Workforce
Trump exempted public safety roles from his hiring freeze. Federal firefighters, prison guards and food inspectors wonder why they don’t count.
Current and former employees say public safety agencies are still freezing hiring they claim to have exempted and liken the approach to a 'self-imposed gunshot wound to the head.'
Updated
Workforce
Federal judge blocks USAID leave notices and reinstates workers
Attorneys representing the Trump administration confirmed Friday that upwards of 2,200 employees, many of whom are stationed overseas, would have been put on administrative leave Friday night, absent the court’s intervention.
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Management
Federal prisons to house ICE detainees as Trump furthers immigration crackdown
The move raises a series of questions as staff remain unclear on how their responsibilities could change.
Workforce
Trump administration environmental justice removals cut across agencies
Agencies leaders placed nearly 200 on administrative leave as they wound down programs at the Justice and Energy departments and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Transition
What to do on the day after?
COMMENTARY | Once Elon Musk and crew burn it all down, here’s how we might rebuild from the ashes.
Management
Musk's role as ‘special government employee’ raises ethics questions
The SpaceX founder and CEO's moves across federal agencies break with tradition and could result in legal action.
Updated
Workforce
Trump administration’s 'deferred resignation' deadline blocked until next week
OPM is required to notify all employees who received an initial "deferred resignation" offer by Thursday evening that the deadline for accepting the legally dubious offer has been pushed until Monday.
Workforce
Many federal supervisors this week had just hours to send tweet-length justifications to save their employees’ jobs
OPM renewed its push at some agencies to glean information on recently hired federal employees.
Management
OPM asks to dismiss email server lawsuit, citing misinterpretation of law
The agency notably released a privacy impact assessment for the dubious email server used to mass-message federal employees about a deferred resignation offer on the same day as the legal dismissal request.
Transition
Congressional Democrats tell skeptical protestors they’ll stop Trump’s elimination of USAID
Members of Congress who spoke at Wednesday’s rally said an upcoming government funding deadline could be an opportunity to stifle Trump’s plans to weaken federal agencies.
Transition
Musk’s DOGE efforts pose a ‘constitutional crisis,’ experts warn
Elon Musk has spent the first two weeks of the Trump administration parachuting into government offices, leaving extensive — and some say legally prohibited — changes in his wake.
Management
DOGE enters NOAA, accesses IT systems and removes the top HR official
The Musk-led team is rooting out DEI and, some lawmakers fear, may have an eye toward grander aims at the agency.
Updated
Workforce
USAID begins sending administrative leave notices ahead of expected shutdown
The agency also reportedly has ordered overseas missions to shut down by the end of the week.
Workforce
Thousands more recent federal hires receive warnings of their easy-to-fire status
The Trump administration is ratcheting up its efforts to push federal workers out of government.
Updated
Workforce
Agencies ramp up pressure on their workers to quit
New guidance continues to defend the Trump administration's "deferred resignation" program as legal, though it fails to address its apparent violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act.
Workforce
Union chief: It’s not just a threat to federal employees
COMMENTARY | "Either we fight for our federal workforce now...or we will suffer the consequences of a government ill-equipped to protect and deliver for the taxpaying citizens of our nation," writes Doreen Greenwald, national president for the National Treasury Employees Union.
Workforce
Unions sue Treasury over DOGE access to payment systems
Anonymous plaintiffs also called for a temporary restraining order Tuesday to prevent OPM from using a newly installed email system to mass-message federal employees.
Workforce
OPM claims agencies can ignore union telework contracts
A new memo instructing agencies to cease enforcing union-negotiated telework policies under the guise of “management rights” could portend future assaults on collective bargaining.
Transition
‘Offensive bullshit’: Dem lawmakers call out Trump admin for ‘illegal’ action at USAID
Democratic lawmakers called out “unconstitutional” actions by billionaire Elon Musk and vowed to fight the Trump administration’s attempt to gut the U.S. Agency for International Development.
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Management