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Workforce
Lynch: OPM’s hiring plan includes ‘blatant loyalty test’
The Trump administration last week unveiled its new ‘Merit Hiring Plan’ that in part quizzes job applicants about their favorite Trump policy or executive order.
Pay & Benefits
TSP funds rebound following months of losses
Only one portfolio in the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program finished May in the red.
Management
Senators urge DHS to reinstate disbanded cyber review board
The board — which was dismissed at the start of the Trump administration — has been viewed as a well-intentioned but imperfect tool for reviewing significant cybersecurity events.
Management
Appeals panel leaves layoff injunction in place as Trump's RIF plans likely head to Supreme Court
Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits, the majority on the appellate court ruled.
Pay & Benefits
Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget would strip trans federal workers of insurance coverage
If enacted, the provision would bar the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program from covering federal employees and their family members’ gender affirming care treatments.
Workforce
Intelligence agency employee arrested for trying to share classified info with foreign government
Nathan Vilas Laatsch was allegedly disgruntled by the Trump administration and willing to share sensitive data with the foreign country. The FBI set up a dead drop operation to intercept the classified materials.
Oversight
White House says it will cooperate with top watchdog only when it does not ‘unduly burden’ Trump’s agenda
The Trump administration is elevating its feud with the Government Accountability Office, which recently found the administration is violating federal spending laws.
Workforce
DOGE reorganization of nuclear regulator prompts concerns about the agency’s continued focus on safety
President Donald Trump wants the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to lay off workers, while the agency has fallen short of its recruitment goals in recent years and struggled to replenish its aging workforce.
Defense
Hegseth halves staff of Pentagon’s testing-oversight office
The move may reduce the quality of the Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation’s second opinions, but may not affect safety, former officials said.
Management
For DOGE, it was all in the name
COMMENTARY | Elon Musk made a mockery of government reform.
Workforce
OPM ‘merit’ hiring plan includes bipartisan reforms, politicized new test
The federal government’s HR agency on Thursday instructed agencies to cease collecting data on the demographic makeup of their workforces.
Management
Here's where the State Department is planning its layoffs and changes
Various national security offices, as well as units that cover Asia and the Middle East, will be consolidated or slashed. Thousands of employees across divisions are targeted for cuts.
Workforce
Fired GSA 18F employees appeal to have jobs reinstated
The Trump administration has endeavored to streamline the agency’s contracting and procurement processes while putting in mechanisms to shed its workforce.
Pay & Benefits
The ‘new deal’ for federal retirement: What the latest FERS proposals really mean for your benefits
Federal retirement has been a hot topic on Capitol Hill lately, with proposed changes sparking plenty of questions. Here’s a look at what’s on the table now.
Workforce
Democratic bills would rehire axed National Parks and Forest Service employees
Both agencies have already undergone workforce reductions with more layoffs still planned.
Workforce
USDA HQ employees told to work remotely so office building can house soldiers in upcoming military parade
President Donald Trump has sought to prevent federal employees from working remotely.
Management
Trump administration begins cracking down on federal employees' use of leave for voting
Agencies have begun notifying employees they can no longer take administrative leave for election-related activities.
Management
Top Democrats in Congress decry White House 'lack of transparency' in spending plans
The lack of detailed information about how exactly the Trump administration is spending funding approved by Congress has come up during several Appropriations Committee hearings during the last month.
Management
VA-based DOGE associate gets ‘the boot’ after publicly discussing his work
Sahil Lavingia detailed in a personal blog how the reality of hunting inefficiencies at the Department of Veterans Affairs was not what he had expected.
Pay & Benefits