Federal Newscast

A top Justice Department official that oversees how agencies administer the Freedom of Information Act is stepping down. Sean Glendening has left his job as director of the Justice Department’s Office of Information Policy. He says he’s now pursuing a masters in public administration at Harvard Kennedy School. Glendening took over the OIP role last year after longtime Director Bobak Talebian was fired as part of a wave of DOJ terminations.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Defense Department has spent at least $2.6 billion on southern border operations since the beginning of fiscal 2025. It used multiple funding mechanisms to support the mission, including using money set aside for military construction projects and service members’ permanent change of station moves. In fiscal 2025, the Pentagon provided support to the Department of Homeland Security on a non-reimbursable basis. DoD said that approximately $305 million in support provided to DHS in fiscal 2026 is eligible for reimbursement. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Agencies have new resources to help them run their own versions of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey this year. A playbook from the Office of Personnel Management explains how agencies can best plan and design their internal employee surveys. The extra guidance comes after OPM proposed to decentralize FEVS and revise the required survey questions. Agencies will have to administer their own employee surveys by the end of the year, and then report their results back to OPM.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal retirement processing times are slowing down. During June, it took OPM an average of 108 days to process a retirement claim, according to the agency’s latest data release. Processing times for digital-only applications averaged 96 days. That’s a full 30 days longer than the previous month’s average. But at the same time, OPM’s retirement claim inventory in June was the lowest it’s been all year, coming in at just under 34,000 pending applications. OPM received close to 9,000 new claims last month and processed nearly 13,000.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A move toward skills-based federal hiring is getting another push from Congress. A new bipartisan bill would push agencies to ease college degree requirements for many federal jobs. Agencies would have to consider alternative job qualifications like military service, apprenticeships and community college. If enacted, the bill would also create a separate USAJobs portal for positions not requiring a four-year college degree. 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 replacing its long-criticized height-and-weight tables and tape test with a waist-to-height ratio to measure body composition. The change follows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's push for a simpler, more consistent fitness standard across the military. The new policy is drawing mixed reactions from soldiers, with critics questioning whether a single waist measurement is enough. Soldiers with a confirmed waist-to-height ratio of 0.55 or higher will be placed in the Army's body composition improvement program, but no one will be involuntarily separated during a 180-day implementation period. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has a new leader. Arvind Raman was sworn is as the fifth undersecretary of commerce for standards and technology on June 30th. He was confirmed by the Senate in May. Raman was previously the dean of engineering at Purdue University. His background is in atomic force microscopy, human biomechanics and electronics manufacturing. As the head of NIST, he’ll be charged with overseeing an array of high-profile work in areas like artificial intelligence, quantum science, and biotechnology.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Trump administration is looking to tweak the rules for federal employees’ paid administrative leave. Recent proposed regulations from the Office of Personnel Management would give agencies more leeway to use paid leave, including during workforce reduction efforts. During 2025, agencies used administrative leave to implement the deferred resignation program, paying thousands of employees for several months not to work, in exchange for them agreeing to quit their jobs.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The good news about your Thrift Savings Plan for June, only two funds saw month over month drops. As for the other funds, 13 of 14 experienced minimal growth of less than one percent from May to June. The big winner last month was the S fund with a growth rate of 4.34%. The S fund also remains the top performing TSP account for all of 2026, increasing by more than 18%. The "I", C and eight of nine L funds also continue to bring back double digit returns since January.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The IRS still doesn’t recognize a union that represents much of its workforce. But the agency has agreed it will no longer bar employees from keeping materials from the National Treasury Employees Union on their desks or in common areas. NTEU previously complained to a federal court that the IRS removed union materials from employees’ workstations and covered up NTEU information on bulletin board. The IRS tells the court that it will pause further implementation of its directive ordering the removal of NTEU materials from the workplace. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Two Democrats and two Republicans have teamed up on a bill that would give military families more time to make important financial decisions after a service member dies. Endorsed by groups like Gold Star Spouses of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, the bill would give families three years instead of one to roll over death gratuities and life insurance into tax-advantaged savings accounts. Supporters say the language would give families more flexibility as they work through difficult choices. The bill could be added into the annual defense policy bill now progressing through Congress. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dozens of House Democrats are urging the Trump administration to abandon its proposal for a governmentwide non-disclosure agreement. The lawmakers say an NDA for federal employees would only serve to intimidate and silence them. They are demanding details on the scope of the proposed NDA, and how workers would still be able to make protected disclosures. Lawmakers sent their demands in a letter to the Office of Personnel Management, after the proposed NDA plans were released last month.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A lawsuit challenging Schedule Policy/Career is doubling down on its arguments. The recently amended complaint now directly challenges the reclassifications of 8,000 federal employees earlier this month. The lawsuit alleges that Schedule Policy/Career violates the Civil Service Reform Act, inhibits due process for federal employees, and intrudes on congressional powers. The plaintiffs in the case are the Government Accountability Project and the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The House's version of the 2027 defense spending bill is moving on to the full chamber for consideration. House appropriators voted 34 to 27 to approve the $1.1 trillion package at a markup Wednesday. The bill funds Trump administration priorities like the Golden Dome missile defense shield and greater investment in commercial technologies. Lawmakers also adopted a package of amendments on hot-button issues like diversity programs, abortion and sex-reassignment surgery.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 Defense's civilian employees could get another option for their grocery runs; their local commissary. Senators are suggesting that the defense secretary should launch a pilot program that lets civilian staffers shop at commissaries as part of the 2027 defense policy bill. If the idea isn't too expensive and doesn't interfere with feeding troops and their families, that access could become more permanent. C ommissaries offer groceries at lower prices than public stores, but the quality and availability of those goods can vary widely between bases. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new pilot program will try to pair active-duty military spouses in the Air Force and Space Force with potential job leads. The Global Military Spouse Connection program offers targeted outreach, networking opportunities, educational resources and direct contact with hiring managers, the Department of the Air Force said Monday. The pilot will start at Travis Air Force Base in California, Patrick Space Force Base in Florida, and Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Military spouses often struggle to find steady employment amid frequent moves, changing licensing requirements and tumultuous job markets. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Office of Naval Research is rolling out a new science and technology strategy that focuses the service on meeting its own unique needs, not keeping up with commercial tech companies. Chief of Naval Research Rachel Riley says turning inward can stop the Navy from spending money to duplicate the private sector's efforts. It can also make the service better prepared for long-term upgrades to its highly technical military platforms, like submarines. The office also wants closer ties to industry and troops to get new equipment to the field faster.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More employees at the National Park Service have voted to unionize. About 650 employees in the agency’s Intermountain Region will now be represented by the National Treasury Employees Union. That’s following a vote of 317-11 in favor of the new bargaining unit. The National Park employees oversee 87 different parks across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona and Montana. Many work as park rangers, scientists and administrative staff.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday released the details of a massive defense policy bill that authorizes $1.2 trillion in spending, in support of the Trump administration's request for fiscal 2027. The annual legislation would create a new command overseeing military drones and allow for a new under secretary of defense focused on cyber, as well as an assistant secretary in charge of housing and military travel, among dozens of other provisions. The draft heads to the full Senate for consideration. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A second cohort of technology executives are joining the Army Reserve. The Army commissioned three more senior technology leaders into its Executive Innovation Corps, also known as Detachment 201. The service kicked off the new program last year in an effort to bring in senior tech executives to help integrate and scale commercial technology. The new cohort includes executives from Cloudflare and Sutter Hill Ventures, as well as a co-founder of Facebook AI Research. The Army said members of the inaugural cohort have “influenced” initiatives such as munitions supply chain data analysis and organic industrial base investments. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.