Federal Newscast

The US DOGE Service's claims that it is saving more than 140 billion dollars by cancelling contracts is overstated. New analysis from the American Enterprise Institute finds the savings are much closer to about 10 billion dollars. Nat Malkus, the deputy director of Education Policy Studies at AEI, reviewed the contract data DOGE posted to highlight the amount of money agencies obligated versus how much they actually spent came out to be much smaller than what DOGE claimed the total value of the contracts were worth. Additionally, AEI says until the White House asks Congress for and lawmakers approve a rescission of funding, they money stays on the books and savings aren't real. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Despite reducing its workforce by thousands of employees, the General Services Administration is ready to hire new employees once again. The Federal Acquisition Service put out job postings for contract specialists and supervisory contract specialists. The contract specialists would be at the GS-12 and 13 pay scales, while the supervisory positions would be at the GS 14-15 levels. All positions are available in several locations, including Washington, DC, San Francisco and 10 other locations around the country. GSA didn't say how many people it was looking to hire. Some estimate it could be up to a thousand new employees as the Trump administration aims to centralize contracting for common goods and services at GSA.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

DoD's acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins will review Defense Secretary’s Pete Hegseth’s use of the commercial messaging app Signal to discuss operational details of airstrikes in Yemen. Stebbins said the review will “determine the extent to which the defense secretary and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business.” The evaluation will also investigate thecompliance with classification and records retention requirements. Stebbins’ memo comes after two top Senate lawmakers requested a probe into the incident that has stunned Washington. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A federal union’s lawsuit against the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program is resurfacing. That’s after at least seven agencies have renewed their “fork in the road” offers to federal employees, ahead of reductions in force. In response, the American Federation ofGovernment Employees has amended its initial complaint. The union argues that the deferred resignation offer is unlawful, and that the administration needs to issue regulations for the program before proceeding. A federal judge previously blocked AFGE’s initial complaint, sayingthat the union first needed to go to the Federal Labor Relations Authority over the matter.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Thrift Savings Plan stumbles in March. The only funds to post positive returns were the G, F and I funds. The government securities G fund posted the highest returns for the month, at zero-point-three-seven percent. The small cap stock index investment S fund posted the lowest return, at negative seven-point-nine-three percent. The Lifecycle funds all posted negative returns as well. Year to date, however, every fund in the TSP but the S fund is seeing positive returns. The I Fund and F Fund are among the biggest winners so far this year with return rates of over 4.6% and 2.7%, respectively. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Junior enlisted troops will see a pay bump this month as the Defense Department introduces a targeted pay hike this month aimed at improving service members’ quality of life. Congressapproved a significant pay raise for active-duty service members ranks E-1 through E-4 which is set to go into effect. Service members already received a 4.5% pay raise in January, but junior enlisted service members should see an additional 10% pay increase in their mid-month paychecks. This historic pay increase for junior enlisted troops is part of Congress’ efforts to improve military recruitment and retention. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's Federal Newscast, federal unions have been quick to push back against President Trump’s move canceling many collective bargaining agreements. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's Federal Newscast, the Trump administration's contracting freeze has caused several contractors to go out of business.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's Federal Newscast, House Democrats are looking into whether Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem uses the Signal app for official business.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's Federal Newscast, GOP lawmakers are looking to expand the president’s authority for fast-tracking agency reorganizations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's episode of the Federal Newscast, the Government Accountability Office will open an investigation into the impact of the Trump administration’s firing of probationary employees on the health and safety of the American people. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a letter to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a group of lawmakers is urging the Defense Department to 'immediately reverse policies' that they say attempt to erase records of troops' historic accomplishments. The four lawmakers signedonto the letter are veterans who serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The lawmakers said content about record-breaking combat flight hours by female aviators, medal recipients within segregated combat units during the World Wars and historical contributions of Native American servicemembers is being removed indiscriminately. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said Thursday that “history is not DEI,” and that when content is “mistakenly or maliciously” removed, the department continues to work quickly to restore it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Defense Department says “in rare cases” it has “deliberately or mistakenly” removed certain content as part of its efforts to erase diversity, equity and inclusion pages from itswebsite after a webpage dedicated to Jackie Robinson's service was suddenly gone. Robinson’s webpage, along with content about the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee airmen, and the Marines at Iwo Jima, was initially removed as part of the department-wide purge of DEI content ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Robinson’s page, titled ‘Sports Heroes Who Served: Baseball Great Jackie Robinson Was a World War Two Soldier,’ has been restored after public outcry without any content changes. Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot saidthe department is “pleased by the rapid compliance” with the defense secretary’s directive to remove DEI content from all platforms. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Labor rallies are popping up across the country this week to call attention to the Trump administration’s recent upheavals of the federal workforce. In Atlanta, Georgia, employees fromthe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are pushing back against the Trump administration’s recent actions. Transportation Security Administration workers in San Diego, California, are calling for the revival of the agency’s recently terminated union contract. And in Akron, Ohio, employees from the Department of Veterans Affairs are protesting recent terminations, which they say will harm the VA’s ability to deliver services. The American Federation of Government Employees, which is leading many of the rallies, says it will continue to push back against the Trump administration’s massive cuts to the federal workforce.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal contractors no longer have to pay a minimum wage of almost $18 per hour for employees under certain types of contracts. President Donald Trump rescinded the executive order from April 2021 establishing higher hourly pay for hundreds of thousands of blue collar workers. The Biden administration raised the minimum wage for specific covered government contracts like those for concessions or those for services on federal lands to $17.75 an hour starting on January 1st. Trump's rescission means contractors can pay blue collar employees a minimum of just under$13 an hour.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Social Security Administration continues to try to set the record straight about the accuracy of its Death Master File. After repeated false claims by the White House and DOGE that SSA is paying tens of thousands of people who are more than 100 years old, the agency says less than one-third of one percent of all deaths are erroneously reported and need to be corrected. SSA says it's confidence its Master Death file is highly accurate. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a departmentwide review of military standards, including physical fitness, body composition and grooming. A memo released on Wednesdaydirects the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness to review how the standards have changed since January 2015. Hegseth pledged to conduct this review during his confirmation hearing. The defense secretary said the review will “illuminate how the department has maintained the level of standards required over the recent past.” The Defense Department opened up combat roles to women in December 2015, a decision that Hegseth has previouslyopposed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Trump administration tells agencies to ignore collective bargaining agreements that interfere with the ability to conduct reductions in force, or RIFs. A new memo from the Office of Personnel Management argues that contracts with federal unions cannot supersede an agency’s ability to lay off its employees. The OPM memo says agency management has the right to determine its number of employees, and make headcount adjustments as needed. The guidance comes just ahead of agencies’ expected RIF plans, which are due to the White House by this Friday.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

President Donald Trump nominated Eric Ueland to be the top federal management official. Ueland, who is currently the acting chief of staff for OMB, would be the deputy director for management at OMB if confirmed by the Senate. He would replace Jason Miller, who was DDM for all four years of the Biden administration. Ueland is a former Senate staff member, having worked for majority leader Senator William Frist (R-Tenn.) and then as staff director for the upper chamber’s budget committee. Along with Ueland, Trump nominated Ethan Klein to be an associate director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which is another namefor the federal chief technology officer. He was an emerging technology policy adviser during the first Trump administration where he focused on autonomous and unmanned systems. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Department of Homeland Security is bringing back at least one of its federal advisory committees. In a public notice this week, DHS announced it is renewing the Homeland Security Advisory Committee. The reconstituted panel will have 35 members. They will serve three-year terms and provide strategic advice to the secretary of homeland security. DHS terminated several advisory panels in the early days of the Trump administration, including the CyberSafety Review Board that was investigating a major U.S. telecom hack.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

With a government shutdown less than a week away, a leading Republican Senator is calling for Congress to pass a spending bill. Maine Senator Susan Collins, the chairwoman of theAppropriations Committee, says government shutdowns are inherently a failure to govern effectively and have negative consequences all across government. House Republican lawmakers unveiled their year-long continuing resolution on Friday. The bill freezes overall funding at fiscal 2024 levels but does include cuts to certain agency programs and increases to others, such as the FAA and fully funds the largest junior enlisted pay raise. It also doesn't include any language related to DOGE.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal employee unions and other organizations filing lawsuits against the Trump administration may have to put money in escrow to cover the potential costs and damages of the lawsuit. President Trump's new memo tells agencies to use the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c) to ask the federal courts to hold litigants accountable for their lawsuits. The scope of the directive covers all lawsuits filed against the federal government seeking an injunction where agencies can show expected monetary damages or costs from the requestedpreliminary relief, unless extraordinary circumstances justify an exception. Failure of the organization that filed the lawsuit to provide the money could result in the denial or dissolution of the requested injunctive relief.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning major cuts to its workforce later this year. VA Secretary Doug Collins says the department is looking at a 15% cut to return the agency to 2019 staffing levels. That would meaning eliminating about 72,000 positions. Collins says VA will shrink the workforce without any cuts to veterans’ health care or benefits.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Defense Department says Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has so far identified about 80 million dollars in what it considers wasteful spending. Press Secretary Sean Parnell said DOGE has found one point nine million dollars for diversity, equity and inclusion training in the Air Force; six million dollars to the University of Montana to “strengthenAmerican democracy by bridging divides;” and three point five million dollars at the Defense Human Resources Activity for support to DEI groups. DOGE saving the Defense Department 80 million dollars represent less than one percent of the Pentagon’s total budget.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The National Science Foundation has just rehired about half of the employees it fired two weeks ago. The reversal comes after a federal judge ruled last week that the Trump administration's directives telling agencies to fire their probationary employees were illegal. The reinstated workers will receive backpay and will not see a break in service. While 84 employees will be going back to work, the other 86 fired workers will still be out of their jobs. NSF says that's because they were intermittent employees and not full-time staff members. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents NSF workers, says it's looking forward to welcoming back the reinstated employees. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new memo from the Defense Department's office of personnel and readiness directs service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria to be separated from the military. The department says transgender service members may be granted a waiver if there is a “compelling government interest in retaining the service member who directly supports warfighting.” The Defense Department said all service members impacted by this policy will be separated with an honorable characterization of service. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson, has instructed the military services to remove all DoD news and feature articles, photos, and videos that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion by March 5th. If the services are not able to remove all DEI content from DoD social media accounts by March 5th, they will be required to temporarily scrub all DEI news articles, photos and videos published during the four years of the Biden administration. Components using DVIDS are also required to review their DEI content, which is scheduled for removal. Thedigital content refresh memo from Sean Parnell follows President Donald Trump’s various executive orders eliminating DEI across the federal government and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “Restoring America’s Fighting Force” memo.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Defense Department Office of Inspector General found that recruits who went through the Army’s future soldier prep course did not receive medical services, such as metabolic and cardiovascular screenings, assessments by a dietitian or medical clearance before proceeding to basic training. The inspector general found that many trainees far exceeded the Army body fat standards before starting the prep course. The future soldier prep course was designed to help recruits meet academic and physical standards before starting basic training. The news comes after the service managed to meet its recruitment goals in 2024, mainly due to the success of the prep course .See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The acting head of the IRS is stepping down and retiring from the federal government. IRS Chief Operating Officer Melanie Krause will take over as the new acting IRS commissioner. Krause joined the IRS in 2021 and started as its chief data and analytics officer. She’ll take over for Doug O’Donnell, a career employee with 38 years of service who will retire this Friday. The IRS recently fired about 6,500 probationary employees. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It came a little late – but the Office of Personnel Management issued guidance last night telling agencies how they should handle this weekend’s mysterious email telling employees to summarize their accomplishments over the past week. The memo, published just a few hours before the midnight deadline, says responses should be sent to both OPM and agency leadership. OPM says agencies should make their own decisions about what actions to take toward employees who don’t respond to the email. The guidance also makes clear that employees who didn’t have access to email yesterday shouldn’t be held to the deadline. It also completely exempts White House staff from the need to respond. Several large agencies have already told employees they don’t need to respond to the email. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new advisory board that will consider reforms to the Federal Emergency Management Agency is starting to take shape. DHS put out the official charter for FEMA Review Council late last week. The council is slated to hold its first meeting by April 24th and deliver an initial report to the White House by late July. President Donald Trump has called for potentially eliminating FEMA and sending emergency management funds directly to states. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who has a seat on the new council, has said the administration should“get rid of FEMA the way it exists today.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A top House Democrat is pressing for information on Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration. In a letter sent to President Donald Trump Thursday, Congressman Gerry Connolly called for transparency in Musk’s involvement in federal operations. Connolly says Musk has been widely portrayed as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, or “DOGE.” But a White House official recently claimed that Musk is *not* an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service. Connolly’s letter pushes for answers on who *is* DOGE’s current administrator, and the nature of Musk’s relationship to the federal entity.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Postal Service and its letter carrier union are at an impasse over a new labor contract. The dispute now heads to a panel of third-party arbitrators. Members of the National Association of Letter Carriers overwhelmingly voted down a tentative agreement for a new contact earlier this month. USPS and the union failed to reach a new deal within a 15-day window. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Air Force is evaluating its Family Days policy to ensure it “aligns with the force’s ability to support warfighter readiness.” Family Days are extra days off that military commands typically grant to service members around federal holidays to create an extended weekend. A new memo from the acting assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs says while commanders may authorize a day off for military members on these dates, civilian employees are not granted additional leave. Airmen and Guardians expressed concerns that the service might eliminate Family Days to ensure mission readiness.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Close to 400,000 military members with health insurance through TRICARE may have been impacted by pharmacy changes over the last couple years. The Defense Health Agency has gradually reduced the number of pharmacies available through TRICARE to cut costs and save taxpayer dollars. But the Government Accountability Office said the pharmacy changes could make it take longer for beneficiaries to access prescription drugs. DHA officials, though, said the pharmacy changes were only a reduction in participants’ choices for their preferred pharmacy, and not a loss of overall access. Still, GAO is recommending that the agency more closely monitor prescription timeliness and data, and make adjustments as needed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Two Republican lawmakers want to make any governmentwide reorganization plan an up or down vote by Congress. Congressman James Comer and Senator Mike Lee's ReorganizingGovernment Act of 2025 would fast-track any plan President Donald Trump submitted to Congress. Lawmakers say the bill would help give the president the authority to streamline government operations to better serve the American people. Comer and Lee say this legislation restores a reorganization authority that was last in effect in 1984, aiming to modernizeand improve government efficiency. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

House Democrats are pressing the Defense Department about the military services pausing sexual assault prevention and response training programs. In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers said the decision is “not only irresponsible but also dangerous.” The lawmakers also said the law requires providing this training to incoming service members, civilian employees, first responders and staff directly supporting victims. At least some militarybranches have paused the program as the Defense Department works to comply withPresident Donald Trump’s executive order banning all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the government.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Cathy Harris is out as the chairwoman of the Merit Systems Protection Board. An MSPB spokesman confirmed the White House terminated Harris's position and named Henry Kerner as acting chairman. The White House also demoted Ray Limon from the vice chairman position. Limon, however, remains on the board, which maintains the quorum to hold hearings. Harris became MSPB chairwoman in March 2024 and joined the board in June 2022. Kerner has been on the board since June. Previously, he was the special counsel of the Office of Special Counsel for almost six years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The deadline for the Office of Personnel Management’s “deferred resignation” offer remains on hold. But that’s not stopping lawmakers from seeking a closer look at who’s taking the deal. Congressman Steny Hoyer is leading 49 House lawmakers to ask OPM for a breakdown of feds opting in by agency location GS level and length of service. The House lawmakers say they’re concerned the offer could disproportionately hollow out agency staffing in certain states or regions. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amid the continued debate over FEMA’s future a senior G-O-P Senator is calling for reforms that could bolster the agency’s work. Oklahoma Senator Jim Lankford says too manyagencies have responsibilities under the federal disaster framework. In a letter to the White House, Lankford said he should consider whether more disaster assistance responsibilities should be consolidated under FEMA. Trump has called for potentially eliminating FEMA and recently announced a FEMA Review Council to overhaul the agency. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

House Democrats are making a push to secure data at the Treasury Department. A group of lawmakers have introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act. The bill seeks to add a layer of protection against anyone seeking to access the agency's systems. The legislation would bar anyone with conflicts of interest -- or without a security clearance from getting into the Treasury Department's data. The bill comes after billionaire Elon Musk and some of his employees gained access to Treasury Department data. House Democrats say they're expecting a Senate companion bill for the Taxpayer Data Protection Act shortly. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Agencies have 45 days to identify Senior Executive Service roles that were made career-only positions during the Biden administration. A new memo from the Office of Personnel Management directs agencies to reverse the career-only status for those roles, and instead open them to potentially political appointments. For any career positions agencies think should be exempted from conversion, agencies have to explain their reasoning for why it should remain a career-only role. The White House says it’s taking the action after seeing reports of agencies redesignating positions to career-only during the previous administration. OPM’s memo is an effort toward implementing President Trump’s executive order to make feds in policy-related positions at-will workers. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Top House Democrats are pressing President Donald Trump about Elon Musk’s access to classified data. In a letter to Trump on Tuesday, the ranking members of seven House committees ask whether Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team have the security clearances needed to access sensitive data. They point to reports about the DOGE group breaking security procedures to gain access to sensitive systems at the Treasury Department, the Office of Personnel Management and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Dems want answers from the White House by February 14th. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lawmakers are raising concerns about Elon Musk’s access to the Treasury Department’s payment systems. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden are both pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for more details. In separate letters, both Warren and Wyden say the DOGE team’s access to Treasury systems poses major legal and security concerns. They also ask whether any safeguards are in place to protect sensitive data.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Any new contract with federal unions signed toward the end of the Biden administration are null and void under a new memo from the White House. In President Donald Trump's order issued Friday night, he says any last-minute, lame-duck collective bargaining agreements try to bind a new president to his predecessor's policies and that is illegal. Specifically, Trump is referring to the contract the Social Security Administration signed with the American Federal of Government Employees, which guaranteed employees telework and remote work for five years. AFGE says approved union contracts are enforceable by law, and the president does not have the authority to make unilateral changes to those agreements.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lawmakers are making a bipartisan effort to secure better retirement benefits for federalfirefighters. Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly and Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick have introduced the Federal Firefighters Families First Act. If enacted, many federal firefighters would receive larger retirement benefits. The House bill aims to change the retirement calculation for federal firefighters to account for overtime hours worked. The lawmakers say the bill would align federal firefighters’ benefits with what state and local firefighters already receive.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new task force will oversee the Defense Department's efforts to abolish all diversity, equity and inclusion offices within the department. The task force's mission is described as getting rid of “any vestiges of such offices that subvert meritocracy, perpetuate unconstitutional discrimination, and promote radical ideologies related to systemic racism and gender fluidity.” The move is part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to create “merit-based, color-blind policies.” Housed under the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, the task force will oversee the removal of DEI programs and the reform of promotion and selection policies. Hegseth said the Defense Department “will not consider sex, race, or ethnicity when considering individuals for promotion, command, or special duty.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee are pushing back on President Donald Trump’s mass firing of agency watchdogs. Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin say Trump didn’t follow the law when he removed 18 inspectors general last Friday. A 2022 law requires the president to give 30 days’ notice to Congress and case-specific reasons when removing an IG. The lawmakers are asking Trump to provided those detailed explanations for each IG removed and to provide a list of acting IGs. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Justice Department says it's fired more than a dozen employees who had worked on criminal investigations into President Trump before his election. A DOJ official says the career prosecutors were fired because the acting attorney general doesn't trust them to carry out Trump's agenda, and that it's part of ending, quote, "the weaponization of government." DOJ didn't identify the fired employees, and it's not yet clear whether they'll challenge their terminations under civil service protection rules. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some federal employees may have seen a test email land in their government inboxes last week. The Office of Personnel Management is looking to open a direct line of communication tothe federal workforce. OPM is currently testing a web capability that should let the agency email all civilian feds at once from a single email address. OPM says it will continue testing the email function over the next week.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.