Jory Heckman

A VA nurse working in an oncology unit said cuts to support staff mean her coworkers are spending more time on ancillary duties -- at less time with patients.

Over 11,000 VA health care employees apply to leave, but ‘very few’ eligible for separation incentives According to an internal dashboard, the Veterans Health Administration has about 63,000 more employees than it did in FY 2019.

11K+ VA employees in health care-related positions -- including 1,300 nurses, 800 medical support assistants & 200 physicians - applied for "deferred resignation," signed up for early retirement, or voluntarily retired. VA says 'very few' are eligible for separation incentives

Went for a run and made a new friend last week. But I’m back on the clock and ready to do some reporting. News tips on what’s happening in the federal government/workforce are always welcome

Signal: Jheckman.29
Email: Jheckman@federalnewsnetwork.com

IRS layoff notices to employees delayed by ‘glitches’ IRS employees told Federal News Network that RIF notices slated for several offices didn’t go out last Friday as planned.

NEW: Layoff notices were scheduled to hit several IRS offices last Friday -- but never came. Rumors spread among employees as to why. But the acting deputy COO says "glitches" and "issues" are to blame.
federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/20...

a young man wearing a hat and a jacket looks at something ALT: a young man wearing a hat and a jacket looks at something

It's hard to overstate how much everyone who worked on IRS Direct File saw it as a new model for government to deliver benefits & services to the public. Almost a 180-degree flip from the 2013 Healthcare. gov crash.

federalnewsnetwork.com/management/2...

OPM plans to spend nearly $42 million to relocate a few hundred employees In February, OPM gave remote employees an ultimatum: relocate within commuting distance of its office space or accept termination.

Scoop: As part of its return-to-office plans, OPM is planning to spend more than $42M to relocate approximately 250 employees — or about $166,000 per employee. That's significantly higher than what the average federal employee makes in a year.

federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/20...

SSA shifts to X posts for official messaging after cuts to communications staff SSA is once again walking back plans that would have limited the agency's level of phone support to beneficiaries.

@wired.com Big fan of all the reporting you're doing on the federal news beat. I always try to give credit when you're first to a story. Probably a simple oversight, but I'm hoping you're able to return the favor on the SSA/X news I broke this morning

federalnewsnetwork.com/agency-overs...

I've heard of cuts to FOIA offices at other agencies, but nothing specific about the team at SSA. I'll let you know if I hear anything about their status.

SSA shifts to X posts for official messaging after cuts to communications staff SSA is once again walking back plans that would have limited the agency's level of phone support to beneficiaries.

good thing so many retirees are tech savvy, have X accounts, and are good at spotting misinformation!

Trump asks Supreme Court to let him fire independent regulators The Supreme Court’s decision on whether Trump can remove the pair will test the boundaries of presidential power and have broad implications for at least two dozen other agencies.

Breaking news: The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow the president to remove a pair of independent regulators whose cases have broad implications for at least two dozen other agencies, including the Federal Reserve Board, and for how the federal government operates.

DOGE officials across government appear on GSA’s shortlist of vetted personnel DOGE officials across the federal government dominate a shortlist of individuals allowed past security on the sixth floor of GSA’s headquarters.

GSA's acting administration recently told employees, "There's nobody working for DOGE here." But DOGE officials dominate a list of vetted personnel granted access to restricted parts of the GSA's headquarters

federalnewsnetwork.com/agency-overs...

Social Security Administration outlines new plan for stricter ID-proofing options SSA is looking to partner with the Postal Service and allow beneficiaries to verify their identity in-person at thousands of post offices across the country.

🚨SSA back at it with plans to require some beneficiaries to verify their IDs online or in person (no more 📞). This time, they want to:
1⃣ Partner with USPS to let people verify ID in person at post offices
2⃣ Roll out facial recognition option
federalnewsnetwork.com/benefits/202...

Trump's VA is ending a rescue program that's saved 17,000 military veterans' homes The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will end a mortgage rescue plan that has saved many veterans from needlessly losing their homes, the move could strand thousands of others who need help.

The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will end a mortgage rescue plan that has saved many veterans from needlessly losing their homes, the move could strand thousands of others who need help.

IRS will bring fired probationary employees back to work by mid-April Acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause said Wednesday that the agency will take previously fired probationary employees off paid administrative leave.

🚨 IRS is giving about 7K recently fired probationary employees the option to return to their jobs "on full-time duty" by April 14 -- the day before Tax Day. Up until now, they've been "reinstated," but on paid admin leave

federalnewsnetwork.com/hiring-reten...

Fired health workers were told to contact an employee. She’s dead. Some federal health employees who were laid off Tuesday were told to contact Anita Pinder, who died last year, with discrimination complaints.

www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

‘Humiliating and degrading’: HHS employees learn of layoffs when their ID badges stop working CMS employees who got RIF notices were directed to send employment discrimination complaints to an official who died last November.

federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/20...

Can confirm WaPo's reporting that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services employees who got layoff notices today were told to contact EEO Director Anita Pinder to file employment discrimination complaints -- but she died last November. Spoke to a current employee who went to her funeral

Top Officials Placed on Leave After Denying DOGE Access to Federal Payroll Systems DOGE demanded full access to a US Department of the Interior system that handles even the Supreme Court's paychecks. When top staff asked questions, they were put on leave.

NEW: DOGE demanded full access to a US Department of the Interior system that handles even the Supreme Court's paychecks. When top staff asked questions, they were put on leave.

AFGE Local 3403 says all work processing 2025 grant applications has ended, with staff on leave.

“The status of previously awarded grants is unclear. Without staff to administer the programs, it is likely that most grants will be terminated."

Agency funding libraries and museums puts all employees on leave ahead of major cuts The Institute of Museum and Library Services is one of seven agencies President Donald Trump is looking to cut "to the maximum extent."

🚨 Institute of Museum and Library Services is putting all its employees on paid administrative leave, after a brief meeting between DOGE & IMLS leadership. Employees must turn in all govt property before leaving. Email accounts are also being disabled.

federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/20...

FMCS handles collective bargaining disputes in the private sector & across the federal workforce. FMCS saves $500M a year by preventing strikes, work stoppages and other labor issues -- nearly 10x its annual budget

Federal labor mediation agency cuts staff down to ‘skeleton crew’ The Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service will cut its workforce from about 220 employees down to a dozen.

The Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service is terminating nearly all 220 of its employees by COB today. It'll keep a "skeleton crew" of ~12 employees to manage work required by law. It's 1 of 7 small agencies targeted for elimination in a recent EO

federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/20...

GSA terminated nearly 1K leases last week — the first of six waves of federal office space downsizing planned for FY 25. But according to multiple sources, the agency is now walking back ~300 of those lease terminations for 'public-facing' govt buildings. t.co/vHgKmqZnXB

VA withdrew at least dozens of Veterans Crisis Line job offers - after canceling remote positions, but not having enough office space to put them in. After our reporting, a VA spokesperson says they're "in the process of reissuing" these jobs offers

federalnewsnetwork.com/veterans-aff...

A VA spokesperson told me "VA will conduct its own review of the department’s charge cards and report its findings to GSA.” But an executive order signed last night put a 30-day freeze on ALL purchase cards govtwide “to the maximum extent permitted by law.”

"There is sheer panic about GSA cutting cards," a VA employee tells me. GSA plan would give all of VA <500 authorized cardholders to manage $6B+ in spending. That's less than what many VISNs have right now. VA's the largest integrated health system in the U.S.

VA gets GSA request to slash total number of employees who hold purchase cards GSA has asked 15 other agency heads “to reduce their agency charge card limits, and the number and usage of cards.”

NEWS: VA is being asked to severely limit the number of employees who can make purchases through a governmentwide charge card program — a decision that could impact billions of dollars in annual spending.
federalnewsnetwork.com/veterans-aff...

Trump expected to take control of USPS, fire postal board, officials say The move threatens to upend trillions of dollars in ecommerce business and the 250 year-old Postal Service.

📬🚨 HUGE NEWS 📬🚨

Trump plans to fire the USPS governing board, merge the Postal Service into the Commerce Department.

It would disrupt 55 years of non-political mail service, and threatens to upend trillions of dollars of ecommerce and the 250 year-old US mail system.

OPM advises agencies to fire probationary employees after ‘deferred resignation’ deadline OPM stopped accepting new offers for its deferred resignation offer, as of 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday night.

BREAKING: OPM is advising all federal agencies to fire their probationary employees with less than a year on the job, after it stopped accepting new offers for its “deferred resignation” program last night.
federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/20...

Current and former GSA employees -- anonymous news tips are always welcome via Signal (jheckman.29) and email (JHeckman@federalnewsnetwork.com)