Transparency
Judge orders agencies to preserve discussions in airstrike Signal chat
The directive targets communications in a Signal chat with top intelligence and national security officials between March 11 and March 15 that discussed strikes against the Houthis in Yemen. The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief was inadvertently added to that chat.
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Advisory government transparency committee terminated
The closure is the result of a Trump order targeting advisory panels throughout the federal government.
Musk’s DOGE efforts pose a ‘constitutional crisis,’ experts warn
Elon Musk has spent the first two weeks of the Trump administration parachuting into government offices, leaving extensive — and some say legally prohibited — changes in his wake.
The federal government is likely to receive a record number of FOIA requests again in 2024
COMMENTARY | Integrating AI-powered tools into FOIA processing could be a game changer, reducing backlogs, lowering costs, and improving accuracy.
Agencies score a record number of A's on the latest Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act scorecard
GAO Information Technology and Cybersecurity Director Carol Harris said the biannual review has saved the government a total of roughly $31.4 billion since it first began in 2005.
Transparency and urgency are needed to deter agency misconduct and protect federal workers
COMMENTARY | The head of the Office of Special Counsel, the agency that investigates allegations of government misconduct, has a proposal.
House sends the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act to president's desk
The chamber also approved two other bills to improve oversight of federal agencies.
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GSA unveils advisory committee for transparency initiatives
The committee will help foster new goals and initiatives under the Biden administration’s open government plan.
A pair of government transparency-friendly bills are headed for the House floor
One measure aims to improve the process for agencies to transfer excess office supplies and other items to another agency.
Supreme Court clarifies when public officials can block citizens on social media
The Supreme Court unanimously found in a pair of cases that whether a government official can block a constituent on their personal social media account hinges on if a post is a state action or is private conduct.
Modernize FOIA to increase its Sunshine effect
COMMENTARY | A modern-day FOIA needs to adopt changes that are uniform and consistent across all the covered agencies, writes a former FOIA officer.
Conservatives bemoan disappearance of OPM official time docs
Officials at the federal government’s HR agency said a webpage housing sporadic reports on agencies’ official time use did not survive a recent website redesign, but suggested tweaks are ongoing.
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Government Agencies Work to Document the Painful Past of Indian Boarding Schools
The National Endowment for the Humanities has earmarked $4 million to support the digitization of records from the United States’ system of 408 federal Indian boarding schools.
GOP Lawmakers Call for Congressional Ban on Members Using TikTok
A coalition of 17 House and Senate GOP lawmakers called for an amendment to both chambers’ rules to bar members of Congress from using TikTok for official purposes.
21-Year-Old Air Force IT Specialist Charged With Leaking Classified Security Documents
A team of Justice and FBI agents arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira in Massachusetts in connection with the widespread intel leak.
The Justice Department Underscores the Need for FOIA ‘Presumption of Openness’
New guidance comes at the start of the annual “Sunshine Week” promoting open government.
Going Paperless Is Harder Than It Seems For Agencies
Iron Mountain Government Solutions' Melissa Carson joins the podcast to discuss how agencies are progressing in compliance with moving away from paper records in accordance with directive M-19-21.
The House Wants Agencies to Reveal the Deals They Cut to Avoid Lengthy Legal Battles
The settlement agreements federal agencies enter into would become more transparent under a bill passed Tuesday.
The White House Charts a Course for Open Government
The fifth U.S. Open Government National Action Plan, shared exclusively with Government Executive before release, builds on many of the Biden administration's previous efforts.
GovExec Daily: Can the Federal Government Just Dismiss Whistleblower Cases?
Attorneys Richard Renner and Kate Krems joined the podcast to discuss the case of United States ex rel. Polansky v. Executive Health Resources Inc.
DOJ Looks to Improve the FOIA Experience With a New ‘Wizard’
A new FOIA search tool is under development, while forthcoming shared business standards aim to streamline case management systems.
