Management

Former GSA Administrator Reflects on Ascertaining the Election in 2016

“If there’s anything that I would point to, it is really how important this activity and moment is,” said Denise Turner Roth of the presidential transition.

Workforce

Pressure Continues to Mount for GSA to Ascertain Biden as Presidential Election Winner 

Lawmakers, former top government officials and others join the call for the transition activities to begin, citing national security concerns.   

Management

GSA Faces Pressure to Recognize Biden as Election Winner, Hand Over Keys to Formally Start Transition 

It is unclear when GSA will grant access to full transition resources amid the Trump campaign’s legal challenges. 

Management

GSA Holds the Key to When or If Biden Gets Access to Full Transition Resources

With President Trump’s campaign threatening lawsuits, it is unclear when GSA would grant access to full transition resources.  

Management

OPM Quietly Abandons Proposed Merger with GSA

The Trump administration’s merger plan was criticized by lawmakers in both parties and was eventually blocked by Congress.

Management

New Executive Order Seeks to Put Federal Buildings in Disadvantaged Areas

The General Services Administration will develop a plan to implement the directive. 

Oversight

Inspector General Blasts Efforts to Transfer OPM Facility Authority to GSA

The Office of Personnel Management watchdog said the Trump administration took action without regard to the impact, potentially incurring millions of dollars in recurring annual costs.

Management

OPM Is Reorganizing Employees to Get Around Ban on GSA Merger, Union Claims

Over the weekend, the Office of Personnel Management moved nearly two dozen employees into the agency’s HR Line of Business, which is being renamed with GSA support.

Management

Trump Administration Redacts Meeting Minutes on the Presidential Transition

“If there’s anything that needs to be redacted that’s a sign that there’s something that shouldn’t be going on,” said New York University’s Paul Light.

Oversight

House Committee Investigates Whether Officials Misled Congress on OPM-GSA Merger

A recent watchdog group report cited notes from a phone call indicating the Trump administration was advised that the merger plan was illegal, an account that is at odds with what OPM officials testified before Congress last year.

Management

GovExec Daily: Civilian Federal Buildings Named After Segregationists

Eric Katz joins the show to discuss the potential renaming of facilities such as the Thomas G. Abernathy Federal Building and the Strom Thurmond Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse.

Oversight

Lawmakers Press GSA on Trump Hotel’s Request for Financial Relief During Pandemic  

This comes as a federal appeals court revives an Emoluments Clause lawsuit involving the hotel.  

Oversight

House Lawmakers Accuse GSA of Breaching Ban on Implementing OPM Merger

Oversight panel leaders say newly uncovered emails confirm that the General Services Administration’s pending revocation of the Office of Personnel Management’s building operation authority is part of the plan to abolish the HR agency.

Oversight

Why So Many Architects Are Angered by ‘Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again’

Federal building guidelines say that "development of an official style must be avoided" – which is exactly what a leaked executive order is trying to do.

Oversight

Watchdog Highlights Security Vulnerabilities at Federal Child Care Centers

IG says in some cases, a lack of funding stalled fixes that would have made facilities safer.

Management

GSA Praised for Progress on Contracting Schedule Consolidation  

Compared to a 2015 merger, “phase two [of the current process] far exceeds the expectations,” said one observer.