Oversight
GSA Misrepresented White House Role, Costs of FBI Headquarters Decision, IG Says
“The new demolish-and-rebuild plan would cost more than the cancelled exchange plan,” the watchdog found.
Management
The To-Do List Method For People With Crazy Lives And Short Attention Spans
It sounds promising and it's dead simple.
Nextgov
How Mobile Data Could Help Manage the National Parks
The data could be used to create better park experiences despite overcrowding.
Oversight
Unions Demand Swift Reversal of Agency Policies After Court Decision
Justice Department says it is evaluating potential next steps after a judge invalidated most elements of President Trump’s three workforce executive orders.
Management
CFPB’s Student Loan Ombudsman Resigns Over Administration’s ‘Damage’ and ‘Betrayal’
In a blistering resignation letter, Seth Frotman accused acting director Mick Mulvaney of abandoning students in favor of powerful financial institutions.
Management
White House Instructs Agencies to Stop Performing ‘Low Value’ Work
New OMB guidance aims to cut the burden on agencies, in part by rescinding previous presidents’ reporting requirements.
Management
It’s Dismantlers v. Rebuilders on the Government Reform Front
A new study shows momentum among reform advocates pushing for bigger government.
Defense
ISIS Is Ready For a Resurgence
The new recording released by the group’s leader suggested he’s looking to the past to chart a course for the group’s ultimate triumph.
Route Fifty
Revitalizing Health in Rural Appalachia
How a Tennessee county improved community health after the area's lone emergency department closed.
Management
Judge Strikes Down Trump Executive Orders Limiting Federal Employee Union Bargaining
The administration's orders "eviscerate" collective bargaining rights in violation of the Civil Service Reform Act, judge finds.
Route Fifty
Hackers Press Secretaries of State to Support Independent Testing of Voting Machines
The Senate Intelligence Committee also touted the Voting Village’s efforts to probe election equipment while chastising its naysayers.
Nextgov
Pentagon Amends JEDI Contract, Moves Forward Despite Protest
The Defense Department will continue taking industry questions until Aug. 28.
Nextgov
Forest Service Public-Private Partnership Explores Using Drones for Precision Pesticide Application
The group plans to award a sole-source contract to research whether unmanned aerial systems can spray in hard-to-reach places without disrupting nearby sensitive ecosystems.
Pay & Benefits
Senate Approves Spending Package With Military Pay Raise, No Labor Dept. Pay Freeze
An amendment to freeze the pay of Labor employees was not offered on the floor.
Defense
Analysis: The War In Afghanistan Isn’t a Hopeless Stalemate
A strategy to shut down Taliban safe havens in Pakistan could bring the war to an end.
Defense
Trump’s Untested Authority to Revoke Security Clearances
Can the president restrict a person’s access to classified material for any reason he wants? It may take a lawsuit from former CIA Director John Brennan to find out.
Management
Americans Distrusted U.S. Democracy Long Before Trump’s Russia Problem
Russian meddling has shaken Americans' faith in democracy. But public discontent after a scandal is hardly new. Trust in government began to erode under Nixon, and it's mostly worsened since then.
Management
Are Tattooed Job Applicants Less Likely To Be Hired? Two New Studies Disagree
The studies used very different methodologies.
Management
Paul Manafort and Trump’s Pardon Pattern
As he has with Manafort, President Trump has decried the government’s “unfair” treatment of all three men he has pardoned to date. But will the pattern hold with his former campaign manager?
Route Fifty