Donald F. Kettl, GOVERNING Journalist Profile

Articles

Washington State to Remove Cap on Special Ed Funding

4 weeks ago | governing.com | Carl Smith |Donald F. Kettl

On a 97-0 vote, the House amended, then passed Senate Bill 5263 on Wednesday to put Washington, for the first time, on a course to fully fund special education in its public schools. It also adjusted two other funding levers in the bill to drive more dollars for special education to the state’s 295 school districts. All told, roughly $870 million more will be sent out over the next two budgets. That sum is a compromise with the Senate, which wanted to spend closer to $2 billion.
Chicago Police Could Impose Teen Curfews Anytime Under Proposal

4 weeks ago | governing.com | Carl Smith |Donald F. Kettl |Girard Miller

Ald. Brian Hopkins texted some of his colleagues Wednesday morning that he would no longer try to force a City Council vote on an 8 p.m. curfew downtown after a series of so-called “teen takeover” gatherings ended in violence in his ward. His decision averted what was expected to be a council showdown over how to address chaotic gatherings during the summer.
FEMA: The Federal Agency We Don’t Like Until We Need It

4 weeks ago | governing.com | Donald F. Kettl |Carl Smith

Trump himself had claimed three months earlier that “they’re being treated very badly in the Republican areas … They’re not getting water, they’re not getting anything,” he charged. So when he came to North Carolina early in his presidency, he said he was considering “getting rid” of FEMA. “I’d like to see the states take care of disasters,” Trump proposed.
Washington’s War on Local Government

1 month ago | governing.com | Carl Smith |Donald F. Kettl

One of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) first acts was to freeze funding for grants and contracts that had already been awarded to local governments. Local government officials are lobbying Congress to head off attacks on the tax-exempt status of most municipal debt, which would lead to an upheaval in how those governments build schools, roads and other essential infrastructure.
The DOGE-acolypse

2 months ago | govexec.com | Donald F. Kettl

As we re-enter the theater, the curtain on Act 1 of The DOGE-acolypse has just fallen, following a shouting match between cabinet secretaries and the head of DOGEworld, Elon Musk. It was a surprising ending to an act of our play that began, just seven weeks ago, with a fevered debate about whether President Trump would be able to win Senate confirmation of cabinet nominees like Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as well as FBI Director Kash Patel.
Whatever Happened to Federalism?

2 months ago | governing.com | Donald F. Kettl |Zina Hutton

In 1969, President Nixon told the nation in his inaugural address that the country needed to transfer its wealth from war “to the urgent needs of our people at home.” That meant “decision-making must be returned to the regions and locales where the problems exist.” The elixir was combining programs into blocks and giving state and local officials far more power to decide where the money ought to go.
The DOGE risk to fighting waste

2 months ago | govexec.com | Donald F. Kettl

There are at least two things that everyone around the country agrees on: there’s waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government—and that we ought to do everything we can to root it out. And in rooting it out, there are two more things we can agree on. The war on unholy “waste, fraud, abuse” trio has been around for a very long time.
Republicans Face Pushback on Potential Medicaid Overhaul

Feb 13, 2025 | governing.com | Alan Greenblatt |Donald F. Kettl |Jared Brey |Carl Smith

Among those obstacles: public opinion, members of their own party in competitive districts, governors who worry about impacts to their state budgets, a closely divided Senate, and maybe one of the most formidable: hospitals and health care providers that carry significant influence in Washington. While House Republicans and some governors are coalescing around “work requirements” in Medicaid as a way to save money, more significant cuts — and more politically perilous ones — remain on the table.
The Next Round of the Abortion Wars Is Just Beginning

Feb 13, 2025 | governing.com | Donald F. Kettl |Jared Brey |Jabari Simama

Herring saved the packets and turned them over to the Houston police. Her baby survived but was born prematurely and suffered health problems afterward. Her husband was convicted of two felonies — assault of a pregnant person and injury to a child — and sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years of probation.
How to Transform Policing and Regain Public Trust

Feb 10, 2025 | governing.com | Donald F. Kettl

From my experience leading the same work in Newark, N.J., I knew that the national conversation about policing was framed as a false dichotomy: either “unleash the cops” to address crime or embrace “reform” in the name of social justice. In fact, the only way forward is to simultaneously do both. Unlike Newark, Minneapolis had not been known for high levels of serious crime. The murder of George Floyd, coupled with the social disruptions of the pandemic, changed that.