Oversight
GSA Could Be Vulnerable to Security Threats From ‘Trusted Insiders’
Watchdog finds gaps in a program meant to protect personnel, facilities, operations and resources.
Management
Rocky Presidential Transition Prompts Calls for Changes in the Law
The delay in the formal start of the changeover, coronavirus pandemic and President Trump’s lawsuits all presented challenges.
Management
GSA Administrator Resigns
Emily Murphy was widely criticized for delaying the presidential transition. The agency also came under fire Friday for impeding the IG’s pandemic response investigations.
Oversight
Trump’s D.C. Hotel Under Renewed Scrutiny
The Capitol riots, Trump’s second impeachment and the upcoming change in administrations raise new questions about whether the General Services Administration will continue the lease.
Pay & Benefits
Travel Mileage Reimbursement Rates Fall, and More
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Management
Architecture Groups Call on Biden to Revoke ‘Classical Buildings’ Executive Order
This is one of the many lame duck executive orders President Trump has issued recently.
Management
GSA Agrees to Brief Congress on Delayed Transition — Next Week
Briefings will occur on November 30 and will be closed to the press.
Management
Former GSA Administrator Reflects on Ascertaining the Election in 2016
“If there’s anything that I would point to, it is really how important this activity and moment is,” said Denise Turner Roth of the presidential transition.
Workforce
Pressure Continues to Mount for GSA to Ascertain Biden as Presidential Election Winner
Lawmakers, former top government officials and others join the call for the transition activities to begin, citing national security concerns.
Management
GSA Faces Pressure to Recognize Biden as Election Winner, Hand Over Keys to Formally Start Transition
It is unclear when GSA will grant access to full transition resources amid the Trump campaign’s legal challenges.
Management
GSA Holds the Key to When or If Biden Gets Access to Full Transition Resources
With President Trump’s campaign threatening lawsuits, it is unclear when GSA would grant access to full transition resources.
Management
OPM Quietly Abandons Proposed Merger with GSA
The Trump administration’s merger plan was criticized by lawmakers in both parties and was eventually blocked by Congress.
Management
President Signs Bill to Allow Electric Vehicle Charges on Government Purchase Cards
The bipartisan bill saves taxpayers money and boosts energy efficiency, senators say.
Oversight
IG Finds ‘Significant Inaccuracies’ in Federal Acquisition Service’s Reporting of Small Business Contracts
This resulted from issues with the GSA-managed federal procurement data system.
Management
New Executive Order Seeks to Put Federal Buildings in Disadvantaged Areas
The General Services Administration will develop a plan to implement the directive.
Oversight
Inspector General Blasts Efforts to Transfer OPM Facility Authority to GSA
The Office of Personnel Management watchdog said the Trump administration took action without regard to the impact, potentially incurring millions of dollars in recurring annual costs.
Management
OPM Is Reorganizing Employees to Get Around Ban on GSA Merger, Union Claims
Over the weekend, the Office of Personnel Management moved nearly two dozen employees into the agency’s HR Line of Business, which is being renamed with GSA support.
Management
Trump Administration Redacts Meeting Minutes on the Presidential Transition
“If there’s anything that needs to be redacted that’s a sign that there’s something that shouldn’t be going on,” said New York University’s Paul Light.
Oversight
House Committee Investigates Whether Officials Misled Congress on OPM-GSA Merger
A recent watchdog group report cited notes from a phone call indicating the Trump administration was advised that the merger plan was illegal, an account that is at odds with what OPM officials testified before Congress last year.
Management