Management
There’s no more DEI at DOD, watchdog finds
But most of the roles were eliminated last year by an act of Congress.
Updated
Workforce
As re-firings begin, judge demands Trump administration tell probationary employees they were not let go for poor performance
Court declines to block more firings of recently hired staff, saying individual agencies are now making their own decisions.
Oversight
DOGE is building a ‘master database’ of sensitive information, top Oversight Democrat says
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., is calling on the Social Security Administration’s watchdog to investigate whistleblower claims that the efficiency team is compiling potentially sensitive data across several government agencies.
Management
Rubio denies that Trump will politicize the Foreign Service and slash embassies
State Department says a draft executive order, which would have created new loyalty requirements for career staff and eliminated many offices, is fake. A reorganization of the department is still expected shortly.
Workforce
OPM proposes rule to formally revive Schedule F
The federal government’s dedicated HR agency estimates that 50,000 federal workers will be stripped of their civil service protections and become at-will employees.
Updated
Workforce
VA is selectively enforcing Trump’s order stripping workers of union rights
VA Secretary Doug Collins this week issued a notice allowing employees at the department whose unions have not been involved with lawsuits against the Trump administration to retain their collective bargaining rights.
Updated
Workforce
Mass layoffs paused at Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
A union argued that CFPB has violated an order limiting how it can conduct reductions in force.
Workforce
SBA hit with more layoffs
The agency's COVID-19 EIDL Servicing Center staff were told they would be fired on Friday.
Management
Smarter, Faster, Lighter: A roadmap for agile evidence building
COMMENTARY | With DOGE initiatives fundamentally changing the state of federal policy evaluation, it could be time to embrace more evidence-based approaches to assess agency actions.
Breaking News
Workforce
White House extends federal hiring freeze until July for most
The Trump administration’s halt on federal civilian hiring, which was supposed to be lifted Monday, will be extended through July, per a memo released late Thursday.
Workforce
Unions sue to stop demolition of mediator agency
The congressionally authorized Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service worked to avoid costly litigation between labor groups and their employers—in both the private and public sectors—until President Trump ordered officials to effectively shutter the agency last month.
Tech
Trump builds on Biden efforts to modernize permitting technology
While many praised the effort as common-sense, workforce cuts across government, as well as the administration’s deregulatory efforts, have raised questions about implementation.
Management
Trump administration wants new headquarters for the Housing and Urban Development Department
The headquarters announcement comes days after the president repealed decades-old executive orders in an effort to reshape where agencies decide to establish their office locations.
Management
The president’s procurement order offers a real opportunity. Let’s not squander it
COMMENTARY | Real change in government procurement can happen, but it’s going to require learning from lessons of the past.
Pay & Benefits
Now or Later
For federal employees trying to weigh whether to retire in the current climate, there are a few things to consider for a sound night's sleep.
Management
Trump ‘anti-fraud’ memo could allow SSA to stop paying some Americans’ earned benefits
The document’s publication comes just days after reports that DOGE operatives overruled career workers to falsely label thousands of immigrants as dead.
Defense
Putting SPACECOM HQ in Alabama would have saved Pentagon $426 million, DOD IG says
But then-SPACECOM commander Gen. Dickinson was worried the move would result in significant personnel losses.
Tech
User with Russian IP address tried to log into NLRB systems following DOGE access, whistleblower says
The blocked login attempts, detailed in an extensive whistleblower complaint filed to the Senate Intelligence Committee and others, may indicate foreign adversaries have begun leveraging DOGE inroads into sensitive federal systems.
Workforce
Laid-off federal employees can access legal advice under new union-backed network
Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network’s goal is to provide individual legal guidance to thousands of government workers.
Pay & Benefits