Ariel Kennan
@arielmai.bsky.social
1.7K followers 430 following 70 posts
Building the Digital Benefits Network at the Beeck Center at Georgetown University Ask me about service design, public benefits, product, digital identity, Rules as Code, and civic tech / gov tech. 📍NYC, and often DC
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Reposted by Ariel Kennan
arielmai.bsky.social
NYC, vote if you haven’t already!
arielmai.bsky.social
Hey New York, tomorrow starts early voting AND it's the last day to register to vote ahead of the primary! Register here: www.vote.nyc/page/registe...
Register to Vote | NYC Board of Elections
You can register to vote online, in-person, or by mail.
www.vote.nyc
Reposted by Ariel Kennan
beeckcenter.bsky.social
We are excited to be back at #CfASummit and to be part of a community building a people-centered, digitally-enabled government for all.

@codeforamerica.org
Reposted by Ariel Kennan
mollytaft.com
NEW: i spoke with several young AmeriCorps volunteers around the country who were abruptly pulled off projects building homes, readying forests for wildfire season, and working at food banks Tuesday afternoon. they are now on their way home thanks to DOGE cuts —
DOGE Cuts Pull AmeriCorps Volunteers Off of Disaster Relief Jobs
The youth volunteers who were working on projects ranging from rebuilding homes destroyed in storms to distributing supplies for hurricane recovery were suddenly pulled from service. Why? DOGE cuts.
www.wired.com
arielmai.bsky.social
I did an actual 😮 when reading that passage this morning.
Reposted by Ariel Kennan
robynemz.bsky.social
MATHIEU VAN DER POEL (ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK) WINS PARIS-ROUBAIX FOR A THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR 🪨🪨🪨
Reposted by Ariel Kennan
emmbadger.bsky.social
During the pandemic the Labor Department suggested states create "pseudo records" to track unemployment fraud while protecting identity theft victims -- basically, records of real fraud tied to make-believe people.

This week DOGE discovered those make-believe people. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/12/u...
Musk’s Latest Fraud Finding Isn’t What It Seems
His team found cases of seemingly fake people receiving unemployment benefits. But that fake data exists for a reason.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Ariel Kennan
hannahnatanson.bsky.social
SCOOP: Trump admin overrode objections from Social Security staff to label ~6,000 living immigrants dead. A senior exec who objected was escorted out of the building, and earlier warnings were ignored. The immigrants include 13, 14 & 16yos who staff didn't find criminal records for: wapo.st/3RKSQQt
Trump administration overrode Social Security staff to list immigrants as dead
A senior executive who objected was marched out of his office and put on leave, while earlier warnings about the agency’s deaths database were ignored.
wapo.st
arielmai.bsky.social
Nothing about this sounds efficient…
ddiamond.bsky.social
Scoop: DOGE now controls how grant opportunities get posted across government.

DOGE engineer removed users’ permissions to post to Grants-dot-gov without telling them. Now requests flow thru DOGE-controlled mailbox.

with @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social + @hannahnatanson.bsky.social
DOGE takes over federal grants website, wresting control of billions
A DOGE engineer removed users’ access to grants.gov, threatening to further slow the process of awarding thousands of federal grants per year.
www.washingtonpost.com
arielmai.bsky.social
Pretty much every agency did this, most well before April. And ai.gov is also redirected to whitehouse.gov
Reposted by Ariel Kennan
kathleenromig.bsky.social
❗ The Trump Administration is planning to falsify government records to declare alive people dead.

This triggers a nightmare, cutting them off from benefits, banks, credit, insurance.

If they can do it to one group, they can do it to anyone--in error or in malice

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/u...
Pressuring Migrants to ‘Self-Deport,’ White House Moves to Cancel Social Security Numbers (Gift Article)
By placing migrants in Social Security’s “death master file,” the Trump administration is seeking to cut off their access to credit cards, bank accounts and other financial services.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Ariel Kennan
donmoyn.bsky.social
Alternative headline: Acting Head of IRS Resigns Rather Than Break the Law
reuters.com
The acting head of the Internal Revenue Service plans to resign, the Treasury Department said, a move that comes after the agency struck a controversial deal to share tax data on undocumented immigrants with federal agents reut.rs/3REmczY
US IRS chief quits after immigration data-sharing deal
The acting head of the Internal Revenue Service plans to resign, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday, a move that comes after the agency struck a controversial deal to share tax data on undocumented immigrants with federal agents.
reut.rs
Reposted by Ariel Kennan
digitalbenefits.bsky.social
☂️ Check out the April Digital Benefits Digest
mailchi.mp/georgetown/a...
💡 Special AI Edition!
⚡ New AI-Powered Rules as Code Research
📍 New AI-related Resources on the Digital Gov Hub
🔥 State of State AI + New Workshops
🗓️ Don’t miss: Digital Identity Community of Practice April 17
The Digital Benefits Digest
For practitioners working to strengthen public benefits
mailchi.mp
arielmai.bsky.social
Big and bold Helvetica, white with black or black with white depending on train status. Really lovely.
arielmai.bsky.social
All of the new graphics and digital signage updates are looking ✨! Sometimes it’s the small details — I love the update to the platform countdown clocks.
Reposted by Ariel Kennan
mta.info
Say hello to a new subway map! 🗺️

Today, the MTA unveiled a new subway diagram that provides riders with essential travel information in an easily readable, bright, and orderly manner.
2025 version of the NYC subway map