Management
Businesses line up for $166B in refunds from Trump's tariffs as CBP system goes live
Refunds are expected within 30 to 60 days, Customs and Border Protection officials said.
Workforce
FAA sets records in effort to hire gamers as air traffic controllers
The agency received over 12,000 applications in less than two days, making the effort “wildly successful,” according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Tech
GSA No. 2 talks ‘million hours challenge,’ scaling agency AI efforts
GSA Deputy Administrator Michael Lynch last week offered a comprehensive look at the agency’s plans for key acquisition and shared services programs and new internal efforts aimed at automating work.
Pay & Benefits
Senators demand OPM withdraw plan to access feds’ medical records
More than a dozen Democratic lawmakers warned that a little-scrutinized proposal to collect claims-level data related to the Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits programs could violate federal law and doctor-client confidentiality.
Workforce
Labor groups sue to block FLRA’s political seizure of union elections
Federal employee unions warned that fast-tracked changes centralizing control of union representation petitions with the agency’s political appointees will bog down, rather than streamline, the election process.
Oversight
Severe staffing cuts at GSA are harming agencies across government, watchdog says
Due to the reductions, agencies reported that they were unsure about who to contact at GSA and had to delay project timelines.
Management
USDA is moving forward with various reorgs despite legal questions and bipartisan concerns
“This might be the best idea since sliced bread, I don’t know,” one Republican said.
Tech
Agencies report over 3,000 AI use cases in 2025
The number of reported use cases more than doubled from 2024, revealing the federal government’s continued appetite to acquire advanced artificial intelligence for its workflows.
Tech
AI is helping VA speed up claims processing, but Dems worry about errors
“Speed does not equal success,” Rep. Tim Kennedy, D-N.Y., said about VA’s use of automation and AI to process veterans’ benefits claims.
Management
‘Shirtless in a hot tub with Kid Rock’: Dems question RFK Jr. on HHS priorities and budget decisions
Lawmakers pressed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on proposed spending reductions and agency priorities, criticizing both policy decisions and his public messaging as they questioned the department’s direction under the Trump budget.
Oversight
Inspectors general targeted for funding cuts in Trump’s FY27 budget
Oversight groups warn that slashing budgets spent on rooting out fraud and waste will “fundamentally hamper” accountability and operations.
Pay & Benefits
When retirement calculations don’t move on the same timeline
Retroactive pay changes and delayed annuity adjustments underscore how federal retirement processing often depends on timing, coordination, and most importantly, patience.
Workforce
Hegseth orders termination of union contracts
Though some unions within the Defense Department are protected from the action by federal court orders, the American Federation of Government Employees’ locals remain vulnerable.
Exclusive
Management
VA has touted appointment wait time reductions, but new data shows a more mixed reality
A comparative analysis of select wait-time data for new patients at more than 100 medical centers indicates the department has made progress in some areas, but not all.
Workforce
OPM cuts degree requirements for government tech jobs in new standards
The changes have been years in the making and represent a federal hiring apparatus more focused on applicable skills than specific backgrounds.
Updated
Management
Vought defends fiscal 2027 budget request, as Democrats criticize OMB for violating spending law
The Trump administration proposed a 10% reduction to spending on non-defense agencies.
Workforce
Dem senators boost effort to reinstate 2 immigration judges
Last month, the Merit Systems Protection Board upended decades of precedent when it ruled that the attorney general has constitutional authority to fire immigration judges on an at-will basis.
Workforce
CyberCorps summer internships canceled by cybersecurity agency amid DHS funding lapse
The decision reverses earlier plans to bring on roughly 100 student interns through the federal cyber scholarship program, leaving participants in limbo after months of shifting guidance and adding new uncertainty around job placement requirements tied to the award.
Management
Republicans weigh reconciliation for DHS funding as shutdown strains agencies
Amid an extended funding standoff affecting parts of the Department of Homeland Security, GOP leaders are considering whether the budget reconciliation process could provide a path to advance funding and immigration priorities without Democratic votes.
Workforce