Workforce
ICE more than doubled its workforce in 2025
The Trump administration has reconfigured its onboarding and training process to quickly deploy agents into the field.
Tech
Trump’s cuts to the civil service undermine new tech internship push, good government group argues
The goal of the administration’s new internship program is to recruit 200 students for tech-focused internships.
Pay & Benefits
Domestic TSP funds falter to close out 2025
Most portfolios within the federal government’s 401(k)-style retirement savings program were flat last month.
Breaking News
Defense
US spy agencies contributed to operation that captured Maduro
The CIA helped locate the Venezuelan leader while others monitored electronic communications.
Management
DOGE was government contracting's biggest story of 2025 — and it's not close
COMMENTARY | Contract cancellations, exaggerated savings claims and consulting contract reviews dominated our most-read stories of the year.
Workforce
Report: Federal statistical system needs help to meet its ‘basic mission’ in the face of upheaval
Statistical agencies have lost scores of staff under the Trump administration, threatening their ability to meet their mission, according to a new report from the American Statistical Association.
Management
Research confirms it: Happy workers are more productive
COMMENTARY | If agencies want to improve their performance, worker satisfaction and engagement would be a proven strategy to add to the mix.
Management
The 5 biggest stories federal agencies and employees need to watch in 2026
Trump will look to finalize his government overhaul efforts next year.
Management
Controlling ratings inflation is a good idea...but a forced distribution isn’t
COMMENTARY | OPM's plan to corral inflated performance ratings should also be mindful not to undercut employee excellence with arbitrary limits on recognition.
Oversight
Office of Special Counsel resumes Hatch Act enforcement against former feds for violations during their service
The agency had paused filing Hatch Act complaints against such individuals pending a Merit Systems Protection Board decision on the jurisdiction of former federal employees.
Workforce
The twists and turns of Trump’s 2025 war on unions
Since returning to office, the Trump administration has engaged in a series of efforts to sideline labor representatives within the federal government.
Defense
Pentagon preps to enforce ban on companies with ‘indirect’ ties to China
Defense firms will be notified of potential links to blacklisted Chinese-military companies a year before the contracting ban goes into effect, the assistant defense secretary for industrial policy said.
Tech
Senate adjourns without confirming CISA director
Sean Plankey’s nomination faltered as lawmakers ran out the clock after a tumultuous year of workforce reductions. The cyberdefense agency enters the new year without a permanent leader as the White House finalizes a sweeping national cyber strategy.
Defense
Pentagon will cough up summaries of 3 years of safety investigations, per NDAA
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., pushed for the disclosure amid rise in military aviation mishaps.
Workforce
Supreme Court won’t halt judge’s probe into civil service laws’ virility, for now
The unsigned order, which prompted no public dissents, suggested the Trump administration could return to the high court if the federal district court’s factfinding mission commences before justices consider whether to formally take on the case.
Workforce
GSA backs off planned layoffs within its technology team after court order
The Technology Transformation Services has lost 67% of its staff since Jan. 25.
Workforce
CISA opens 100 applications for CyberCorps students
Earlier hiring snags had forced the scholarship program to pause recruitment of top student talent for cyber jobs.
Exclusive
Oversight
USCIS’ arbitrarily strict FOIA policy is keeping some migrants from receiving their immigration records, whistleblower alleges
In a protected disclosure to Congress, an agency employee claims that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services since 2024 has been finding ways to reject Freedom of Information Act requests from migrants in order to make it seem like the agency is complying with a court order.
Pay & Benefits
Feds will have Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 off
Federal employees will now have a five-day weekend, beginning on Christmas Eve.
Pay & Benefits