Management

IRS announces the phased end of paper check refunds

The Trump White House set a Sept. 30 deadline for the Treasury Department to stop cutting paper checks, although the IRS said it will still be issuing a “limited number” of checks where there is no alternative option. 

Management

Trump budget office is hiding federal spending information, ethics nonprofit alleges

Federal courts have ordered the Office of Management and Budget to publish information about how agency funding is disbursed, but Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington contends that officials are using footnotes to obfuscate disclosure.

Management

Facing a shutdown, budget negotiations are much harder because Congress has given Trump power to cut spending through ‘rescission’

Lawmakers are navigating a familiar budget crisis, but a rarely used presidential tool is shifting the balance of power and raising stakes for both parties.

Management

Trump’s reported use of the FBI against political opponents reflects earlier controversies from the J. Edgar Hoover era

COMMENTARY | Recent developments involving the agency have sparked comparisons to earlier episodes in the agency’s history.

Management

A new ‘activist’ OPM is incrementally reforming the civil service, Part 1

COMMENTARY | The Office of Personnel Management has the opportunity to implement real civil service reforms, if it can get away from its one-size-fits-all management approach.

Updated Management

Census advisory committee meets despite Trump administration nixing it

A Trump executive order directed the cancellation of “unnecessary” councils that advise on agency operations.

Management

As Delivering for America proceeds, bipartisan lawmakers create caucus focused on improving postal operations

New Postmaster General David Steiner has previously said that he would continue his predecessor’s postal modernization plan, which members of both parties have criticized.

Updated Management

Chance of a government shutdown rises as the Senate fails to advance spending bill

With both parties rejecting each other’s short-term funding proposals, Congress is heading into a weeklong recess with no deal in place and a government shutdown looking increasingly likely.

Management

Innovation from the ground up: How state and local leaders are shaping the future of performance management

COMMENTARY | At a national summit, state and local officials showcased how evidence, data and collaboration are reshaping performance management and pointing to lessons for every level of government.

Management

State Department hopes to use agentic AI to assist employee tasks, CIO says

That kind of autonomous action would go beyond the current capabilities of the agency’s AI chatbot, StateChat.

Management

US rolls toward a 'terrible' government shutdown, no exit ramp in sight

As lawmakers dig in, federal employees face mounting uncertainty over pay, operations and the ripple effects of another prolonged funding lapse.

Management

RFK pressured CDC to dismiss career scientists until they backed his views, ousted director says

HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy is putting politics ahead of science and risking Americans’ health, top officials pushed out and dismissed at CDC tell Congress.

Management

DOGE caucus co-chair says the cost-cutting unit’s work will continue

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, said he is focused on using data to weed out fraud across the government.

Management

AI-based suicide prevention efforts at VA always have human involvement, official says

“We do not currently have any plans that I'm aware of to use AI as a treatment device instead of providers,” Evan Carey, acting director of VA’s National Artificial Intelligence Institute, told lawmakers.

Management

Rule limiting ‘outstanding’ performance ratings for agency senior executives finalized

The final rule also strikes promotion of diversity and inclusion as a criteria for appraising senior executives.

Management

House GOP unveils 7-week stopgap funding bill, Dems say it makes shutdown more likely

Congressional Democrats are not backing down from their funding bill demands even as Republicans move forward with a plan to avert a shutdown.

Management

Cuts to CFPB staffing could complicate enforcement of Trump’s executive order on ‘debanking’

An executive order seeking to stop banks from discriminating against customers could be undermined by the administration’s gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which had been investigating the practice.

Management

Federal agencies threaten, discipline employees for criticizing or mocking Charlie Kirk

The Trump administration is “tracking…very closely” social media posts suggesting Kirk should not be mourned, some agencies say.

Management

Trump Education Department to divert grants from colleges serving students of color

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the department would withhold $350 million in minority-serving institution grants from 800 colleges and universities, saying the grants "discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas."

Management

State officials wrestle with federal data demands

Speakers during a recent webinar said federal access is “not unlimited,” and that certain safeguards are in place “for good reason.”