Federal Newscast

Democratic lawmakers are criticizing the Trump administration’s recent push to pay political appointees more money. In a letter to the Office of Personnel Management, Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee called OPM’s recent encouragement on the issue an “egregious abuse” of taxpayer dollars. OPM recently recommended that agencies pay their political appointees the maximum salary possible, nearly $200,000. Based on current federal salary caps, Schedule C political appointees can be paid nearly $200,000 per year. They don’t always receive the top amount, but OPM recently recommended that agencies pay their political appointees the maximum salary possible. The Democrats are now pressing OPM for more information on the responsibilities and costs of current Schedule C appointees.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 taking a closer look at how it supports military families who choose to homeschool their children. In a recent memo, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness to conduct a departmentwide review of the current support available to homeschooling military families, including the feasibility of providing resources for those students. A recent study from Johns Hopkins University found that around 12% of military families chose to homeschool their children in 2024 — that’s double the rate of civilian families.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Probationary employees who were fired from the Department of Homeland Security have been granted class certification on an appeal case with the Merit Systems Protection Board. The DHS employees allege that the agency violated the law when it terminated them earlier this year. They argue that the mass firings at DHS were really an unlawfully conducted reduction in force (RIF). Gilbert Employment Law, which is representing the DHS employees in the MSPB case, called the class certification “heartening news.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Defense Manpower Data Center has expanded its online ID card issuance system to include overseas dependents of service members. Since its launch in 2023, the program has eliminated more than 300,000 in-person visits by allowing service members to request their ID cards online. DMDC now wants to improve the system by allowing users to upload updated photos directly into the system. It is exploring ways to extend services to locations without access to military postal services.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 giving organizations more resources to prevent veteran suicide. VA is issuing more than $50 million in grants to community-based organizations that provide suicide prevention or emergency clinical services to veterans at risk of suicide. Groups have until the end of September to apply for these grants. Veterans who are experiencing suicidal thoughts can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 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.

Correctional officers at the Federal Bureau of Prisons are using a different approach to urge congressional action. A new billboard campaign led by the American Federation of Government Employees is calling on Congress members to reject President Trump’s effort to strip collective bargaining rights. Many bipartisan lawmakers have supported federal correctional officers for a long time. But the union said it’s disappointed that lawmakers now appear to be turning their backs on the frontline federal workers. AFGE has rented out a number of billboards across the country urging Congress to reject Trump’s executive order canceling union contracts, efforts that would cut benefits for federal correctional officers.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees remain in limbo after an appeals judge ruled in favor of the Trump administration. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March ending collective bargaining rights for national security employees. The order expanded who is considered a national security employee to more than three dozen agencies. The appeals court ruled 2-to-1 on technical grounds, finding that the unions don’t have the legal right to sue because the Trump administration has said it won’t end any collective bargaining agreements while the case is being litigated.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A top House Democrat wants an investigation into the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to IRS systems. Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly requested the investigation in a May 15th letter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. He raised concerns about DOGE plans to centralize IRS data. Connolly also highlighted potential issues with the IRS’ data-sharing agreements with the Department of Homeland Security. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

To reduce leased space costs by 30 percent within the next 18 months, the Defense Department is closely tracking building occupancy to find underutilized spaces. It is also moving more personnel to existing military installations to reduce the number of people working in rented office buildings. Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment Robert Thompson said the effort is critical to “eliminating waste and duplication” while “maximizing the value of the department’s real estate portfolio.” The Defense Department is reducing its leased space costs as it implements a government-wide return-to-office policy requiring thousands of employees to resume in-person work. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Customs and Border Protection is looking to expand its use of facial recognition. In a new request for information, CBP says it’s seeking solutions for capturing facial images of occupants in vehicles. The technology would be used at ports of entry to compare biometrics in CBP’s Traveler Verification Service. CBP and other Homeland Security agencies have been expanding their use of facial recognition to expedite traveler screening in recent years. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Health and Human Services is reinstating some employees after firing thousands last month. HHS is bringing back about 100 employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The agency researches and makes recommendations to prevent work-related injury, illness, disability, and death. Most of the reinstated employees work in Morgantown, West Virginia. HHS fired about 10,000 employees in April and another 10,000 took voluntary incentives to leave the agency. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Labor Department is making major cuts to a watchdog office that ensures federal contractors aren’t discriminating against their employees. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs laid off about 90% of its staff last week, leaving only about 50 employees nationwide. OFCCP was created in 1965 to protect American workers from race and gender discrimination by federal contractors. Employees who got RIF notices will separate from the agency on June 6.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is considering updates to a key cybersecurity law. The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 20-15 expires this September. The intelligence committee last week received briefings from multiple agencies on how the law has worked out so far. The statute incentivizes private industry to share cyber threat data with the government. But Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford says the law needs to be updated to account for a decade of evolving technology and cyber threats. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Democrats are attempting to secure full collective bargaining rights for federal health care employees. A new bill from Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth would allow nurses, clinicians and other professionals at the Veterans Health Administration to negotiate with management over their workforce concerns. The bill has been introduced in the past. But this time around, Duckworth says the bill is especially important given the Trump administration's efforts to broadly cancel collective bargaining across agencies.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lawmakers are calling on the Trump administration to prioritize funding for more recruiting at the Coast Guard. Last year, the Coast Guard exceeded its recruiting goals for the first time since 2017. But the service is still 3,000 members short of its targeted enlisted goal. Lawmakers say the 2026 budget should seek to fill those gaps and return the Coast Guard to its full operational capacity. The Trump administration is seeking increases for the Department of Homeland Security in 2026 . . . but it has yet to release specific details on its proposed Coast Guard budget. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A federal court is putting a hold on the Trump administration’s plans to eliminate three small agencies. A judge at the U-S District Court in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction … putting a temporary hold on cuts to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service which helps resolve collective bargaining disputes and the Institute of Museum and Library Services the primary source of federal support for U.S. libraries and museums. The judge’s ruling also blocks further cuts to the Minority Business Development Agency.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Just over 7,800 federal employees retired last month, the lowest amount so far in 2025. The Office of Personnel Management says more than 33,500 federal employees retired in first quarter of 2025 compared to 29,700 hundred during the first three months of 2024. OPM's retirement backlog dropped to 16,700 hundred, almost 4,000 less than March. On average, OPM is processing retirement claims in 54 days, but those applications that took less than 60 days for the agency to get OPM the paperwork were processed in 33 days on average.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Defense Secretary Hegseth has launched the development of a new National Defense Strategy — a major policy document that sets the Pentagon’s strategic goals and priorities. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, who played a key role in crafting the 2018 National Defense Strategy during Trump’s first term, will lead the new NDS effort. Hegseth said, “The NDS is the single most important document to ensure the Department is operating in accordance with the President’s and my intent." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The international stock index I fund was the big winner among Thrift Savings Plan funds in April. Its monthly return was 4.16%. That also leaves it as the highest year-to-date, at an even 9%. The government securities G fund and fixed income investment F fund both also showed positive returns last month, at 0.35% and 0.39 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the common stock index C fund and small cap stock index S fund - both tied to major stock indexes - stayed in the red in April, and have negative year-to-date returns. All lifecycle fund returns were positive.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal firefighters within the Defense Department continue to struggle with significant workforce shortages. The DoD has been operating below the minimum required staffing level for firefighters since 2019. That’s according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. GAO says the staffing gaps partially stem from worse pay and work schedules than those offered by local fire departments. To address the issue, GAO says DoD should analyze the factors affecting staffing challenges, and make a department-wide workforce plan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.