Ex-VOA Employees Challenge Last Year’s Buyout and Retirement Offers
Four former Voice of America employees have petitioned the Merit Systems Protection Board to void the early‑retirement and buyout agreements they signed in 2024 under the Deferred Resignation Program, Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments. Their request follows a federal judge’s ruling that Kari Lake’s appointment as head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media was invalid, forcing the agency to reinstate the hundreds of staff laid off. The plaintiffs argue they were coerced into accepting the offers under threat of mass layoffs and seek class certification for all workers who exited under similar programs. If successful, the case could overturn voluntary separation agreements across the federal government.
Trump Vows to Find ‘Leaker’ Who Publicized Search for Second Downed Airman in Iran
President Donald Trump warned he will pursue the media outlet that first reported a second Air Force officer missing after an F‑15E Strike Eagle crashed in Iran. The weapons‑system officer evaded capture for more than a day before U.S. special‑operations...
Scammers Posing as Federal Officials Drive Complaints up and Rack up $800 Million in Losses
The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Complaint Center report shows government‑impersonation scams nearly doubled from 2024, with complaints rising from about 17,300 to 32,500. Victims lost roughly $797 million in 2025, up from $405 million the year before, placing this fraud among the...
OPM Leans Into 'Well Care' As It Reshapes Federal Health Plans for 2027
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) unveiled its 2027 Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) agenda, branding it “well care” to broaden focus on physical and mental wellness. Key mandates include free access to all CDC‑recommended vaccines, required coverage of at...
Interior Incentivizes More Staff Departures After Already Cutting 20% of Its Workforce
The Interior Department, after cutting about 20% of its workforce over the past 15 months, has launched a new Deferred Resignation Program that lets most full‑time employees take paid leave through September before exiting government service. The program, which previously...
Traveling Soon? What Federal Health Plans Actually Cover
Federal employee health plans, including FEHB and related options, provide varying levels of overseas medical coverage as travel season peaks. Most plans reimburse at in‑network levels but require members to pay upfront and submit claims with translation and currency conversion....
A Call to Action: Shining the Spotlight on Public Building Utilization
The General Services Administration oversees roughly 8,000 federal buildings, yet no agency meets the 60% occupancy benchmark set by the USE IT Act. A newly released utilization report shows widespread underuse and a maintenance backlog valued between $26 billion and $50 billion....
Top Oversight Dem Criticizes OPM’s Forced Distribution Plan for Federal Worker Appraisals
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has proposed lifting its ban on forced distribution, allowing agencies to set quotas for top, average and low performance ratings. The rule echoes a similar shift introduced during the Trump administration for the Senior...
As the Number of Political Appointees Surge and Career SES Ranks Shrink, One Nonprofit Warns of ‘Institutional Consequences’
The Partnership for Public Service reports that political appointees in the federal government have surged to their highest level in decades, while career Senior Executive Service (SES) positions have shrunk by nearly 30% since the start of the second Trump...
New Contract for Background Investigations Raises Concerns About Scale and Risk
The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) has released a draft solicitation for the next‑generation Case Processing Operations Center (CPOC 2.0), expanding its workload to include Continuous Vetting for real‑time monitoring of cleared personnel. Historically, CPOC processes over a million background...
A Federal Office Designed to Stave Off the Next Financial Crisis Is Being Dismantled by the Trump Administration
The Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research (OFR) is slated to shrink from 196 employees to roughly 70, a 64% reduction announced by its director in early March. Created under the 2010 Dodd‑Frank Act to gather data and issue early...
Federal Labor Board Asserts Political Control over Union Elections
The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) issued two final rules that move decision‑making on federal union elections and bargaining‑unit definitions from career regional directors to the politically appointed three‑member authority. Effective April 23, the authority will work collaboratively with regional...
New Bills Would Extend Whistleblower Protections to More Feds
Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced two Senate bills to broaden whistleblower protections for federal employees. S.4100 would extend the same safeguards to civil servants whose primary duties involve investigating wrongdoing, countering recent Merit Systems Protection Board rulings that raised the retaliation...
Stalled Onboarding of Foreign Service Fellows Draws Questions From Lawmakers
Senators, led by Chris Van Hollen, have written to Secretary Marco Rubio demanding an explanation for the months‑long onboarding delay affecting more than 50 Thomas R. Pickering and Charles B. Rangel fellows from the 2023 and deferred 2022 cohorts. The...
Survey of 11,000 Feds Underscores ‘Layer Cake of Trauma’
The Partnership for Public Service released its own Public Service Viewpoint Survey after OPM cancelled the statutory Federal Employees Viewpoint Survey, gathering responses from over 10,000 federal workers. Engagement plummeted to 32 out of 100, with 58% saying morale worsened...
How Federal Retirement Benefits Have Changed over the Years
Over the past four decades, federal retirement benefits have been reshaped by a series of landmark statutes, beginning with the 1986 Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) that introduced a Thrift Savings Plan and linked benefits to Social Security. Subsequent laws...
Fired MSPB Member Appeals to Supreme Court
The Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member Cathy Harris was removed by President Trump before her term ended, prompting her attorneys to petition the Supreme Court. The appeal argues that MSPB’s removal protections differ from those examined in *Trump v....
The Pentagon Built a Blueprint to Avoid Civilian War Casualties. Trump Officials Scrapped It
The Pentagon’s Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response (CHMR) program, created to protect non‑combatants, was largely dismantled after Donald Trump returned to the White House. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prioritized lethality, cutting roughly 90% of the program’s staff and budget. Within...
Record-Smashing $1.5-trillion Spending Proposal Will Fund only the ‘Most Essential Things’: Comptroller
Pentagon comptroller Jules Hurst confirmed that nearly all of the $153 billion reconciliation fund has been allocated, leaving just $1.3 billion unspent. Lawmakers are debating a $50 billion supplemental package to fund potential strikes on Iran, while the White House is expected to...
States Sue HUD over Fair Housing Guidance Tied to Enforcement Funding
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit challenging two September HUD memos that tie fair‑housing enforcement funding to new eligibility criteria. The memos would stop reimbursing state agencies for cases involving discrimination based on sexual orientation,...
Performance Prioritized over Seniority in Proposed RIF Rule, OSC Says
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel backs the Office of Personnel Management’s proposed rule that shifts reduction‑in‑force (RIF) decisions from seniority to performance. Under the draft, agencies will assign points based on the three most recent performance ratings, with veterans’...
Arbitrator Orders Restoration of Telework at Social Security
An independent arbitrator ruled that the Social Security Administration (SSA) breached its collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) by ending telework for most staff in March 2024. The decision mandates the restoration of remote‑work options,...
Women in Federal Service Still Face Retirement Gaps
Women in federal service continue to lag behind men in retirement security despite the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Caregiving responsibilities and career breaks reduce creditable service years, leading to smaller pensions and lower Thrift Savings Plan balances. Organizations such...
Hegseth Orders ‘Ruthless’ Review of JAGs. Some See an Attempt to Evade Accountability
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a "ruthless, no‑excuses" review of the Pentagon’s civilian and uniformed legal offices, directing a 45‑day assessment and six‑month overhaul. A memo outlines a split of responsibilities, assigning civilian general counsels business, acquisition and litigation duties...
Energy Dept., NASA Take Steps to Oust Their Unions
On Tuesday the Department of Energy (DOE) and NASA announced steps to terminate existing collective bargaining agreements, invoking President Trump’s Executive Order 14251 that cites national security concerns. DOE issued immediate termination notices to three major federal unions, while NASA...
The No. 1 Thing to Know Entering Retirement: How Much Are You Really Spending?
Federal employees planning retirement should first quantify their actual spending before tackling Social Security timing, health‑benefit choices, or annuity projections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows seniors spend about $60,000 annually, often 20‑30% more than their rough estimates. Tracking every...
Hegseth Leaves Iran War’s Timeline in Trump’s Hands
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters the U.S. has trimmed its Iran war aims to three core objectives, discarding President Trump’s calls for unconditional surrender and a replacement leader. The Pentagon entered day 11 of a high‑intensity campaign, reporting more...
Bipartisan Bill Would Authorize the Secret Service to Reimburse State and Local Police for Assistance
Congress introduced the bipartisan Secret Service‑Local Law Enforcement Partnership Act (H.R. 7876) to reimburse state and local police for protection duties involving the president, vice president, major presidential candidates and former officeholders. The legislation earmarks $61 million for each fiscal year...
Homeland Security Department Is Stonewalling Watchdog Investigations, GOP Senator Alleges
During a Senate hearing, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis accused Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of obstructing Office of Inspector General investigations, citing a letter that alleges department leaders misled investigators in ten instances. Tillis warned he will place procedural hurdles...
Fake DOD Memo About ‘Compromised’ Apps Shows Swift Spread of Deceptive Messaging
A fabricated U.S. Cyber Command memo warned that popular apps such as Uber, Snapchat and Talabat were "compromised" and could expose servicemembers' locations. The Department of Defense quickly denied any such directive, confirming the memo never existed. The false alert...
Federal CIO Tapped for Dual-Hatted Role at GSA
Federal Chief Information Officer Greg Barbaccia was appointed acting director of the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS) and senior advisor to the GSA administrator. Barbaccia retains his titles as federal CIO, chief AI officer, and service‑delivery lead, consolidating...
Amid Immigration Agent Hiring Surge, Watchdog Flags Shortages on the U.S.-Canada Border
The Government Accountability Office flagged a critical staffing shortfall for Law Enforcement Information Systems Specialists who monitor surveillance along the 4,000‑mile U.S.-Canada border. Only 77% of those positions were filled at the end of fiscal 2024, down from 84% in...
Air Traffic Controller Pay Raise Stalled by DHS Shutdown
The ongoing Homeland Security Department shutdown has frozen the $140 million earmarked for a 3.8% pay raise for air traffic controllers. While the House passed a minibus appropriations package, Senate Democrats withdrew support, leaving the raise in limbo until after the...
‘My Dream Job Has Turned Into a Nightmare’: Ex-Feds and Public Service Experts Testify to Congress on How to Rebuild...
House Democrats held a hearing on the Trump administration’s Schedule P/C, a rebranded version of Schedule F that removes civil‑service protections for thousands of policy‑related federal workers. Former officials and experts warned that politicizing the workforce erodes merit‑based hiring and could deter...
The Clearance System Is Mission Infrastructure. Treat It Like One
The article warns that the U.S. security clearance system is being treated as a back‑office task rather than essential mission infrastructure. Recent fake‑remote‑worker scandals and DOJ reports of foreign infiltration highlight the risks of a brittle trusted‑workforce pipeline. Leadership gaps...
When Every Second Counts: Government Tech Helps First Responders’ Lifesaving Missions
Government labs are accelerating first‑responder capabilities through two NIST‑sponsored challenges. The prize competition pushes drones to generate high‑resolution 3D indoor maps, while the First Responder Smart Tracking (FRST) challenge develops rugged wearables that pinpoint personnel inside structures where GPS fails....
FBI Gathered Intelligence on Reporters, Religious Orgs Using ‘Assessment’ Authority, Watchdog Report Says
The Government Accountability Office reported that the FBI used its “assessment” authority to collect intelligence on more than 1,000 journalists, religious groups and public officials between 2018 and 2024. Assessments permit physical surveillance, grand‑jury subpoenas and human sources without a...
Watchdog Flags Gaps in Coast Guard’s Handling of Discrimination Complaints
The Government Accountability Office released a report highlighting gaps in the Coast Guard’s handling of discrimination complaints, known as social climate incidents. The GAO identified 112 reported incidents from fiscal 1998‑2024, 79% of which involved race or ethnicity, with more...