Management
GSA Faces Pressure to Recognize Biden as Election Winner, Hand Over Keys to Formally Start Transition
It is unclear when GSA will grant access to full transition resources amid the Trump campaign’s legal challenges.
Management
GSA Holds the Key to When or If Biden Gets Access to Full Transition Resources
With President Trump’s campaign threatening lawsuits, it is unclear when GSA would grant access to full transition resources.
Management
OPM Quietly Abandons Proposed Merger with GSA
The Trump administration’s merger plan was criticized by lawmakers in both parties and was eventually blocked by Congress.
Management
President Signs Bill to Allow Electric Vehicle Charges on Government Purchase Cards
The bipartisan bill saves taxpayers money and boosts energy efficiency, senators say.
Oversight
IG Finds ‘Significant Inaccuracies’ in Federal Acquisition Service’s Reporting of Small Business Contracts
This resulted from issues with the GSA-managed federal procurement data system.
Management
New Executive Order Seeks to Put Federal Buildings in Disadvantaged Areas
The General Services Administration will develop a plan to implement the directive.
Oversight
Inspector General Blasts Efforts to Transfer OPM Facility Authority to GSA
The Office of Personnel Management watchdog said the Trump administration took action without regard to the impact, potentially incurring millions of dollars in recurring annual costs.
Management
OPM Is Reorganizing Employees to Get Around Ban on GSA Merger, Union Claims
Over the weekend, the Office of Personnel Management moved nearly two dozen employees into the agency’s HR Line of Business, which is being renamed with GSA support.
Management
Trump Administration Redacts Meeting Minutes on the Presidential Transition
“If there’s anything that needs to be redacted that’s a sign that there’s something that shouldn’t be going on,” said New York University’s Paul Light.
Oversight
House Committee Investigates Whether Officials Misled Congress on OPM-GSA Merger
A recent watchdog group report cited notes from a phone call indicating the Trump administration was advised that the merger plan was illegal, an account that is at odds with what OPM officials testified before Congress last year.
Management
GovExec Daily: Civilian Federal Buildings Named After Segregationists
Eric Katz joins the show to discuss the potential renaming of facilities such as the Thomas G. Abernathy Federal Building and the Strom Thurmond Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.
Oversight
Lawmakers Press GSA on Trump Hotel’s Request for Financial Relief During Pandemic
This comes as a federal appeals court revives an Emoluments Clause lawsuit involving the hotel.
Oversight
House Lawmakers Accuse GSA of Breaching Ban on Implementing OPM Merger
Oversight panel leaders say newly uncovered emails confirm that the General Services Administration’s pending revocation of the Office of Personnel Management’s building operation authority is part of the plan to abolish the HR agency.
Oversight
Why So Many Architects Are Angered by ‘Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again’
Federal building guidelines say that "development of an official style must be avoided" – which is exactly what a leaked executive order is trying to do.
Oversight
Watchdog Highlights Security Vulnerabilities at Federal Child Care Centers
IG says in some cases, a lack of funding stalled fixes that would have made facilities safer.
Management
GSA Praised for Progress on Contracting Schedule Consolidation
Compared to a 2015 merger, “phase two [of the current process] far exceeds the expectations,” said one observer.
Oversight
GSA Back in the Hot Seat Over Trump Hotel Oversight, Potential Sale
"The only thing I know is what I've read in the paper," agency chief says in reference to foreign expenditures at the hotel.
Pay & Benefits
OPM Reduces Retirement Backlog, and Gas Reimbursement Rates Decrease Slightly
A weekly roundup of pay and benefits news.
Oversight
House Lawmakers Issue ‘Ultimatum’ to GSA Over Trump Hotel Records Subpoena
GSA disputes the lawmakers’ allegations of noncompliance.
Management