Workforce
Social Security is directing employees who normally process benefits to answer phones instead
After shedding thousands of employees, SSA is reassigning workers amid fears the moves will cause backlogs to grow.
Tech
Agencies lost around 20,000 tech workers last year — and now the Trump admin is hiring
All six departments and agencies that lost the most IT talent currently have open job listings for such roles.
Oversight
As Trump administration cries ‘fraud,’ experts worry it does more harm than good
“It’s dismaying,” one longtime anti-fraud expert told Nextgov/FCW of how the administration is using fraud as rationale but firing the watchdogs that are tasked with finding it.
Oversight
Senators demand details on DOGE’s data access following revelations of improperly shared SSA data
While Sens. Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., are asking for more information from SSA, Democrats in the lower chamber want to compel the agency to hand it over using a “resolution of inquiry.”
Oversight
Agriculture’s failure to force SNAP card upgrades is causing $555M in lost benefits, watchdog says
The Trump administration’s imperative to combat fraud has largely focused on recipients scamming the system, rather than becoming victims of fraudsters themselves.
Management
DOGE officials face Hatch Act referrals for work with org aiming to ‘overturn election results’
DOGE employees also shared Social Security data using the third-party server Cloudflare, and according to new court documents, SSA still doesn’t know what data was shared and if its still on Cloudflare.
Tech
Trump’s Tech Force hiring effort extends application deadline
Ethical questions remain about how managers from the approximately 30 industry partners involved in the program will work for the government without triggering conflicts of interest.
Tech
Bill to improve government’s anti-fraud checks heads to Trump’s desk
House lawmakers passed a bipartisan proposal on Monday to give the Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay system permanent access to death records at the Social Security Administration.
Management
White House creates new assistant attorney general focused on fraud
The vice president told reporters the new position will also be involved in addressing “the people who are defrauding the United States by inciting violence against our law enforcement officers” after an ICE agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Workforce
US DOGE Service is hiring following mass workforce losses across the government
The group housing Trump’s controversial cost-cutting program is one of several tech teams that are recruiting.
Workforce
Report: Federal statistical system needs help to meet its ‘basic mission’ in the face of upheaval
Statistical agencies have lost scores of staff under the Trump administration, threatening their ability to meet their mission, according to a new report from the American Statistical Association.
Workforce
GSA backs off planned layoffs within its technology team after court order
The Technology Transformation Services has lost 67% of its staff since Jan. 25.
Tech
Warren, Sanders push Labor on plans to create a centralized unemployment ‘starting point’
The senators worry that the planned intake of applicant data at the Labor Department will create "grievous economic and privacy risks for millions of Americans.”
Tech
After shedding thousands of feds, Trump admin's new 'Tech Force' aims to recruit workers to two-year jobs
Some of the recruits to government service will be on leaves of absence from private sector companies while working for government — a setup that raises ethical questions about conflicts of interest.
Management
Bipartisan, bicameral bill looks to help the government hire more AI talent
The proposal follows the exodus of hundreds of thousands government employees — including AI and tech talent — under the Trump administration’s push to shrink the government workforce.
Management
Lawmakers seek details behind SSA plan to slash office visits
Nextgov/FCW first reported the agency’s intention to reduce field office visits last week.
Management
Push to 'reform the government root and branch' detailed in Trump’s new management agenda
The President's Management Agenda for Trump's second term offers fewer specific policy plans than other recent agendas.
Management
Trump signs law requiring the IRS to clean up adjustment notices
Lawmakers hope that clearer notices when the IRS makes simple math or clerical fixes on tax returns should cut down on headaches for taxpayers.
Workforce
Social Security occupational data update appears stalled after agency drops regulatory overhaul
The Social Security Administration has spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to update the occupational data used in disability adjudications. When the agency will actually move to newer data is unclear.
Management