Tech
US needs an agency to call ‘balls and strikes’ on digital IDs, lawmaker says
Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., said Congress needs to create a federal body capable of auditing identity verification technologies to lay the groundwork for a broad embrace of digital IDs.
Pay & Benefits
What to know before setting your 2026 retirement date
Immediate vs. deferred retirement, the three-day rule, and why the last day of the month often makes the most sense.
Management
Democrats rally behind hardball strategy to upcoming shutdown fight
House and Senate Democratic leaders say they are united in making policy demands as part of upcoming spending talks.
Exclusive
Management
ODNI expected to shrink counterintelligence, counterterror centers
The steps are the latest in a series of moves that several current and former officials see as enabling broad vulnerability to foreign espionage attempts.
Workforce
Feds fired en masse seek to compel oversight agency to investigate their cases
The Office of Special Counsel dropped the probationary worker appeals after Trump fired the agency's head.
Workforce
Unions urge VA to restore bargaining ahead of deadline
President Trump’s order extending a ban on collective bargaining to additional agencies opened the door for more labor groups to continue representing employees at the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments.
Oversight
Democrats want to know how the Forest Service is funding its deferred resignation program
The Forest Service chief told one Senate committee that the funding came from annual appropriations and another that the agency was dipping into money provided in two Biden-era laws.
Tech
Government pacing toward increased IT contract spending despite DOGE cuts
A new administration and new priorities haven’t slowed the federal government’s spend on IT.
Management
Treasury, GSA partner to reward fed employees who ID wasteful contract spending
Parts of the program could eventually expand beyond the Treasury Department.
Pay & Benefits
Legislation to end government shutdowns returns to Capitol Hill
Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., have brought back a bill aimed at ending the costly budget impasses, a proposal that’s historically had little success in Congress.
Workforce
Social Security office that helps members of Congress assist their constituents slashed by up to 94%
A spokesperson said that Social Security's congressional affairs work is continuing in offices across the agency.
Tech
AI platform rolls out tools for federal networks with no data retention
The new “Perplexity for Government” initiative will automatically identify federal networks to provide tailored search and security services.
Tech
‘Whole-of-nation’ effort needed to deter nation-state hackers, new White House cyber director says
Newly confirmed ONCD director Sean Cairncross wants to work with the private sector to develop a toolkit for stopping foreign hackers and boosting U.S. cyberdefenses.
Exclusive
Workforce
Suspected Chinese operation aims to recruit former feds with job postings, research shows
Researchers at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies uncovered a network of likely fraudulent China-linked websites operating as far back as 2021. One has very recently tried to recruit former federal workers and policy experts.
Exclusive
Management
GSA launches FAS Office of Centralized Acquisition Services
The office will be headed by longtime GSA executive Tom Meiron.
Management
OPM implements years-in-the-making update to federal hiring process
The "rule of many" aims to give federal hiring managers more information and choices as they evaluate job candidates.
Updated
Management
Some funding frozen by Trump could soon expire due to new fiscal year, Democrats warn
Congress will need to reach a bipartisan consensus by Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown.
Management
FEMA begins security overhauls following cyber incident and employee firings
The agency recently blocked users from accessing multiple websites and made password changes to an internet security tool in efforts to shore up its cyber posture, people familiar say.
Management
Boosting timber harvesting in national forests while cutting public oversight won’t solve America’s wildfire problem
COMMENTARY | The shrinking of the federal forest workforce is among several factors that have more impact on forest fire risk than the time it takes to approve timber harvesting projects.
Management