Pay & Benefits
Republicans tee up federal worker benefit cuts to pay for tax cuts
Federal workers hired in 2029 would contribute nearly 10% of their basic pay toward a less generous pension if they wish to retain their civil service protections under House lawmakers’ budget reconciliation proposal.
Breaking News
Workforce
Judge blocks Trump’s anti-union executive order
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman on Wednesday expressed skepticism that the president could legally strip two-thirds of the federal workforce of their collective bargaining rights.
Workforce
Trump executive order makes it easier for agencies to fire probationary employees
The Trump administration’s earlier efforts to mass remove federal probationers had encountered several legal obstacles.
Workforce
Judge grills administration on ‘broad discretion’ to break up federal unions
A Justice Department attorney appeared to argue that it is within the president’s rights to strip ‘resistant’ unions of their collective bargaining rights under the auspices of national security.
Workforce
Judge orders Trump administration to bring back U.S. Agency for Global Media staff
The president in an executive order sought to eliminate the agency’s non-statutory components and functions, but a federal judge criticized how officials determined what parts of USAGM aren't required by law.
Workforce
Trump administration lacks standing to sue to enforce anti-labor executive order, union says
The American Federation of Government Employees argued that the Trump administration’s effort to procure a “declarative” judgment in favor of an executive order stripping two-thirds of the federal workforce of their collective bargaining rights is effectively fishing for a federal judge’s advisory opinion, which is unlawful.
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.
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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.
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 ‘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.
Management
Trump orders major changes to rules covering $1T in federal spending
The Tuesday mandate — which aims to streamline the way government buys goods and services — was accompanied by a second order requiring agencies to predominantly use commercial products, rather than custom-built.
Management
Supreme Court lets Trump fire Democratic members of labor boards, for now
The removals of Cathy Harris from the Merit Systems Protection Board and Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board have been both blocked and upheld in court since President Donald Trump tried to fire them.
Workforce
Trump administration ends union dues collection for most feds without notice
Unions at federal agencies targeted by the president’s executive order stripping them of their collective bargaining rights found out about the change when employees began receiving their most recent paychecks this week.
Management
NSA firings stoke fears of Trump installing a partisan loyalist to lead spy agency
“We saw it’s possible, without adequate oversight, for our spy agencies to do inappropriate things,” a former senior intelligence official said, referencing the 1970s congressional investigations that revealed many spying abuses against Americans.
Workforce
Federal employee appeals board is fully functional again — for now
The removal of Cathy Harris, a Democratic member of the Merit Systems Protection Board, has been both blocked and upheld in court since President Donald Trump tried to fire her in February. The case will likely now go to the Supreme Court.
Transition
Trump fires head of NSA and Cyber Command
Gen. Timothy Haugh’s removal was spurred by far-right activist Laura Loomer, who, earlier Thursday, reportedly urged the president to terminate multiple National Security Council staffers.
Workforce
Trump administration, unions already trading lawsuits over order outlawing most government labor groups
Federal agencies swiftly sued the American Federation of Government Employees last week, asking a lone Trump-appointed judge to uphold an order banning unions for two-thirds of the federal workforce.
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Workforce