200. Most of the money now goes to border enforcement, customs, cybersecurity, and disaster response rather than stopping terrorism, said Amy Pate, a terrorism researcher at the University of Maryland.
Where it stands: DHS calls the spending an investment in national security. The department has not closed any of the five recommendations it accepted for fixing its financial systems.
3 States
Nevada: The Nevada Secretary of State's Office confirmed to The Center Square it received seven voter-related Justice Department subpoenas from the FBI over three months and cannot provide further information. Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar said the federal administration is inundating election offices with investigations and questions ahead of the election, and making sweeping claims of election fraud to the public before any investigation is done. The group All Voting is Local called the subpoenas an escalation in the Trump administration's efforts to control state-run elections. The White House did not respond to The Center Square by publication time. Trump has also called for new restrictions on mail-in ballots, which would reach every state that runs its own elections.
Illinois: Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago's Great Cities Institute found heightened federal immigration enforcement since January 2025 corresponded with about $1.26 billion in foregone retail and restaurant activity in Cook County, with retail trips from heavily Latin American neighborhoods down about 9%. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the same period corresponded with $107 million in forgone sales tax revenue. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson disputed any link between illegal immigration and a strong economy, and said nearly 70% of Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests nationwide involve people charged with or convicted of a crime in the U.S.
Missouri: The U.S. Supreme Court blocked Missouri's redrawn congressional map, which could have given Republicans a 7-1 edge in the state's delegation instead of the 6-2 edge under the map adopted in 2022. Justice Brett Kavanaugh invited those involved to petition the court, but the justices have already scheduled arguments through the rest of the calendar year, and the case likely will not be resolved by then. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins argued that changing the map after the primary would be extraordinarily burdensome. Missouri held a primary using the new lines, so candidates will likely run in altered districts in November.
2 Issues
Data centers: Public records requests by The Center Square to 30 Pennsylvania municipalities found officials or staff in four of nine hosting fast-tracked data center projects had signed non-disclosure agreements, and a fifth township stopped responding to requests. Gov. Josh Shapiro removed data centers from his fast-track permitting program on Aug. 18 and barred the agreements at state agencies. Still, his administration would not say what that means for municipalities. Chad Schnee, a former assistant chief counsel at the state Office of Open Records, told The Center Square the agreements are not legally enforceable, and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, opened a national investigation into data center secrecy agreements in March.
Education: The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce expanded its test score investigation after Columbus City Schools self-reported irregularities at two high schools and invalidated those results. A statewide review by the state's testing vendor flagged anomalies at 52 additional buildings, including schools in the Cincinnati and Cleveland districts. The state has not said what the anomalies were, and Cincinnati Public Schools said its school was flagged because of statistical patterns, not allegations of misconduct.
1 Number
$5,000
President Donald Trump proposed a $5,000 “Trump Dividend” for every eligible American adult if Republicans maintain control of the U.S. House and Senate after the midterm elections. The Center Square estimated the plan would cost about $1.3 trillion, compared with an annual federal budget of about $7 trillion.
LA Opera took $27 million in taxpayer grants
The Center Square found the Los Angeles Opera reported receiving more than $27 million in government grants over the past decade while spending roughly $33 million on executive compensation. More than $7 million went to music director James Conlon, on top of approved housing and first-class travel benefits.
Brian Montgomery, former White House aide to President George W. Bush
Montgomery was with President George W. Bush in Sarasota, Florida, on Sept. 11, 2001. He told The Center Square he watched United Airlines Flight 175 strike the South Tower on a television in a holding room near the classroom where Bush was reading with students. His account illuminates how the federal response took shape in the first hour.
Should a state child welfare agency be allowed to track a child's cell phone location without a warrant?
Records obtained by The Center Square show Georgia's Department of Human Services spent at least $639,000 over two years on police-grade tools that track cell phones and scan the dark web, which the agency indicates it uses to recover runaway foster children from traffickers. A legislative counsel opinion found no express statutory authorization for its child welfare division to exercise police powers.
Enjoy the Weekly Brief?
If this newsletter helps you stay informed, share it with someone who'd appreciate it too. The best way to support our journalism is to spread the word.
First time reading? Subscribe here.