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.
Workforce
Out of government, former USAID employees continue to offer their expertise
Former development workers founded Aid on the Hill to lobby members of Congress about international assistance.
Workforce
NTEU, White House spar over whether unions can challenge their ouster administratively
The Trump administration contends unions can seek review of their ouster from most federal agencies on national security grounds before the Federal Labor Relations Authority, but labor groups say that analysis misconstrues a term of art in federal labor law.
Management
Michael Lynch becomes GSA deputy administrator again
Lynch previously held the deputy administrator’s responsibilities from March to July 2025 under then-GSA acting administrator Stephen Ehikian.
Pay & Benefits
Could this be true?
An influx of federal retirees due to the Deferred Resignation Program and other separation programs has led to a litany of new questions on how to receive retirement benefits.
Workforce
VA has shed 40,000 employees, Democratic report finds, with drastic impacts on veterans
The department saw staffing losses of 30,000, which includes thousands of front-line health care staff.
Workforce
Democrats press CISA’s acting chief over major staffing cuts
Madhu Gottumukkala also faced questions about a reported failed polygraph exam and attempts to reassign the agency’s chief information officer.
Management
Funding rescissions, re-staffing initiatives and other major takeaways from the final FY26 funding package
Lawmakers again declined to provide Trump with most of the funding cuts he requested.
Oversight
New Senate bill would bar administration officials from serving as an inspector general
Most IGs confirmed since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term have experience working in his administration.
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.
Management
Pushed out by DOGE, former feds now feel ‘unleashed’ on improving government efficiency
We the Doers, a new nonpartisan organization of former federal employees, released its first report on Tuesday with recommendations on how to improve government effectiveness and efficiency.
Pay & Benefits
Defense Department set to issue new civilian employee awards by end of the month
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December directed department components to designate awards of up to $25,000 in an effort to “retain, reward, and recognize” the top 15% of civilian employees in each agency.
Workforce
Trump defends cutting nearly 300,000 feds from their ‘boring’ jobs
The president claimed without evidence that all federal workers forced out during his first year back were now in “better” jobs in factories making double or triple their government salary.
Management
Education begins moving out employees even as Congress says it lacks authority
In bipartisan, bicameral spending package, lawmakers look to pump the brakes on the dismantling of Education that the department advanced on Tuesday.
Management
Shutdown odds plummet after House and Senate strike bipartisan deal on remaining funding bills
New package would avoid significant cuts at most agencies.
Management
Judge upholds DHS policy requiring notice for lawmaker visits to immigration facilities
The ruling leaves in place a rule that mandates advance notice for congressional visits, with the judge citing procedural issues rather than the policy’s substance.
Management
One year in — It has been a tough year for federal employees.
COMMENTARY | Senior executives have faced a year of challenges and tumult, but whatever 2026 may hold for the civil service, these leadership lessons can help guide employees through it.
Management
‘Harder days ahead in 2026’: Good government group predicts increased political interference in the civil service in Trump’s second year
A new analysis from the Partnership for Public Service looks at the effects, so far, of the Trump administration’s reforms to the federal workforce and what they could portend.
Pay & Benefits
Lawmakers propose 35% pay raise for federal prison workers
Bipartisan legislation would establish a special pay rate for employees at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons until the agency reduces its reliance on mandatory overtime and augmentation of support staff’s duties.
Management