2. The Trump administration’s campaign to cut government regulations is being conducted largely out of public view — and often by hires with deep industry ties and potential conflicts.

Our investigative team collaborated with the nonprofit news site ProPublica to analyze the appointees working on deregulation, using records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. We found 28 appointees with potential conflicts.

Separately, we learned that Trump aides asked businessmen who profited from military contracts to devise alternatives to the Pentagon’s plans for a troop surge in Afghanistan. The Defense Department is not considering their idea of using contractors instead of soldiers, an official said.