White House

CDC nominee faces questions over whether she can lead the agency independently

Dr. Erica Schwartz sought to reassure senators she would follow the science as lawmakers pressed her on vaccines, abortion data and disease surveillance.

Trump empties out election commission leadership just months before midterms

Career staff can continue day-to-day operations, but the leadership gap could affect decisions on voting technology, standards and federal election programs.

Trump says Pulte can declassify ‘whatever’ he wants, sparking fears of exposing intelligence secrets

“If he doesn’t care about blowing up cyber exploits, putting foreign relationships at risk, or getting people killed, he could declassify a lot,” one former official said.

Inside the competing federal efforts behind America’s 250th anniversary plans

Federal and White House-led initiatives are rolling out overlapping programming for the semiquincentennial, including National Mall events, court open houses and nationwide commissions that will shape how the 250th anniversary is marked.

Slaughter and the expansion of presidential power

COMMENTARY | The Supreme Court’s latest ruling has dismantled a century of independence for federal regulators, and the ripples of this decision may just be the start of a much broader reshaping of the executive branch.

President can fire independent agency heads without cause, Supreme Court rules

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a dissent that the decision “reshapes our government.”

Inside the Ford White House years that shaped Alan Greenspan’s idea of public service

Greenspan is remembered for defining an era at the Federal Reserve, but colleagues point to his earlier experience in the Ford administration as the moment he first learned what public service demands inside government, and how economic judgment shifts once it meets political reality.

Intelligence director hearing cancelled as Trump pushes for controversial voter bill

The development guarantees that Bill Pulte — whose selection to temporarily lead the office derailed a recent FISA vote — would start as acting national intelligence director on Friday.

White House cyber office hire triggers leadership changes inside infrastructure security agency

A senior CISA official’s move sets off a series of internal assignments as the agency prepares to expand hiring after a year of workforce reductions and restructuring.

Surveillance authority nears historic lapse as House deadlock meets intelligence leadership fight

Section 702 is set to expire for the first time after a failed House vote, even as a White House nomination aims to resolve a separate battle over who should oversee the intelligence community during the transition.

What makes an effective intelligence chief? A former DNI official points to the answer

COMMENTARY | As scrutiny grows around President Trump’s pick to lead the intelligence community, a former National Intelligence Council chair explains the less visible responsibilities that come with the job.

Trump memo pushes national security agencies to move faster on AI

The directive calls for deeper partnerships with AI companies while directing agencies to guard frontier models and the data centers that power them from foreign adversaries.

Trump’s edict making 8,000 feds at-will employees draws swift outcry

Agencies have just one week to reclassify thousands of federal workers in purportedly policy-related roles into the new Schedule Policy/Career, stripping them of most civil service protections.

EPA’s research efforts are swayed by administration priorities, official says

The Environmental Protection Agency’s formerly independent research office was replaced last year by a new unit housed within the agency’s Office of the Administrator.

Trump moves to lock in Blanche at DOJ as confirmation fight takes shape

The acting attorney general’s record, from internal settlements to handling of sensitive disclosures, is setting up a broader test of Senate GOP unity and Democratic opposition.

Trump signs order moving thousands of federal employees into Schedule F

Roughly 8,000 career federal employees were stripped of their civil service protections Wednesday, making them effectively at-will employees.

Top White House cyber policy official to soon depart

Alexandra Seymour currently serves as principal deputy assistant national cyber director for policy in the Office of the National Cyber Director.