Federal Newscast

The Merit Systems Protection Board is officially transitioning away some of its authority over adverse action appeal decisions. A new final rule from MSPB removes all references to the board’s prior jurisdiction over appeals due to firings or demotions during a reduction-in-force, probationary period or for a suitability-related reason. The adjustments at MSPB come after the Office of Personnel Management finalized rules to take over decisions in those three categories of workplace disputes. The change takes full effect in early September. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Army has lost 18% of its civilian workforce at two of its major depots. The Government Accountability Office found that the Anniston and Red River Army Depots lost nearly 800 permanent and term-limited employees when comparing fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2025. Specifically, Anniston’s workforce decreased by 616 people. Meanwhile, its contractor workforce more than doubled during this period. Depot officials said the hiring freeze has prevented them from replacing skilled maintainers who retired or took the deferred resignation program. They also said that contractors “often arrive without the required skills,” and that “contractor employee turnover and skill gaps can affect production continuity.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The backlog of federal retirement claims is at the lowest point in 2026 with just over 24,000 in OPM's inventory. New data shows OPM processed more than 17,000 claims last month, of which 14,000 were done digitally. Additionally, OPM says it of the 14,000 claims it received in July, 10,500 were provided to them in an electronic format. Despite this progress, processing times inched up to 98 days on average for digital claims and 109 days for all claims. OPM says, on average, paper based claims took 156 days to process. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A federal union is urging the Forest Service to reverse course on its upcoming reorganization plans. The National Federation of Federal Employees warns that shuttering facilities and relocating Forest Service staff will worsen federal response during wildfire season. After staffing reductions at the Forest Service during 2025, union officials say the agency now is likely to lose additional workers due to the reorganization including those with “red cards,” who are qualified to respond as wildland firefighters.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Department of Government Efficiency touted that it saved $110 billion across federal contracts, grants and leases. But many of DOGE’s claims don’t have supporting evidence and some are simply incorrect. A new report from the Government Accountability Office finds that 96% of DOGE’s claimed savings on federal grants cannot be verified. And some savings that DOGE posted on its “wall of receipts” website were already being phased out before DOGE was established.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

June was not a good month for your money in the Thrift Savings Plan. Fifteen of 16 funds saw month-over-month declines, including the S Fund which dropped more than 4% over the last 30 days. Of the 15 funds that dropped in July, the good news is 12 of them saw declines of less than 1%. The G Fund was the only account to come in positive last month with a growth of just under 0.4%. For the year, 15 of 16 funds are growing at a healthy rate with nine earning double digit returns.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Army is overhauling how it treats discrimination and harassment complaints. Beginning later this year, the service will no longer allow soldiers to anonymously file allegations of discrimination or harassment with military equal opportunity offices. Instead, EO offices can process claims while keeping soldiers' personal information confidential. Troops who opt to file a confidential claim will not be required to notify their command or initiate a complaint that could lead to an investigation. Commanders may still act on anonymous allegations that warrant further review.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Education Department transferred another 64 employees from K-12, special education, higher education and career, technical and adult education programs to other agencies. The American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents Education employees, is denouncing the decision, calling it illegal and part of the administration's effort to dismantle the department. AFGE says Education transferred 10 Native education workers from multiple offices to the Department of the Interior. AFGE says two postsecondary education employees are going to the Department of State and another 52 workers in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and Office of Postsecondary Education are headed to the Labor Department. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Senate's version of the continuing resolution released last week not only keeps the government open through December 11 but would prohibit OMB from implementing the rewrite of the federal grants regulations. A provision in the CR agreed to by both Republicans and Democrats would pause the new regulations until at least December 11. In addition to the grants provision, the CR also would extend the Technology Modernization Fund for another 10 weeks. Senator Susan Collins, the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, says the CR also avoids any "poison pills" that could lead to a government shutdown. The House passed its version of the CR on July 21. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Army is offering certain helicopter pilots six-figure bonuses to stay in uniform, hoping to retain active-duty warrant officers who are mid-career or approaching retirement eligibility. Bonuses range from around $75,000 over three years for aviators with 12 to 14 years of service, to nearly $210,000 over six years for those with at least 18 years of service. The 2026 program aims to convince at least one in four eligible soldiers to stay, with a particular focus on instructor pilots and maintenance test pilots.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Two former Office of Personnel Management directors are urging the reversal of a decision that could broadly impact federal job protections. Their brief to a federal appeals court comes ahead of a full bench hearing slated for this fall. The hearing will reconsider a Merit Systems Protection Board ruling that allowed the president to fire some civil servants, claiming constitutional authority. The two former OPM directors warn that upholding MSPB’s decision will threaten the integrity and expertise of the career federal workforce. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Navy is turning to industry for ideas to help address temporary housing shortages impacting thousands of sailors nationwide. The service has issued a request for information seeking solutions to provide temporary unaccompanied housing while the Navy renovates its aging barracks. The Navy is asking companies to propose a range of options, including trailer or RV housing, leased apartments, extended hotel stays or houseboats. The Navy estimates it will need approximately 4,200 temporary beds to house displaced sailors. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A dozen Senate Democrats are pressing the Pentagon for a full accounting of U.S. troops who have been killed or injured in connection with the Iran War. In a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior defense leaders, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee criticized the Defense Department for appearing to leave nearly 100 troops who were wounded in action out of the Pentagon's monthly statistics for July. The Pentagon's public casualty count for Operation Epic Fury also fell from 18 to 14 deaths last week. A response is due Thursday.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The National Guard is moving thousands of Guardsmen mobilized to Washington, D.C., from hotels into apartments. The National Guard Bureau has awarded a $292 million contract to Placemakr to provide up to 2,000 apartment-style units for troops supporting Joint Task Force–District of Columbia. The housing contract is the largest interagency lodging acquisition in National Guard history that will “provide a long-term housing solution to improve troop readiness.” The National Guard troops will be deployed in D.C. until January 2029. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The House has cleared a bill to correct pension payments for close 8,000 federal retirees. The “Pensions for Retired Uniformed Servicemembers Act” comes after feds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Public Health Service missed payments during the 43-day shutdown last fall, due to an unintentional loophole. Although the bipartisan legislation to close that loophole has now passed the House, it has not yet been introduced in the Senate. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The House Appropriations Committee convened Wednesday to discuss legislative options to keep the federal government open when Congress fails to put annual funding in place by the end of the fiscal year. Lawmakers aired broad bipartisan frustration at the gridlock that has prevented on-time appropriations for years but differed on the specifics of how to fix the problem. Ideas included keeping congressional lawmakers in Washington until the process is done each year, reforming Senate rules and allowing funds to kick in automatically.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Iran War's operational costs have climbed to an estimated $37.5 billion as the conflict finishes its fifth month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told senators Tuesday. That figure is about $12 billion higher than the Pentagon comptroller gave lawmakers in April. The new estimate includes the cost of the war to date as well as expenses like meal pay that are anticipated through the end of the fiscal year, Hegseth said. Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine testified before Senate appropriators to push for an extra $67 billion they say would help pay for the war.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal contractors will gain broader whistleblower protections under legislation passed by the House on Monday. The bill blocks retaliation against contractors who refuse to violate laws, rules or regulations in the course of their work, and for sharing evidence of mismanagement, waste, abuse or danger to public health and safety. It also protects whistleblower rights in case of a non-disclosure agreements and forbids federal officials from asking a contractor to retaliate against someone else. A companion bill passed the Senate in May. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A federal judge on Friday ruled the Trump administration unlawfully fired the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s chief financial officer last year. District Court Judge Michael Nachmanoff rejected arguments that President Donald Trump can unilaterally fire senior officials without a hearing or right to transfer to another job. The case centers on former FEMA CFO Mary Comans. She was fired without cause last year. Elon Musk and other officials then accused her of circumventing leadership to authorize hotel payments for undocumented immigrants. Comans challenged that narrative and the circumstances of her firing. Now, Nachmanoff has ordered that Comans should receive a name-clearing hearing.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Democrats are seeking to offer support to laid-off Foreign Service officers looking to get their jobs back. A new bill called the Foreign Service Test-Free Reentry Act would let former State Department officers rejoin service without needing to retake Foreign Service entry exams. Lawmakers who introduced the bill say there's no need for them to prove their expertise again. It comes as former employees, federal unions and lawmakers continue to call for the reinstatement of more than 1,300 laid-off department workers.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.