Management
‘Shirtless in a hot tub with Kid Rock’: Dems question RFK Jr. on HHS priorities and budget decisions
Lawmakers pressed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on proposed spending reductions and agency priorities, criticizing both policy decisions and his public messaging as they questioned the department’s direction under the Trump budget.
Exclusive
VA has touted appointment wait time reductions, but new data shows a more mixed reality
A comparative analysis of select wait-time data for new patients at more than 100 medical centers indicates the department has made progress in some areas, but not all.
Updated
Vought defends fiscal 2027 budget request, as Democrats criticize OMB for violating spending law
The Trump administration proposed a 10% reduction to spending on non-defense agencies.
Republicans weigh reconciliation for DHS funding as shutdown strains agencies
Amid an extended funding standoff affecting parts of the Department of Homeland Security, GOP leaders are considering whether the budget reconciliation process could provide a path to advance funding and immigration priorities without Democratic votes.
GOP plan would fund immigration enforcement for 3 years as DHS shutdown drags on
Senate Republicans are preparing a reconciliation push that would fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol for three years, a move that could help end the Homeland Security Department shutdown but it faces opposition from Democrats and uncertainty in the House.
Staff cuts, new rules and reassignments: IRS nears finish line for tax season marked by upheaval
The head of the IRS has argued that despite the workforce reductions there is “no staffing shortage here.”
Federal agents made hundreds of protest arrests that prosecutors couldn’t sustain
A review of more than 300 cases tied to ICE and CBP immigration sweeps found charges frequently dropped or lost, exposing gaps in evidence, training and coordination.
IBM agrees to pay $17.1M in first big test of new federal contractor DEI rules
The settlement marks an early signal of how the Justice Department plans to interpret and enforce recently reshaped contractor requirements, with implications for companies doing business with the federal government.
Inside Trump’s overhaul of federal election security agencies
Career specialists have been pushed out and new political appointees installed across the agencies that safeguard federal elections.
Appeals court clears the way for DOGE to access Social Security data despite new red flags
The Friday decision follows a January court filing in which the government conceded that DOGE associates may have improperly accessed sensitive data at the agency.
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.
