Management
SSA union fears field offices could shutter under new building occupancy law
The USE IT Act requires the General Services Administration to collect data on federal office occupancy rates, but Social Security employees worry the measure could wrongfully target understaffed but in-demand field office locations.
DHS plans major intel shake-up, but its intelligence office would still be overseen by the nation’s spy chief
A proposed FY27 overhaul would still leave DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis answerable to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, despite questions about its oversight.
Why the federal government needs to stop obsessing over process
COMMENTARY | Government performance systems often reward documentation, activity and procedural defensibility more than real-world impact. Federal managers must ask three critical questions to eliminate counterproductive rules.
Insights from the inside: How former feds think we ought to reform the federal government
COMMENTARY | A report by seven former senior federal employees shows what DOGE done right would look like.
Privatization, eliminations and consolidations: Major reforms from Trump's budget
The president's fiscal 2027 blueprint contains significant overhauls to the work carried out by federal agencies.
IRS can’t fully verify in-person work compliance, IG says
The agency identified just 30 employees out of compliance with its return-to-office directive, even as investigators cited gaps in how compliance is verified.
Scammers posing as federal officials drive complaints up and rack up $800 million in losses
The scams, some of which were fueled by AI, can be especially effective because they exploit the built-in authority and urgency people associate with institutions.
DHS to fold intelligence office into headquarters under Trump's 2027 budget plan
The plan to restructure the Office of Intelligence and Analysis would require congressional approval and could reshape oversight of domestic intelligence-sharing.
Civilian agencies face 10% cuts in Trump’s 2027 budget
Dozens of programs and grants face elimination, although proposed cuts to non-defense agencies are smaller than last year and a Defense boost would raise overall spending.
Trump plan to shift student loan oversight to Treasury draws Senate Democrats' backlash
Senate Democrats urge Education and Treasury leaders to rescind the agreement, warning the transfer of loan management responsibilities would worsen dysfunction and increase costs in the $1.7 trillion federal student loan system.
Critics argue new federal workforce rules increase the risk of politicization, not accountability
COMMENTARY | The debate over the Policy/Career Schedule centers on whether the changes strengthen accountability or erode civil service protections.
Forest Service to move HQ out of DC, shutter regional offices in sweeping overhaul
Employees react with tears, warn of brain drain and call the changes "a pointless exercise."
Underused federal offices targeted as GSA releases utilization data
The agency found that thousands of federal buildings did not meet a statutory 60% minimum average utilization rate.
States say ICE pulled Medicaid data despite court order
The data of citizens and lawful permanent residents is supposed to be off limits.
NASA wants to build a base on the Moon by the 2030s. How and why it plans to get there
Instead of chasing a quick landing, NASA is planning a step-by-step effort to build the systems needed for astronauts to stay on the Moon.
Trump admin uses Kid Rock and football to recruit young people to government
A good government group contended that the president’s broader civil service reforms, including previous cuts to early-career staff, would undermine efforts to recruit younger workers.
A call to action: Shining the spotlight on public building utilization
COMMENTARY | The path forward for the government’s real estate portfolio is clear: reduce excess, consolidate intelligently and invest in the core assets that truly support the government’s mission.
Most government leaders say they outpace private sector on AI adoption, survey says
Research by IDC found that 82% of public sector organizations have adopted agentic AI, and 60% of agency heads believe they are ahead of the business community on the technology.
At the National Science Foundation, 'climate change' is disappearing from proposals
As the Trump administration pressures agencies to avoid “woke” language, researchers are reworking how they describe their work to get past federal reviewers and keep projects alive.
As the number of political appointees surge and career SES ranks shrink, one nonprofit warns of ‘institutional consequences’
The Trump administration has sought to exert more political influence over the Senior Executive Service, which are the highest-ranking career civil servants.
