Oversight

Top Oversight Democrat says he’s open to collaborate with the DOGE

The new Department of Government Efficiency — which, despite the “department” referenced in its name, is an advisory effort, not a government department — has aims to trim the federal workforce and hunt efficiencies in tech and fraud reduction efforts.

Management

Outgoing VA chief meets with Trump's 'very serious' transition team to discuss budget shortfall, other issues

Secretary Denis McDonough shares concerns about staffing with Trump's VA team, which is making dozens of requests for information during transition period.

Workforce

Want to reform the federal government? Start with career execs

COMMENTARY | Career senior executives are a national asset, not tools of agency heads. It’s time to manage them as the valuable resource they are, argues one expert.

Pay & Benefits

OPM outlines pay, benefits rules for appointees resigning on Inauguration Day

The federal government’s HR agency also highlighted the ramifications of Jan. 20 coinciding with Martin Luther King Day for D.C.-area federal workers.

Management

Trump says his transition with the Biden administration is ‘not smooth’

Other reports, including from Trump's own chief of staff, indicate the process is going according to plan.

Management

As Trump mulls his FEMA pick, a political land mine awaits in Florida

The president-elect's eventual nominee to lead the emergency management agency will be caught between Florida's disaster relief and FEMA's funding problems.

Workforce

See where and how Biden grew the federal workforce

Trump slashed rolls at most agencies and is pledging to do so again after Biden boosted the civil service.

Transition

Musk and Ramaswamy to confront Congress in struggle for control of the public purse

The duo will need to garner support from hundreds of members of Congress for any of their suggested spending cuts as co-chairs of the nongovernmental Department of Government Efficiency, to become law. That is an uphill slog many have failed at before.

Transition

What does the U.S. attorney general actually do?

The position is one of the most important in the federal executive branch.

Tech

Tech leader says DOGE has Washington ‘inspired and fired up’

ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott believes there is genuine momentum building behind President-elect Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency.

Management

USPS privatization again under consideration, Trump says

The president-elect suggested he could bring back an idea from his first term that proved unpopular with both parties in Congress.

Management

What does the head of the Education Department do?

The secretary of education helps set national priorities in a system primarily funded and guided by local governments.

Transition

What does the director of the FBI do?

The role of both the FBI and its leader have dramatically shifted over time.

Management

Could Biden’s recent strategy to streamline government hiring be scuttled under Trump?

One of the purposes of the administration’s federal hiring improvement plan is to make agencies aware of hiring tools they already have access to.

Transition

An open letter to the public administration and public management communities

COMMENTARY | “We must reexamine the fundamental values that drive our work…[and] we need a vigorous debate about the basic principles of the field,” argues one expert.

Defense

Some Republicans remain unsold on Hegseth

Sexual-assault allegation cited along with other concerns about Trump's pick for defense secretary.

Workforce

Ernst’s report documenting telework ‘abuse’ obscures more than it reveals

The Iowa senator and head of a new caucus related to President-elect Trump’s planned government efficiency commission misrepresented key statistics regarding telework’s usage at federal agencies.

Management

Government efficiency vs. performance: How federal employees can drive change from within

COMMENTARY | An important constituency for better government performance is actually among civil servants themselves.