Management

OPM: Agencies Can Implement Workforce EOs at Some Agencies Without Bargaining

The Office of Personnel Management said agencies may unilaterally implement the provisions of three controversial executive orders, provided workers are operating under a contract that has been automatically renewed.

Management

Trump Administration Urges Supreme Court to Maintain Strict Burden in Age Discrimination Cases

The case, involving a VA pharmacist who claims the department discriminated against her based on age and gender, has implications for the entire federal workforce.

Defense

Viewpoint: How Trump Turned the Military Against Itself

The president’s repeated interference in a Navy SEAL’s case shows that he cares about only one kind of military discipline—obedience to Trump.

Oversight

Viewpoint: As the Rich Get Richer, the Ambassadors Get Worse

Gordon Sondland embodies an age-old problem—one that the flood of donor money into American politics is only exacerbating.

Oversight

Presidential Candidate Klobuchar Would Reform Election-Related Agencies

The Democratic senator and 2020 contender has been an election reform advocate in Congress and the few times the topic has come up during the primary debates.

Management

Senate Democrats Push for Union Protections in Spending Package

Language in a House-passed appropriations bill blocking implementation of union contracts imposed by a federal impasses panel remains subject to negotiation.

Workforce

Analysis: Trump’s War on Expertise Is Only Intensifying

But his attacks on career government officials could backfire with an ever more educated electorate.

Oversight

Viewpoint: Look Who’s Trying to Seize Private Property

The Trump administration wants to use eminent domain to build the border wall.

Management

Analysis: The Bureaucrats Who Defied the President

In the Watergate era, high-level aides prevented Nixon’s abuses of power.

Management

Top Democrats Call for Emergency Review of DHS Appointments

This is the latest in a series of legal quandaries surrounding the department’s line of succession.

Oversight

Trump’s Anger With IG Over Impeachment Role Highlights High Watchdog Vacancy Rate

There is “a long history of resistance” to inspectors general from the administrations in which they serve, says Paul Light.

Management

Trump Effort to Weaken Union Lawsuit Could Be Unlawful

Labor law experts say a memo granting the Federal Labor Relations Authority the ability to fire members of the Federal Service Impasses Panel undermines the law establishing the two boards.

Defense

The Slow-Boil Revolt: Retired Senior Military Officers Face a Dilemma

They're growing more concerned that the Trump administration doesn’t want their advice, and struggling with how much they can say publicly.

Oversight

McConnell Asked White House For Sanctions Position, Dem Senator Says

The Senate majority leader is weighing the myriad sanctions proposals on the Hill, Sen. Van Hollen said at the Defense One Outlook 2020 conference. 

Management

Top Senators Make Bipartisan Plea for Trump to Fill Homeland Security Vacancies

Lawmakers say a lack of leadership is making it harder for the department to fulfill its mission.

Management

How Mike Pence’s Office Meddled in Foreign Aid to Reroute Money to Favored Christian Groups

Officials at USAID warned that favoring Christian groups in Iraq could be unconstitutional and inflame religious tensions. When one colleague lost her job, they said she had been “Penced.”

Management

Trump Revokes Obama Order That Had Limited Hiring Options for Some Contractors 

Contracting experts had been critical of the lack of flexibility for managers under a rule requiring certain companies to hire employees from their predecessors.