Federal Newscast

An appeals court might be reconsidering its recent decision that sided with the Trump administration in orders to terminate federal union contracts. One of the judges on that appeals court panel has called for a vote to decide whether to re-hear arguments in a lawsuit against the White House’s orders. The American Federation of Government Employees is suing the administration, arguing that Trump’s directive to end collective bargaining retaliates against unions that have exercised their First Amendment rights. Attorneys for AFGE and the Trump administration have until Sept. 15 to submit arguments on whether or not the case should be re-heard. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is warning about another China-linked cyber espionage campaign. In a joint advisory yesterday, CISA and partner agencies said Chinese state-sponsored actors are exploiting vulnerabilities in routers used by telecommunications providers and other infrastructure operators. They say the campaign’s goal is to gain long-term access to critical infrastructure networks around the world. The advisory includes several recommendations to guard against the hacking spree. The threat groups highlighted in the advisory include Salt Typhoon and other advanced persistent threat actors. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Veterans Affairs says it’s now guaranteed 29 million home loans for service members and veterans. That’s more than $4 trillion dollars in loans issued over the history of the program. More than four million service members and veterans have active home loans guaranteed by the VA. The department’s Home Loan Guaranty Program began in 1944 as part of the G.I. Bill of RightsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After a high-profile hack, Senator Ron Wyden is calling for an independent review of cybersecurity in the U.S. courts system. In a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts, Wyden says the federal Judiciary has fallen short in protecting its sensitive IT systems. He pointed to a recent intrusion of the courts’ case management system. Hackers reportedly took advantage of vulnerabilities that were brought to light five years ago after a separate hack of the case management system. Wyden says Roberts should commission a National Academy of Sciences review of the two security incidents. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

House committee Democrats are raising alarms about the Agriculture Department’s relocation and reorganization plans. In a letter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, lawmakers from the Education and Workforce Committee warned that USDA’s plans would lead to worsening services. They’re calling on Rollins to explain the rationale for relocating thousands of USDA employees in the D.C. area. They’re also pressing for answers on which, if any, officials or stakeholders USDA consulted with before moving forward with its plans. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Senate will vote on its version of the 2026 defense policy bill on Sept. 2. The House has not yet scheduled a floor vote on its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, though the House Committee on Rules has set an Aug. 28 deadline for lawmakers to file NDAA amendments. The Senate bill authorizes nearly $925 billion for national defense, while the House version aligns with the White House’s $883 billion request. Congress has passed the NDAA every year for the past 64 years.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new House bill would reverse cuts at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The FEMA Critical Staffing Act would require the agency to reinstate employees fired under the Trump administration. It would also require FEMA to bring back the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program and the flood mitigation assistance program. The bill is being sponsored by several House Democrats. It comes as Congress and the Trump administration consider broader reforms to FEMA. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal employees traveling for business will not see an increase in the rates the government will pay for hotels, meals and incidentals in fiscal 2026. The General Services Administration says the per diem rates for the continental United States will stay the same for next fiscal year. GSA says the decision not to increase the rates reflects the government’s commitment to being a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars, ensuring that federal funds are utilized appropriately, cost-effectively and for core mission-related activities. The standard rate applies to most of CONUS, which for lodging is $110 dollars. There are 296 non-standard areas with individual rates that are higher than the standard rate. The meals and incidental rates range from $59 to $92.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Air Force has paused some permanent change of station moves due to personnel budget shortfalls. It’s unclear how many Airmen are affected, but the delay only applies to moves within the United States and does not impact Space Force Guardians, reservists, Guard members, and Airmen relocating overseas. Earlier this spring, the service also delayed issuing some retirement and separation orders due to similar budget constraints. In May, the Defense Department instructed the service branches to develop a plan to reduce permanent change of station “discretionary move” budgets.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Employees from the Department of Veterans Affairs are rallying across the country today in protest of the Trump administration’s changes to the VA. The agency workers, who are represented by a range of federal unions, warn that staffing reductions and erosion of collective bargaining at the VA will hurt the agency’s ability to support veterans. The rallies come after the VA canceled virtually all of its union contracts last week. VA union members are gathering in more than 10 cities today to sound the alarm and press the Trump administration to reverse course.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 setting a new record for the number of disability and pension claims processed in a single year. The VA has gone through more than two and a half million claims so far in fiscal 2025, surpassing last year’s total. The department says it’s shrunk the claims backlog by 37% since President Donald Trump took office. The backlog increased under the Biden administration when more veterans became eligible for VA benefits under the toxic-exposure PACT Act. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A federal appeals court is giving the Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive data at several agencies. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned a lower court’s ruling that barred DOGE from accessing records at the Treasury Department … the Education Department … and the Office of Personnel Management. Appeals court judges ruling in favor of DOGE cited a recent Supreme Court ruling … that allowed DOGE officials access to Social Security Administration data on millions of Americans. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Administrative Office of the United States Courts says it’s strengthening cyber protections after hackers hit the Judiciary's electronic case management system. The Judiciary says most documents are already available to the public, but that it’s putting in place more rigorous procedures to restrict access to sensitive documents under carefully controlled and monitored circumstances. Politico reported last week that a sweeping cyber intrusion may have exposed sensitive court data across multiple U.S. states. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal employees’ COVID-19 vaccination status will soon no longer appear on their personnel documents. The Trump administration is directing agencies to scrub vaccination information from federal HR files. That includes erasing any instances of employees not complying with vaccine mandates, or requesting exemptions from any mandates. The Office of Personnel Management says no information related to vaccines can be used in decisions on hiring, promotions, discipline or terminations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

House Democrats are pushing for details on the Department of Agriculture’s major relocation plans. The lawmakers say testimony from USDA leadership last month did not clarify how well the agency had planned ahead before announcing the relocations. The agency also failed to estimate how many employees would leave their jobs as a result of the move, according to the Congress members. In a letter to USDA, the Democrats requested the agency turn over all documents and communications related to the relocation plans.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal employees submitting their retirement paperwork may have to wait longer to get their claims processed. The Office of Personnel Management reported that during July, it took the agency 59 days, on average, to process a federal employee’s retirement package from start to finish. That’s two weeks longer, on average, than it took OPM to work through cases in June. Another 8,300 federal employees sent their retirement paperwork to OPM last month. All combined, that adds up to nearly 37,000 feds who have submitted a retirement claim since April. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There’s a growing effort in Congress to enhance whistleblower protections for FBI employees. A new bill from Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, if enacted, would expand several portions of the existing whistleblower protections at the FBI. For one, the legislation would protect FBI agents who appeal adverse personnel decisions. The bill would also secure protections for agents who cooperate in whistleblower investigations. Grassley says his bill comes in response to what he described as whistleblower retaliation during the Biden administration.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 planning on reorganizing and reducing the size of the staff that supports the Defense Technical Information Center or DTIC. The Pentagon says through a reduction-in-force effort, DTIC will cut 40 civilian positions. It expects the RIF notices to go out by August 25. Additionally, Silvana Rubino-Hallman, who is the acting administrator of DTIC, will conduct a zero-based core mission review for all contractor personnel augmenting DTIC staff and will direct contracting officers to issue any stop-work-orders as appropriate. DoD expects the RIF and reorganization to save more than $25 million per year. 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 their retirements account grow across 14 of 16 funds in the Thrift Savings Plan in July. But the rate of growth for most of the funds was under 1% as compared to June. New data from TSP shows only the S and C funds increased month over month by more than 1%. Only two of the funds, F and I, ended up lower in July than in June, but again only by less than 1%. For the year, every fund is showing positive returns with the I fund leading the way with a return of almost 17%. 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 getting a new permanent watchdog. The Senate confirmed senior VA advisor Cheryl Mason to serve as the next VA inspector general. President Trump fired the last VA inspector general, Michael Missal, in January along with 16 other agency IGs. Mason previously served as the first woman to chair the Board of Veterans Appeals.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.