Alt18F

OMB says ‘substantial’ federal employee layoffs have begun Just before the shutdown, OMB told agencies to draft RIF plans for programs that wouldn’t have alternative funding sources.

Our thoughts are with the public servants caught up in the latest round of RIF notices. We've said this before, and we'll repeat it now: You matter. Your work matters.

How Trump’s OPM director wants to attract tech talent after months of workforce cuts OPM Director Scott Kupor wants to bring on new feds with cutting edge skills, but the government’s recent flood of layoffs and resignations could complicate that effort. With a government shutdown ong...

"What sets Kupor’s efforts to attract tech talent apart from his predecessors' is the fact that they come after sweeping cuts pushed by DOGE. ... The entire 18F office at the General Services Administration ... was laid off in the spring."

Our friends at @usdigitalresponse.org are hosting the 2025 Digital Service Champions Awards to recognize folks doing great work in #civictech. Nominations close this Friday, October 10. ⏳

Government awards: usdr.link/champions-government
Individual awards: usdr.link/champions-individual

🗣️ We're hosting an archival version of "plainlanguage.gov" to help make sure this trusted resource remains available to folks who need it.

"The inspector general’s office for the General Services Administration ... said it will look at the impact of several DOGE-backed projects at GSA—including its mass termination of government leases and its decision to shutter its tech office 18F."

"Bringing new tech into the government requires a deep understanding of how it works at every level, from hiring to budgeting and procurement policy. But ... the DOGE team did not try to understand how the government worked."

Hey all, I'm trying a new layout for some tables in DOGE track to hopefully make things a little easier to follow. I'm really liking it, but let me know feedback!

dogetrack.info/agencies/gsa/

Authoritarian by design - DesignObserver The "America by Design" initiative, issued by the Trump administration, pushes a harmful narrative with questionable visuals

When bad design isn’t a mistake, it’s the strategy. The “America by Design” initiative isn’t just a messy website. It redefines design itself, away from accessibility and toward exclusion, erasure, and control. Latest essay by @emcg.bsky.social

Direct File died under Trump. Meet the creators planning for its second life After building the IRS’s free electronic filing tool, the Economic Security Project’s Future of Tax Filing fellows are writing a playbook for it to “come back someday” — and pushing for more.

“I hope that [future administrations] pick the tax work back up where it was, which was a lot of momentum. And I hope they take that same energy across the rest of the government. I’m a firm believer, government can be a force for good in people’s lives."

new toolkit Resources for civil servants  Navigating attacks on the federal workforce

Are you a civil servant looking for resources? Protect Democracy put together this curated list to help you navigate attacks on the federal workforce. Read, bookmark and share: https://protectdemocracy.org/work/resources-for-civil-servants/

@Erie.bsky.social accepting the EFF Award: “Speaking up is hard and it's scary. But it will only get harder and scarier from here. The best time to do it was yesterday. The second-best time is today. These are not choices we will always have.”

The Untold Saga of What Happened When DOGE Stormed Social Security DOGE has ignored urgently needed reforms and upgrades at the Social Security Administration, according to dozens of insiders and 15 hours of candid interviews with the former acting chief of the agenc...

"The shock troops of DOGE, at the Social Security Administration and myriad other federal agencies, were the advance guard ... . And despite the highly public departure of DOGE’s leader, Elon Musk, that campaign continues today."

Federal Courts Slow to Fix Vulnerable System After Repeated Hacking

"In three reports released between 2021 and 2022, the [18F] consultants recommended that the courts immediately build a new case-management system, one that would address not only security, but broader issues like user experience and the complexity of software changes made by individual courts."

Whistleblower reports, letters of dissent, appeals, refusals, resignations—this week saw many civil servants taking personal risks to honor their oath and serve the public interest the best they can. We recognize your courage. 🇺🇸

DOGE Put Critical Social Security Data at Risk, Whistle-Blower Says DOGE team members uploaded a database with the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans to a vulnerable cloud server, according to the agency’s chief data officer.

Breaking News: DOGE put the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans at risk by uploading Social Security data to a vulnerable cloud server, a whistle-blower complaint said.

The daily digital interactions its web designers are tasked with improving include paying a student loan, renewing a passport, planning trips to national monuments, managing social security payments and filing taxes.

This WaPo piece about the Airbnb/DOGE guy who is now the head of design in government ignores that:
*DOGE fired the actual talented design people in government, including Social Security!
*IRS had a beautifully designed tax filing system that DOGE killed
*USDS already did online passport renewals

Our past projects have… For over 11 years, non-partisan civil servants at 18F proudly served the American people to make government technology work better.

Learn about some of our past work here: 18f.org/our-work/pas...

Our democracy is not a brand. Our country is not a retail store. At 18F, our inspiration was (and is) the American people.

To restate: DOGE eliminated designers at 18F, the U.S. Digital Service, and across many federal agencies. We were already doing this work, and following best practices for accessibility, privacy, and security as we did so.

America by Design A National Design Studio Initiative

Folks in our community have asked us to comment on “America by Design”—but a site like this largely speaks for itself.

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Design without privacy is just a cover-up: USDS co-founder's take on Trump's EO A former government technologist lays out a blueprint for how the White House’s federal web design order could actually work.

"Great design in government isn’t about fonts and colors. It’s about whether a small business owner can get help without waiting months; whether a senior can see their doctor without wondering who will be peering through her files ... ." —@erie.bsky.social

“Abolishing” roles at 18F, the U.S. Digital Service, and across our partner agencies—only to replicate them months later—doesn’t serve the American people. That’s why we’re continuing to fight our terminations in court.

Improving Our Nation Through Better Design By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose and

“Improving our nation through better design” is certainly important work: we know this, because it’s exactly what we were doing when DOGE eliminated 18F entirely.

I’m old enough to remember when personnel moves like this would be called “inefficient”.

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Just how much has DOGE exaggerated its numbers? Now we have receipts. A POLITICO analysis of DOGE data reveals the organization saved less than 5 percent of its claimed savings from nearly 10,100 contract terminations.

"'That’s the equivalent of basically taking out a credit card with a $20,000 credit limit, canceling it and then saying, 'I’ve just saved $20,000.' Anything that’s been said publicly about [DOGE’s] savings is meaningless.'”

One of the things you learned at 18F and USDS is that government isn’t like a business: it has to serve everybody and not just specific market segments that are the most convenient.

CDC’s HR staff overwhelmed, causing real-life problems for former employees The CDC fired a large number of employees in their human resources division and now former feds say they are suffering the personal, professional consequences.

"There are hundreds, if not thousands, of other federal employees in similar predicaments at both CDC and across government."