Management
House Dems cite ‘fundamental conflict’ of Rubio’s acting appointments atop USAID and National Archives
Lawmakers’ concerns stem from a March 11 memo instructing USAID employees to prepare for mass destruction of agency records.
Management
Judge: Musk and Trump’s effort to disband USAID is likely unconstitutional
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang found that the Trump administration and Elon Musk violated the constitutional separation of powers and the Appointments Clause when it ordered the shuttering of the foreign aid agency.
Workforce
Workers and partners make renewed push to block Trump’s dismantling of USAID
An effort to enjoin the Trump administration from placing thousands of USAID workers on administrative leave in advance of their eventual termination failed last month.
Management
New leadership at ICE following mass deportation setbacks
The agency’s recent shuffle includes a new deputy director who led Louisiana’s Wildlife and Fisheries Department and is a former aide to the Homeland Security secretary.
Workforce
Trump administration outlaws unions at TSA
The Homeland Security Department on Friday misrepresented the proportion of union officials performing representational work at the agency and claimed ousting labor organizations would make the agency “more agile.”
Workforce
‘Prelude to privatization:’ Social Security confirms workforce reduction targets, continues to shutter offices
Despite most of the agency being exempt from deferred resignations and the government-wide hiring freeze, early retirement and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments are now available to the entire agency workforce.
Management
McMahon confirmed to lead Education Department ahead of anticipated layoffs
The incoming secretary said during her confirmation hearing that eliminating the Education Department, a priority of President Donald Trump, would require congressional approval.
Management
Labor board member retires, leaving a razor-thin quorum
The Merit Systems Protection Board said in a statement that board member Raymond Limon was stepping down on Friday. His retirement leaves the agency with a two-seat quorum despite an ongoing legal battle with the Trump administration.
Breaking News
Transition
Top Social Security deputies leave amid rumored staff cuts
At least five of the eight regional heads have decided to leave as the mid-level worker-turned-acting commissioner is said to mull workforce reduction.
Oversight
Comptroller general says impoundment violations are a ‘high priority’ for GAO
Gene Dodaro said the Government Accountability Office will move “as quickly and thoroughly as possible” to enforce potential violations of the Impoundment Control Act as the Trump administration seeks to take a cleaver to federal spending.
Workforce
Judge, convinced of overseas employees’ safety, denies injunction against USAID
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols’ ruling Friday clears the way for the Trump administration to place the vast majority of USAID’s workforce on administrative leave as it prepares an effort to the shutter the agency.
Workforce
Trump’s plan to slash the federal workforce isn’t the first, it’s just the worst
COMMENTARY | The triple-meat-cleaver approach to workforce “reform.”
Workforce
168 employees fired at the National Science Foundation
“Panch has been conveniently absent throughout this whole time,” said an internal email an NSF worker sent to fellow colleagues, referring to Sethuraman Panchanathan, NSF’s director.
Transition
Federal workers decry recent firings in Presidents’ Day protest
“All I ask is that [the White House] follow f****** federal employment laws,” said one Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employee.
Workforce
Judge extends order blocking USAID leave notices and evacuations
The U.S. Agency for International Development must put on hold plans to place thousands of its employees on paid administrative leave for one more week, as a federal judge weighs whether to issue a preliminary injunction in the case.
Transition
Tech is power in Musk’s campaign to roll over federal civil servants
COMMENTARY | Instead of brigades of men with guns storming government buildings, President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk are deploying young men with zip drives to infiltrate federal agencies, argues one observer.
Workforce
Making sense of the chaotic state of the civil service
COMMENTARY | Answers to eight questions you may be struggling with after the “deferred resignation” offer.
Updated
Workforce
Federal judge blocks USAID leave notices and reinstates workers
Attorneys representing the Trump administration confirmed Friday that upwards of 2,200 employees, many of whom are stationed overseas, would have been put on administrative leave Friday night, absent the court’s intervention.
Workforce
Trump administration environmental justice removals cut across agencies
Agencies leaders placed nearly 200 on administrative leave as they wound down programs at the Justice and Energy departments and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Transition