Author Archive
Management
USPS posts $1.3B quarterly loss, as officials clash over fixes
Detailing its first quarter performance Thursday, postal leaders praised service improvements during the holidays season, while bemoaning the agency’s financial prospects.
Updated
Oversight
A thinning roster at Indian Affairs leaves tribes wondering who’s left to help, watchdog reports
Indian Affairs’ workforce has decreased by 11% since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Workforce
ICE is scrutinizing work from home permissions for its employees with disabilities, continuing trend across government
The immigration enforcement agency said there was a “dramatic surge” in telework and remote work reasonable accommodation requests after President Donald Trump ended work from home flexibility for federal employees.
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Oversight
Democrats ask watchdog marked by past controversy to expedite reviews of ICE, CBP
Misconduct allegations against Homeland Security Department inspector general Joseph Cuffari were substantiated in 2024, but President Joe Biden did not remove him.
Oversight
Education Department spent up to $38M paying employees not to work before reinstating them, watchdog reports
The Government Accountability Office also reported that the caseload for the department’s Office for Civil Rights increased by an average of 98 cases per week during part of the time that these staffers were on paid leave.
Management
Court orders OMB to publish more info about how federal funding is distributed
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington had asserted that officials violated an earlier mandate regarding the disclosure of spending data.
Oversight
Ethics organization calls for investigation into jewelry ad that features assistant secretary
The Energy Department said that Audrey Robertson’s appearance was unpaid, occurred prior to her confirmation and that her government title was added by the business.
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Management
Lawsuit seeks to stop FEMA from cutting its workforce in half
Staff reductions at the disaster agency were put on hold last week, as it faced the recent winter storm.
Management
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.
Management
Some FEMA employee layoffs put on hold, while reform council renewed
The pause in reducing Cadre of On-Call Response and Recovery (CORE) employees comes as the U.S. faces a winter storm.
Oversight
DHS IG sees 'no value' in GAO report urging internal collaboration on Coast Guard investigations
Investigators from the Government Accountability Office also recently published critical reports on the Coast Guard’s efforts to combat sexual misconduct.
Workforce
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.
Oversight
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.
Management
Pushed out by DOGE, former feds now feel ‘unleashed’ on improving government efficiency
We the Doers, a new nonpartisan organization of former federal employees, released its first report on Tuesday with recommendations on how to improve government effectiveness and efficiency.
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Management
‘Harder days ahead in 2026’: Good government group predicts increased political interference in the civil service in Trump’s second year
A new analysis from the Partnership for Public Service looks at the effects, so far, of the Trump administration’s reforms to the federal workforce and what they could portend.
Oversight
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.”
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Oversight
Missed deadlines, unclear leadership, neglected requirements: Watchdog flags shortcomings in Coast Guard’s efforts to improve sexual misconduct policy following scandal
Coast Guard officials said that President Donald Trump’s orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal government interrupted some reform efforts.
Oversight
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.
Oversight
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.
Management
Nearly all civilian Defense employees are back in the office, but watchdog says officials should better track telework eligibility
Employees who are still teleworking are mostly exempt from the in-person work requirement.
