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Recent News
Levin Center Director Jim Townsend Appointed to Chair Michigan Gaming Control Board
July 23, 2026
Today Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that she has appointed Jim Townsend as the chair of the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB).
SOA Presents at CSG Midwest’s BILLD
July 20, 2026
Jim Townsend and Ben Eikey traveled to Madison, Wisconsin to present in CSG Midwest’s Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development (BILLD) program.
SOA Joined CSG West’s Annual Meeting
July 10, 2026
The State Oversight Academy traveled to Salt Lake City for the Council of State Governments West Annual Meeting. Ben Eikey presented
Levin Center Releases Statement on 250th Anniversary
June 29, 2026
Today, the Levin Center released a statement on the 250th celebration of the Declaration of Independence co-signed by the Chair
Learning by Hearings co-hosts the Precedent President
June 17, 2026
On June 16, Learning by Hearings was honored to co-host a professional development titled The Precedent President in collaboration with
State Oversight Academy Joins Mississippi PEER for Oversight Workshops
June 15, 2026
Ben Eikey and Kyle Bule from our State Oversight Academy visited the PEER Committee of the Mississippi Legislature for three
Read our New Explainer on State Oversight of Medicaid
June 2, 2026
Medicaid is one of the largest and most important programs overseen by state governments, providing health coverage to millions of
Meet our 2026/27 Elise J. Bean Oversight Fellows
June 1, 2026
We are pleased to announce that Laura de Castro Quaglia and Greg Hunt have been selected as our 2026/2027 Elise
News Archive
2020
- Jan 14: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy gives congressional testimony on strengthening bipartisan oversight
- Jan 20: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy launches new website on congressional oversight case law
- Jan 23: Pending Cases will have major impact on future congressional oversight
- Jan 28: Levin Center Presents Report on Legislature’s Oversight Capacity & Performance to Michigan Senate Oversight Committee
- Jan 29: Senators Richard Burr and Mark Warner receive 2019 Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight
- Feb 26: Levin Center Releases Report on Oversight of Michigan Charter Schools and Their Authorizers
- March 4: Levin Center and Lugar Center submit joint Amicus Brief Urging Supreme Court to Support Congressional Subpoenas
- March 30: Senator Carl Levin’s Statement on the Passing of Former Senator Tom Coburn
- April 8: Senator Carl Levin’s op-ed in Bridge Magazine, “Will our Constitution’s system of checks and balances hold?“
- Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy’s Response to Oral Arguments before the D.C. Circuit in the McGahn Case
- Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy Cautions Michigan Legislature to Ensure that COVID-19 Oversight Committee Be Fully Bipartisan and Fact-Based
- April 16: McGahn Amicus Brief filed by Levin Center and Lugar Center
- April 16: Levin Center and Lugar Center submit joint Amicus Brief Urging D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to support Congressional Oversight
- May 1: Five Wayne Law Students Placed as Levin Center Legal Interns this summer to work on Congressional Oversight Committees
- May 8: Oversight Delayed is Accountability Denied: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy Urges SCOTUS to Reject Effort to Stay Release to Congress of Mueller Inquiry Grand Jury Materials
- May 28: Levin Center’s Director, Jim Townsend’s, op-ed in The Detroit News, “Improved legislative oversight needed to prevent future dam failure“
- June 30: Eleven Congressional Centers Urge Senate Intelligence Committee to Make Public Reports of Foreign Interference in 2020 Election – Read the Levin Center press release
- June 30: Levin Center Director Jim Townsend and Wayne State University Department of Political Science Professor Kristin Taylor’s op-ed in The Detroit Free Press, “Stopping another Edenville requires more than a panel of experts“
- July 19: Levin Center Director Jim Townsend and Washington Office Director Elise Bean’s submission in a Federalist Society Article I series on modernizing Congress, “Improving Congressional Oversight“
- Aug 5: Levin Center Washington Office Director Elise Bean and Lincoln Network Director of Cyber and National Security Dan Lip’s op-ed in The Hill, “Inspector General independence must be a bipartisan priority in 2020“
- Sept 23: Senator Carl Levin’s op-ed in the Washington Post, “Don’t fall for filibuster abolition. It’s a trap.“
- Oct 23: Levin Center Director, Jim Townsend, and Levin Center Washington Office Director, Elise Bean, published an essay as part of Just Security’s Good Governance Papers entitled “How to Strengthen Oversight by Congress“.
- Nov 18: The Levin Center issued its report entitled “State Legislative Oversight of Emergency Contracts Related to COVID-19: Three Case Studies” underlining the need for strong state oversight in COVID-19 contracting. Read the press release here.
- Dec 7: The Levin Center is delighted to announce that the winning paper for the 2020 Levin Center Award for Excellence in Oversight Research is Weaponizing the Office of Legal Counsel by Professor Emily Berman. For more details, please read our full announcement.
- Dec 8: Read the Detroit Legal News article on the 2020 Levin Center Award for Excellence in Oversight Research
2019
- March 1: Levin Center Provides Accountability Training to Foreign Governments
- March 8: Brookings Institute Recognizes Levin Center as Widely Respected Proponent of Fact-Based, Bipartisan Oversight
- May 7: Senator Carl Levin Checks Trump’s Defiance of Congress in New York Times Op-Ed
- Sept 12: Careers in Corporate Government Relations Panel
- Nov 4: Jim Townsend Appointed First Full-Time Levin Center Director
2018
- Mar 15: Wayne Law Review, Levin Center join forces for oversight symposium
- May 31: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy to honor Inspector General Act with June 13 symposium
- June 13: C-SPAN features Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy June 13 symposium on Inspectors General
- Aug 19: CNBC: “This exclusive ‘boot camp’ for congressional staffers is trying to make America bipartisan again”
- Aug 28: New book offers exclusive account of ground-breaking Levin investigations
- Nov 9: South Carolina Republican to Receive Inaugural Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight
- Nov 12: Democrats Can’t Check the White House Alone. Neither Can Republicans
2017
- Feb 8: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy hosts tax conference in DC
- Mar 16: The Right Way to Investigate Russia’s Election Meddling
- Mar 24: Devin Nunes has jeopardized the oversight role of Congress
- April 18: For the sake of American taxpayers, companies must pay their fair share
- May 31: Congress must press forward with its Russia investigation
- June 12: Levin Center hosts Scholars Roundtable on Congressional Oversight
- June 25: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy to present conference Tuesday in D.C. on offshore multinational corporate tax
- July 13: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy debuts online congressional oversight tutorials
- Aug 9: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy sends legal interns to U.S. Senate
- Oct 26: Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy to host immigration symposium Nov. 10
- Nov 13: Bipartisan panel to analyze GOP tax plans Wednesday at Wayne Law
For news and announcement reaching back to the Center’s early years, please contact [email protected]