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Throughout 2025, the National Whistleblower Center (NWC) helped secure advances for whistleblowers in the U.S. and around the world while solidifying its role as a trusted partner to policymakers, civil society, and, most importantly, whistleblowers themselves. Some of these actions were included in NWC’s seven major campaigns of 2025, while others were responses to government policies and actions.

In this Sunday Read, we reflect on how a year’s worth of NWC’s strategic advocacy, coalition-building, and public education translated whistleblower courage into lasting legal and cultural change.

Strengthening U.S. Whistleblower Protections

In the United States, NWC focused on modernizing protections, so they match emerging risks, especially in rapidly evolving sectors like artificial intelligence (AI) and complex financial enforcement. These efforts emphasized that workers closest to such technologies and financial systems need clear, reliable channels to report misconduct without fear.

NWC collaborated with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to help draft the bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Whistleblower Protection Act (AIWPA), designed to protect workers in the AI sector who report wrongdoing tied to AI systems.

“Transparency brings accountability,” said Grassley in a May 2025 statement . “Today, too many people working in AI feel they’re unable to speak up when they see something wrong. Whistleblowers are one of the best ways to ensure Congress keeps pace as the AI industry rapidly develops. We need to act to make these protections crystal clear. I’m proud to introduce this legislation to increase accountability and protect AI whistleblowers.”

By championing AIWPA, which was one of NWC’s seven major campaigns of 2025, the Center underscored that those developing, deploying, and monitoring AI must be able to warn regulators and the public about harms to national security, civil rights, or safety. As of January 2026, the bill remains active but stalled in committee.

NWC also pressed for long-needed improvements to the IRS Whistleblower Program in the Spring, urging the Senate Finance Committee to adopt technical fixes so tax whistleblowers are not discouraged by years-long delays, shrinking awards, or procedural barriers.

“Of particular interest to the whistleblower community is the IRS’ emphasis on increasing efficiencies to speed up the process and issuing whistleblower awards faster and as soon as possible,” said David Colapinto, NWC founder and general counsel and founding partner of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, in April 2025. “To date, the IRS reports that it has collected more than $7.4 billion in taxes attributable to whistleblowers reporting tax fraud and underpayments. The IRS Whistleblower Program has [the] potential to collect even more if it improves its program to encourage more whistleblowers to come forward.”

Defending Public Servants and Constitutional Safeguards

Another of the NWC’s campaigns was the prioritization of federal workers and other public servants who expose government waste, fraud, abuse, and threats to democratic institutions. This work tied day-to-day retaliation cases to larger questions about constitutional checks and balances.

As reported in April, NWC maintained its push for the Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, (D-CT) reintroduced the critical legislation, amending 5 U.S.C. § 7211, which sought to enhance protections for federal whistleblowers. NWC further argued that without access to independent court review, federal employee whistleblowers remain vulnerable when internal systems fail or become politicized.

The bill included a provision that permits federal employees to seek relief in federal court. Unlike corporate whistleblowers, federal employees may not have their case removed to federal court under the current law, and the reintroduced bill calls for this change, which whistleblower advocates like NWC had requested for years.

In November, NWC and its board member Dr. Tommie “Toni” Savage, who was also a whistleblower from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, filed an amicus brief in Trump v. Slaughter, urging the Supreme Court to uphold limits on presidential removal power over independent agency officials, a structural safeguard that helps protect whistleblowers from political interference.

As reported in Whistleblower Network News, the brief warned that if presidents can dismiss such officials at will, federal whistleblowers lose critical protections and may be silenced before they can expose misconduct that affects the public.

Elevating Whistleblowers in Public Life

NWC continued to make whistleblowers visible as essential contributors to democracy and accountability, not just parties to legal disputes. Public events and recognition efforts helped build broader cultural support for those who come forward.

On July 30, NWC hosted its annual National Whistleblower Day program on Capitol Hill, bringing together whistleblowers, senators, agency leaders, and advocates for a powerful event moderated by whistleblower board members Dr. Savage and Jane Turner.

NWC’s sustained advocacy helped secure unanimous Senate passage of S. Res. 340, which designates July 30th as “National Whistleblower Appreciation Day” and urges every federal agency to educate and honor its whistleblowers each year.

These efforts reinforced a public message that whistleblowers are critical partners in safeguarding democratic institutions, public integrity, and national security. Plans are already under way for National Whistleblower Day 2026. Visit here to learn more and save the date.

International Anti-Corruption Leadership in 2025

NWC significantly expanded its role as an international anti-corruption leader in 2025, responding to weakening U.S. enforcement by rallying global partners around proven whistleblower models. This work centered on embedding strong protections, rewards, and cross-border reporting tools into international law and practice.

NWC’s Founder and leading whistleblower attorney, Stephen M. Kohn, introduced the Reverse Marshall Planto help guide new international leadership on anti-corruption enforcement.

In March, while at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum in Paris, France, NWC leaders highlighted the growing crisis caused by the decline in U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement and urged other democracies to strengthen their own whistleblower frameworks.

Ahead of the 11th Session of the Conference of the State Parties (CoSP11) to the United Nations Convention on Anti-Corruption (UNCAC) in Doha, Qatar, which was held in December, NWC advanced its proposal Enhancing Foreign Bribery and Money Laundering Prosecutions, which called on states to adopt substantial civil penalties, disgorgement of illicit gains, whistleblower rewards, and strict confidentiality protections modeled on successful U.S. programs.

The “Prosecutions” proposal quickly gained international momentum, drawing endorsements from a diverse coalition of civil society organizations, legal experts, and anti-corruption advocates who recognized whistleblowers as the most effective source for uncovering cross-border financial crime.

NWC also submitted a formal statement to UNCAC, Putting Teeth into Enforcing Anti-Corruption Laws, urging governments to implement empirically proven whistleblower reward and protection systems and citing the success of U.S. laws like Dodd-Frank in generating more than $25 billion in sanctions and billions in confidential whistleblower awards across more than 135 countries.

In the latter half of 2025, NWC helped establish International Whistleblower Advocates (IWA), which features an international team of anti-corruption experts and advocates dedicated to supporting whistleblowers worldwide via main pillars, such as:

• Bridging the knowledge gap and activating strong laws.
• Pro bono legal representation that focuses on individual freedoms and protections.
• Building international alliances.

In December, NWC marked International Anti-Corruption Day by calling for stronger global whistleblower protections and prepared a delegation to CoSP11, where staff engaged in meaningful dialogues with representatives from foreign governments and civil society. NWC also hosted a side panel, “Advancing Effective Mobilization and Protection of Whistleblowers for Accountability,” which provided tools to protect whistleblowers and prosecute foreign bribery and money laundering.

“Across these international efforts,” said Stephen Kohn, “NWC returned to the core principle that corruption cannot be confronted at scale unless whistleblowers everywhere have trusted legal protections, clear reporting pathways, and tangible assurance that their courage will help deliver real accountability.”

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For Whistleblowers Seeking Representation

The decision to come forward is not one to be taken lightly, nor should the decision to select a whistleblower lawyer. NWC provides resources that can connect you with the right legal professional before taking any action.

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This article was written by Justin Smulison, a professional writer, podcaster, and event host based in New York.