Last week, the Federal Bureau of Prisons posted a video of Deputy Director Josh Smith vowing to “make the BOP great again.” The seven-minute clip echoes the promises of change agency leaders have repeated in video announcements for months as the BOP struggles with a staffing crisis and budget shortfalls.

As a reporter covering the federal prison system, I want to know: How’s that going?

It has been a chaotic year in the Bureau of Prisons. The same day Trump took office, the agency director was fired. Then, bonuses were canceled. The union contract was scrapped. Dozens of prisoners and prison staff told me about shortages of basic........

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