GovExec

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Thursday that a whistleblower complaint within the Health and Human Services Department has led one agency to slash staffing due to findings of government waste. buff.ly/AGedjX1

5 guardrails federal agencies need before the next emergency loan program COMMENTARY | Congress can authorize speed, but accountable structures must be in place before the next emergency loan program begins.

COMMENTARY: Fast emergency loan programs risk costly oversight gaps. Agencies need clear statutory rules and assigned reviewers before funds are disbursed.

A coalition of labor unions and other employee advocacy groups say President Trump’s plan to convert around 50,000 federal workers to at-will employees violates federal law, the Constitution and threatens to upend the merit-based civil service. buff.ly/35QsXzN

Travel industry rallies support for TSA staff working without pay amid concern of delays during shutdown The screeners and more than 100,000 additional DHS staff are on the verge of missing their first full paychecks.

The travel industry is imploring lawmakers to ensure on-time pay for Transportation Security Administration employees, launching a campaign on Thursday to pressure Congress into passing legislation to that effect while the partial government shutdown remains in effect. buff.ly/KibmD4P

A year after the Social Security Fairness Act, some retirees are still waiting for full benefits The repeal of the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset should have restored benefits for everyone. For some retirees, the checks are still coming late or not at all.

Some fed retirees are getting only six months of retroactive spousal benefits after repeal of WEP and GPO, not payments back to Jan. 2024. Tammy Flanagan, our fed retirement expert, explains here:

GSA head questioned about agency’s involvement in acquiring space for detaining migrants The administrator also addressed an agreement with Pakistan to redevelop a New York City hotel as well as the maintenance backlog for federal buildings.

A lawmaker pressed the head of the General Services Administration about its role as Immigration and Customs Enforcement acquires warehouses for immigration detention and why some upcoming DHS lease awards were not publicly posted. via Sean Michael Newhouse

Trump to fire DHS Secretary Noem, selects Mullin as successor The controversial Homeland Security leader will end her tenure amid a budget shutdown of her agency and following bipartisan criticism in both houses of Congress.

Kristi Noem will step down as Homeland Security Department secretary at the end of the month, President Trump announced on Thursday, marking a new chapter in a tumultuous period for the agency that has overseen the administration’s controversial immigration crackdown. buff.ly/hPJw2Q6

Continuing to shed federal workers remains ‘priority number one,’ White House official says OMB deputy suggests that making it easier to fire feds will ‘liberate’ them to do their jobs better.

The Trump administration will continue working to shrink the size of the federal workforce after already shedding more than 300,000 employees, a White House official said on Thursday, who suggested a leaner civil service will be more effective as a result of its reduced stability. buff.ly/XZOWaaO

After shedding 25,000 employees, IRS chief says his agency now has perfect staffing level The tax agency’s CEO criticized his predecessors for staffing up without justification, though he noted he has not conducted workforce analysis either.

IRS chief says agency's current workforce of roughly 75,000 is the right size, crediting AI and tech upgrades for improved efficiency despite last year’s 25,000-plus staff cuts. via Eric Katz #federalworkforce #irs

Report: Nearly 95k science employees left government as Trump downsized agency workforces The Trump administration also has cut spending on science contracts and grants.

Nearly 95,000 federal science employees left between September 2024 and December 2025, disrupting research at CDC, NIH and NASA. via Sean Michael Newhouse #federalworkforce

The Trump administration has unveiled its plan to streamline the rules governing layoffs at federal agencies, though employee groups warn the overhaul will contribute to more arbitrary mass firings. buff.ly/557koOl

DOJ contradicts FEMA on who approved mass firings "I don't have a great explanation for that," a DOJ lawyer says when asked to clarify in court.

A court hearing involving the mass dismissals of federal workers at FEMA was briefly derailed on Tuesday when a Trump administration attorney contradicted the sworn testimony of an agency head, sparking confusion and pointed questioning from the judge.

NTEU chief stands firm as agencies seek to terminate contracts Doreen Greenwald said her union will continue to demand compliance with its collective bargaining agreements in face of a renewed push to excise labor groups from most federal agencies.

“From our perspective, the executive order is illegal, and any steps to enforce it are also illegal. We still have a valid contract,” says NTEU chief Doreen Greenwald as the union pushes to enforce its IRS collective bargaining agreements.

Homeland Security Department is stonewalling watchdog investigations, GOP senator alleges Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said that he would procedurally obstruct the legislative process until officials respond to his questions about department oversight.

Tillis cited a letter from the DHS inspector general, which he said alleged that department leadership either misled investigators or prohibited certain inquiries, adding that he would put procedural hurdles on several legislative activities until DHS responds to his questions. buff.ly/h6Pl3an

‘They are America’: Photographer spotlights civil servants who have lost their jobs under Trump Retired lawyer Allan Dinkoff has documented 65 ex-feds for his photography project “Targeted: Portraits of Civil Servants Under Trump.”

Retired lawyer Allan Dinkoff has documented 65 ex-feds for his photography project “Targeted: Portraits of Civil Servants Under Trump.” Staff Writer Sean Michael Newhouse has more. buff.ly/dLadw8F

Congress searches for shutdown off-ramp as DHS employees start missing pay Republican leaders hope a new vote this week, and pressure from war in Iran, will help spur a breakthrough on DHS funding.

Republicans are renewing their push to fully fund and reopen the Homeland Security Department, suggesting the war the United States launched against Iran over the weekend has heightened the need to end the single-agency shutdown that entered its third week on Monday. buff.ly/8vxnaqm

Ex-DOJ civil rights attorneys continue their work ‘just not in the division’ About three quarters of lawyers working on civil rights at the Justice Department have left the division since President Donald Trump took office.

Ex-DOJ staff track Trump-era shifts in civil rights enforcement, highlighting 55 dropped or reversed cases. Reporting by Sean Michael Newhouse

The IRS and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service this week informed employees that they have terminated their collective bargaining agreements with the National Treasury Employees Union, seemingly violating at least the spirit of a federal court order. buff.ly/b6h3BJj

How to make the most of FERS, Social Security and your TSP Understanding each part of your federal retirement can help you plan when and how to retire and avoid surprises.

Federal employees can plan a smoother retirement by understanding FERS, Social Security and TSP. Check your benefits, track your TSP balance, and plan for taxes and health costs to avoid surprises.

Judiciary requests control over courthouse property management partially due to job cuts at GSA The General Services Administration, which manages government property, said in a statement that the “American taxpayer is best served by the judiciary focusing on the rule of law while GSA continues…

The federal judiciary is urging Congress to take control of courthouse property management from GSA, saying recent GSA job cuts have worsened maintenance backlogs and building conditions.

Current and former leadership at FEMA are engrossed in a back-and-forth dispute in federal court over the impact of the disaster response office shedding staff en masse, with some officials saying the Trump administration is putting FEMA’s core functions at risk. buff.ly/qCRNd1o

Appeals court declines to block Trump’s anti-union EOs The lone Democratic appointee on a Ninth Circuit three-judge panel suggested that he and his colleagues may reach a different conclusion with the benefit of a “fully developed factual record.”

A federal appeals court declined to block Trump’s 2025 executive orders ending collective bargaining for most federal workers, keeping the anti-union rules in effect while legal challenges continue. buff.ly/PuKPgBd

COMMENTARY | The White House's proposed war on fraud, waste and abuse is neither new nor an assured outcome for any presidential administration, but history offers some lessons that can help get started. buff.ly/PVH0Cyu

Bipartisan lawmakers worried about shaky progress on modernized government worker background check system The IT system undergirding the overhauled background check program is nearly a decade behind schedule and billions over budget.

Officials testified to a House Oversight subcommittee that work on the National Background Investigation Services system will be finished in fiscal 2028, but members of both parties expressed concerns about the project's progress. buff.ly/0qEi9AR

GAO report offers new details on the workers agencies lost last year The government watchdog agency found that nearly 144,000 federal workers were accepted into the deferred resignation program in the first half of 2025.

Newly released data from the Government Accountability Office offers some of the most granular glimpses yet of how the Trump administration’s sprint to remake the federal workforce impacted agency headcounts.

USDA to offload HQ building as it prepares to consolidate space and relocate staff The department plans to move employees around the country by the end of the year.

The USDA on Wednesday announced it has taken preliminary steps to clear its employees from one of its headquarters buildings in Washington as it plans to shift thousands of them into new locations by the end of the year. Senior Correspondent Eric Katz has more. buff.ly/plt88Ig

COMMENTARY | The Homeland Security Department has already been at the center of unprecedented government shutdown history this year, David Berteau looks at why this recent lone agency impasse could be different from others. buff.ly/umhNNdm

Trump uses State of the Union to call for end of DHS shutdown, declares ‘war on fraud’ The president also promised to expand the type of retirement savings account currently available to federal employees to the general public.

Unlike in his 2025 address to Congress, President Donald Trump did not significantly discuss federal workforce issues over his roughly two-hour long State of the Union but did to call on congressional Democrats to end the funding lapse for the Homeland Security Department. buff.ly/CT45765

Fate of CFPB employees hang in the balance as judges consider agency's future The Trump administration is seeking authority to lay off nearly all employees at the consumer watchdog.

Judges on a federal appeals court discussed whether the Trump administration can lay off nearly the entire workforce at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during a hearing Tuesday, with the fate of the agency hanging in the balance as the court weighs a decision.

The Trump administration wants to recruit more Peace Corps volunteers with fewer agency personnel, puzzling Democratic lawmakers Twenty-one members of Congress urged the Peace Corps to pause workforce layoffs and restructuring until officials can show that the agency will still be able to fulfill required activities and…

House and Senate Democrats are questioning how the Trump administration plans to reach its goal of more than doubling the number of Peace Corps volunteers while simultaneously slashing the agency’s workforce. buff.ly/r0nEx5Z