Federal Newscast

A plan to limit when federal employees can cancel their union du  es if officially off the table. The Federal Labor Relations Authority is rescinding a previous proposal from 2022, which would have given federal employees only a once-per-year opportunity to cancel dues payments. Since 2020, dues-paying federal employees have had the option to cancel automatic deductions for union dues at any time.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

OpenAI and the Defense Department have adjusted the deal they made just days ago for use of the company’s artificial intelligence tools in classified environments. The changes center around prohibiting use of the Open AI’s technology for domestic surveillance, autonomous weapons systems and autonomous decision-making. These are similar to the safeguards Anthropic had insisted on that tanked its deal with the Pentagon and got it labeled as a national security risk. OpenAI also said the deal was adjusted to clarify that the Pentagon won’t use its technology at any of its intelligence agencies; that would require a separate agreement.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new bill would prevent federal retirees who survived domestic violence from needing to share personal details with their abusers during the retirement process. Currently, retired feds must get written consent from their current or former spouse if they update their retirement benefits; which can mean exposing personal contact information to abusers. But the “Federal Retirement Safety Act” sponsored by Congressman Joe Neguse would direct the Office of Personnel Management to waive the requirement for survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence. OPM already waives the requirement for people whose spouses have died or aren’t able to be located.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal employees saw only small growth in most of their retirement accounts in February. All but one of the funds in the Thrift Savings Plan came in with positive returns for the month, but the increase was notably lower across the board. The I Fund, for example, saw the biggest increase of more than 6% in February, but that was much lower than the 12% increase it saw in January. The C Fund was the only account that came in negative, losing 0.76% as compared to January. For the year, all funds are in the black. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tens of thousands of employees have been working unpaid through the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. But thousands of others across DHS will be getting a paycheck on time. The American Federation of Government Employees is urging Congress to immediately compensate all employees affected by the DHS shutdown. The union is calling for the passage of the Shutdown Fairness Act, which would pay federal employees on time during any current or future funding lapse. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden is blocking the Trump administration’s nominee to lead both U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency. Wyden says that Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd, who currently serves as the deputy commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, lacks the experience needed to immediately step into the dual leadership role. The lawmaker added that when it comes to U.S. cybersecurity, “there is simply no time for on-the-job learning, the threat is just too urgent for that.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

While nearly all major federal agencies saw staffing declines in the first half of 2025, the size of those separations varied. NASA’s workforce, along with civilian staff at the Defense Department, declined by less than 5%. But the Education Department lost more than 20% of its workforce in the same timeframe. That’s all according to new data analysis from the Government Accountability Office. GAO says it will continue issuing updates on federal workforce staffing changes over time.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The nation’s highest court is adopting new technology to prevent conflicts of interest. The Supreme Court says it is now using newly developed software to assist in identifying potential conflicts for the justices. The software will run automated recusal checks that compare information about parties and attorneys in a case with lists created by each Justice’s chamber. The Court’s Office of Information Technology worked with the Legal Office and the Clerk’s Office to design the technology. New court rules to support use of the software will take effect March 16. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new director with both military command and education experience will take over Defense Department schools beginning next month. Paul Craft, an Ohio Army National Guard officer with more than three decades of service, will replace Beth Schiavino-Narvaez, who brought extensive public education leadership experience to the role. The abrupt leadership change signals a shift in educational priorities for schools serving military families around the world. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Craft will “swiftly reorient DoDEA towards patriotic values and classical learning.” The Defense Department Education Activity serves more than 67,000 military-connected students. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Treasury Department is highlighting best practices for using artificial intelligence within the financial sector. They include an artificial intelligence lexicon and a financial services AI risk management framework. The resources were developed by the Artificial Intelligence Executive Oversight Group, a Treasury-led partnership between financial institutions and regulators. The voluntary guidelines come as financial institutions increasingly rely on A-I to support decision-making, customer engagement, and operational functions. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Six Democrats in the Senators are asking the Government Accountability Office to further investigate whether the Commerce Department broke the law when it dismantled the Minority Business Development Agency or MBDA. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ben Ray Luján and others say they are concerned that Commerce defied federal court orders when political leaders terminated the funding for at least nine MBDA business centers and sent Reduction in Force (RIF) notices to terminate the last 24 employees still working at the agency. The lawmakers already had asked GAO to look into Commerce's initial actions to shutdown MBDA over the summer. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some senior political appointees, including the vice president, will continue to see a long-standing freeze on their salaries. The Office of Personnel Management announced that pay rates will continue to be capped for certain Executive Schedule employees. Political appointees in Schedules C and G, however, are exempted from the pay freeze. Certain higher-paid positions have continued to see their salary capped for more than a decade. For 2026, the pay ceiling sits at about $197,000.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 is bringing in industry experts to help overhaul its acquisition process. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the new Business Operators for National Defense program, or BOND, has already engaged over 100 industry experts, including dozens of former CEOs, COOs and CIOs already advising senior Pentagon officials. “BOND embeds elite private sector patriots, leaders with decades of experience at world class companies such as Apple, Ford, Microsoft and Tesla, directly into our acquisition process," Hegseth said. "Think of the best of the best leaders of our best private sector companies coming and joining the War Department.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The IRS pulled the plug on its free, online tax filing platform. Members of the Senate say the agency's partnership with tax filing companies hasn’t stepped up. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Angus King (I-Maine) are asking the IRS what it’s doing to promote its Free File program with tax-preparation companies. The program saw a peak of about five million taxpayers in 2004, but has seen a decline in users since then. The number of companies participating in the program has also declined. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Space Force has surpassed its fiscal 2026 recruiting goal just five months into the year. The service has already exceeded its recruiting goal by 25% for recruits who have shipped to basic military training or entered the delayed entry program. Despite that progress, service officials warn the current force is too small to meet growing national security demands. Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John Bentivegna said while “achieving a force of just over 10,000 uniformed guardians in 2025 was a landmark milestone, it is insufficient for the missions we have been assigned.” Bentivegna also told lawmakers that the service needs to increase its infrastructure and double its size to “effectively fulfill our national mandate.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A federal employee union head is stepping down after leading it for more than 14 years. Lee Saunders is retiring as president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Despite the name, it also represents federal employees in the departments of Justice, Transportation, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs as well as the Library of Congress. Saunders will step down in August after the union elects a new president.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Veterans Affairs is exploring hundreds of potential uses for artificial intelligence. More than half of them would impact its health-care mission. The VA says AI-assisted colonoscopies are leading to better detection of tumors. It also says AI helps mitigate the risk of opioid overdose and suicide among patients. The department says more than 130 use cases are currently being deployed across its operations and that many more are still in development. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Senator Ron Wyden is pledging to keep his hold on the nominee to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Wyden says he will continue to object to Sean Plankey’s nomination until CISA releases a 2022 report on security flaws in the U.S. telecommunications system. Wyden previously held up Plankey’s nomination for much of last year over the same issue. 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 says it’s cutting ties with Harvard University. The Pentagon says this will be the final school year for its graduate level professional military education programs affiliated with the university. DoD’s Harvard fellowships and certificate programs will end too. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he made the decision because of what he calls “globalist and radical ideologies” at the university. Hegseth says the department will be reviewing its relationships with other schools in the coming weeks.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

About 17 veterans died by suicide each day in 2023. That’s nearly 6,400 for the entire year. An annual report from the Department of Veterans Affairs shows overall veteran suicides are decreasing. More than half of veterans who died by suicide did not receive VA health care in the last year of their life. Suicide rates are elevated for veterans ages 18 to 34 and those experiencing homelessness, health problems or chronic pain. Veterans with thoughts of suicide can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 9-8-8 and then pressing 1. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.