Congress

Employees begin furloughs as lawmakers hope to end shutdown Tuesday

The unusual nature of the funding lapse has led to some confusion for impacted federal workers.

Updated

Shutdown deal struck after failed Senate vote

Senate Democrats and the White House reached an agreement late Thursday to fund most departments and agencies through Sept. 30 after a previous funding bill was blocked.

Eleanor Holmes Norton to retire from Congress after decades of advocating for federal employees

Norton has been a “loyal friend” to the American Federation of Government Employees, said National President Everett Kelley.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Democrats question White House tech lead on how workforce churn will impact AI Action Plan

Several House lawmakers also worried over whether the Trump administration’s budget request for 2026 would fall short of the funding agencies need to successfully carry out the White House’s AI action plan.

How many Jan. 6 rioters work for the federal government? Raskin wants to find out

The Maryland Democrat also criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for wearing masks in a letter to the Trump administration that the Homeland Security Department called “reckless, disgusting and unhinged.”

Trump administration stands up consolidated federal firefighting agency over bipartisan congressional reservations

Interior says it is only restructuring internally, though it is still working toward Trump's goal of an interagency merger.

Most newly confirmed Trump inspectors general previously worked in his administration, raising fears about independent agency oversight

These oversight officials may have to recuse themselves from investigations of programs they previously worked on, an expert said.

A federal workforce census, targeted cuts and more key takeaways from the latest FY26 spending package

The latest "minibus" fully funds some offices Trump sought to zero out, creates a new flexible account for the president and has some suggestions for new federal building designs.

House Democrats say revived Noem policy restricting congressional visits to ICE facilities violates court order

This second attempt by the Homeland Security Department to put a seven-day notice requirement on lawmaker tours of immigration detention facilities follows the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

Major takeaways for federal agencies from the latest bipartisan spending package

The new "minibus" rejects many Trump proposals, from reorganizations to program eliminations.

Pentagon will cough up summaries of 3 years of safety investigations, per NDAA

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., pushed for the disclosure amid rise in military aviation mishaps.