Management
Trump signs law requiring the IRS to clean up adjustment notices
Lawmakers hope that clearer notices when the IRS makes simple math or clerical fixes on tax returns should cut down on headaches for taxpayers.
Management
High tensions around law enforcement, ICE tactics on display in heated House hearing
Members of the House Homeland Security Committee clashed on party lines over issues of violence against law enforcement and tactics by federal immigration officers.
Management
Democrats argue Ingrassia should be removed from government following nomination withdrawal
While no longer the special counsel nominee, Paul Ingrassia is now a senior official at the General Services Administration.
Management
Trump’s Education Department transfers illegal, Senate Dems say
Four Democratic senators blasted an Education Department plan to move certain operations to other departments through interagency agreements as “outrageous,” and “illegal,” saying it circumvented appropriations law.
Workforce
House panel advances bills extending probationary periods to two years
Democrats decried the measure as a Trojan horse aimed at more easily screening new federal workers and job seekers on ideological grounds.
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Pay & Benefits
Marjorie Taylor Greene retirement launches speculation about congressional pensions
For former members of Congress, pension and health care benefits can depend on your tenure.
Oversight
Lawmakers call for probe of how firm tied to Kristi Noem got piece of $220M DHS ad contracts
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has come under fire after allegations that a Republican consulting firm with ties to her and department leadership had been awarded an ad campaign contract.
Defense
Trump: Telling troops to refuse illegal orders is 'seditious behavior'
"Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders,” six Democratic lawmakers said in a video. "TRAITORS!!!" Trump responded.
Management
Democrats try again to reestablish legal deference to agencies on regulations
The bicameral bill also seeks to limit the ability of businesses to influence the rulemaking process.
Tech
Lawmakers signal support for using AI to prevent veteran suicides in FY26 VA funding bill reports
“There is a significant need to improve early suicide indicators and detection using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies that improve operational efficiency and effectiveness throughout veteran service delivery,” according to a House Appropriations panel report.
Workforce
Lawmakers force House vote on bill nullifying anti-union EOs
A pair of Republicans were the final signatures needed to on a bipartisan discharge petition in support of legislation that would strike President Trump’s pair of executive orders aimed at stripping two-thirds of the federal workforce of their collective bargaining rights.
Management
As health costs spike, a sour and divided Congress escapes one shutdown to face another
Few of the divides that fueled the 43-day shutdown have been resolved, and a fractured Congress is on the clock to find a budgetary solution.
Management
Agencies could still be digging out from shutdown when funding deal ends, association says
The Congressional Budget Office and an industry group for federal contractors both predict the government won’t return to pre-shutdown operational levels until 2026. A partial funding lapse could start at the end of January without congressional action.
Management
Major takeaways for federal agencies on the funding deal to reopen government
Congress appears poised to end the longest-ever shutdown later this week with a bill with major implications for several key agencies.
Oversight
SSA chief Bisignano faces probe from Wyden and Warren over Fiserv stock and federal contract concerns
The Social Security commissioner has come under fire in recent days as shares in his former company depreciated shortly after his tax-advantaged divestiture from the financial technology firm.
Management
‘We’re closer to the end': Lawmakers signal some progress in bipartisan talks to end shutdown
Funding lapse set to reach record levels but senators in both parties voice mild hope of progress.
Management
Senator argues that federal agencies should be more like Spirit Halloween, at least when it comes to real estate
While the Trump administration is prioritizing rightsizing the federal real estate portfolio, it has pared back several more aggressive efforts to offload property.
Pay & Benefits
Employees are receiving renewed furlough notices as shutdown enters second month, this time without back pay guarantees
The shutdown is heading into November, sparking new, altered furlough notices to 650,000 employees.
Management
Senate committee backs $1.4B FBI HQ move over Democratic protests
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the plan to move the Bureau to the Ronald Reagan Building in a party-line vote, with several legislative hurdles remaining.
Defense