Federal Newscast

The Army's Human Resources Command has developed an internal AI chatbot called “Ask HR” — the chatbot will enter beta testing once the government is funded. The bot has access to Army regulations, Military Personnel Messages and other HR data, which allows soldiers to quickly find information. The new tool is part of a broader effort to create a “digital front door” for human resources, which combines the Army's existing call center and online services to improve the overall soldier experience. Army officials also said they are also exploring the use of generative AI to identify talent more quickly and improve officer retention. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's latest mass layoffs will make their case to a federal judge tomorrow. The administration sent RIF notices to more than 4,000 federal employees last week. Government employee unions say reduction-in-force procedures are normally prohibited during a shutdown and that the Trump administration gave unlawful orders to exempt RIF activities. The Supreme Court this summer allowed the Trump administration to proceed with earlier mass layoffs across the 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 Pentagon is making the reinstatement process smoother for service members who were booted from the military over the COVID vaccine. In a new memo, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness said applicants seeking reinstatement now receive special-category VIP treatment. That includes notifying commanders in advance of their arrival, getting priority processing at Military Entrance Processing Stations and an assigned escort to expedite their screening. In addition, the department will proactively review personnel records and discharge characterizations for service members involuntarily separated solely due to COVID-19 vaccine refusal. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The number of federal employees filing retirement claims in September was the lowest all year. Just over 6,300 employees submitted their retirement paperwork to the Office of Personnel Management. At the same time, OPM also processed the fewest number of current claims in September, just over 7,900. Despite the lower number of claims, OPM says it took six days longer, on average, in September than in August to process claims. The current retirement claims backlog is at 23,500, which dropped for the fourth straight month.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The number of so-called TSP millionaires is continuing to go up. As of October 1st, nearly 190,000 participants in the Thrift Savings Plan have accounts totaling over $1 million. That's about 2.6 percent of all TSP accounts across the board. It also means roughly 19,000 more feds have crossed the million-dollar threshold in the last three months. Most TSP millionaires have spent decades investing in their accounts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Senate Democrats are charging the Department of Government Efficiency is putting federal data at risk at the Social Security Administration, the General Services Administration and the Office of Personnel Management. In a new report, Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, says staff investigations and whistleblower accounts show how DOGE personnel are working without any accountability to agency leadership, Congressional oversight or the public. For example, Peters says despite an SSA risk assessment warning of an up to a 65% chance of catastrophic breach, the data remains in systems without any verified security controls. Peters called on SSA, GSA and OPM to immediately halt DOGE operations and access to information systems given the risk of a serious data breach.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The White House is warning of the potential for spillover effects into the broader economy because of the government shutdown, now entering its second week. The White House's Council of Economic Advisers says calculations based on the number of federal employees and federal contractors not being paid imply that a month-long shutdown would reduce consumer spending by $30 billion. The CEA says approximately half of which would directly be due to federal employees and contractors not working and half would be due to spillover effects on other sectors. More broadly, CEA says delays in agency processes ranging from small business loans to export licenses approvals to awarding federal contracts also would negatively impact the U.S. economy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's Federal Newscast, federal employee unions are moving against an unprecedented actions during a government shutdownSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's Federal Newscast, the Thrift Savings Plan continues its run of month-over-month gains. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's Federal Newscast, the Trump administration is facing another lawsuit — this time, for telling agencies to conduct more reductions in force. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's Federal Newscast, with the government on the brink of a partial shutdown, one senator is pushing the Trump administration to be more transparent about what agency services will remain open should funding lapse.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's Federal Newscast, the White House is officially making AI one of its science and technology priorities. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The White House says the public will have to look at each individual agency to find out their plans for what would happen in a government shutdown. The Office of Management and Budget's webpage which normally publishes shutdown contingency plans remained empty for months. But now, OMB says that agencies' plans will only be available one by one, on each agency's own website. Those contingency plans cover how many federal employees would continue working — with or without pay — during a possible shutdown. 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 has surpassed its recruiting goals for fiscal 2025. The Army and Air National Guard have enlisted nearly 50,000 new members this year, bringing total Guard end strength to more than 433,000. Senior leaders attributed this year's success to initiatives such as the Future Soldier Preparatory Course and the new “Uncommon is Calling” marketing campaign for helping attract new members. Army Col. Timothy Smith also praised recruiters across every state, three territories, and the District of Columbia for helping the Guard meet its recruitment goals.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Agencies are bracing for a potential government shutdown, with less than a week left for Congress to reach a spending agreement. But so far, agencies have not released any public plans for what would happen in a shutdown. Agencies are supposed to release contingency plans, detailing which employees would keep working, and who would be furloughed. Currently, though, the White House's website for listing those plans is blank. The Trump administration removed previous contingency plans that agencies had compiled during a shutdown threat last year.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 rolling out a new incentive to keep some of its most experienced technical experts in uniform. A warrant officer retention bonus will offer a “substantial financial incentive” to officers in critical specialties who commit to additional years of service. High-demand fields like cyber operations, aviation maintenance, signal and communications and special operations are identified as priorities for the program. Lt. Col. Angie Chipman, chief of the Army retention division at the Pentagon, said, The Army is addressing its most pressing retention challenges and ensuring its ability to meet future operational demands by focusing on these fields.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There is a push in Congress to expand the use of hazard pay for federal wildland firefighters. Utah Congresswoman Celeste Maloy has introduced a bill attempting to correct what she says is a gap in the benefit. Currently, wildland firefighters receive higher pay rates, called hazard pay, when fighting active fires. But hazard pay doesn't apply to situations where firefighters are conducting prescribed burns or doing training jumps. Maloy says firefighters face similar hazards in those additional situations — but their pay rates don't currently match the risk.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Yesterday's Senate vote confirming nearly 50 of the president's nominees included some big gains for the Army — filling most of that service's senior political leadership posts all at once. Among those confirmed was Michael Obadal as the new under secretary of the Army, the service's number-two civilian leadership position. The en-bloc vote also included confirmations for three Army assistant secretaries: William Gillis as the assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment, Jules Hurst as the assistant secretary for manpower and reserve affairs, and Brent Ingraham as the assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The departments of Interior and Agriculture say they are on track to combine their wildland firefighting forces into a single agency by January 2026. The announcement this week comes after President Trump ordered the two departments to consolidate their wildfire response efforts into a single agency: the U.S. Wildland Fire Service. An employee organization called the Grassroots Wildland Firefighters says the effort is a step in the right direction, but is urging congressional action to make lasting changes for federal firefighters.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Congress is considering exempting some federal employees from losing their union protections. The version of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act that cleared the House would let DoD civilian workers keep their collective bargaining rights. The provision in the House's NDAA comes in response to President Trump's broad cancelation of collective bargaining earlier this year. The proposed exemption for DoD civilian employees, however, is not contained in the Senate's version of the NDAA. The American Federation of Government Employees is calling on senators this week to include the same exemption in their companion bill. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A government watchdog found that the Department of Defense's Transportation Command did not have sufficient and comprehensive data about its Global Household Goods contract, which was canceled in June. The Government Accountability Office found that TRANSCOM officials were aware of the contractor's capability constraints, but had limited information and could not verify whether the company could handle the volume of moves. The watchdog also said the Defense Department did not gather or track comprehensive feedback from service members going through military moves, which limited contractor performance assessment. In addition, TRANSCOM did not have full information regarding costs associated with the contract transition.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nine Senate Democrats are calling on Immigration and Customs Enforcement to halt its use of a mobile facial recognition application. In a letter to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, the lawmakers ask for more details on ICE's Mobile Fortify app. The technology reportedly allows ICE to identify individuals they encounter on the streets using multiple federal databases. The Senate lawmakers say ICE should answer questions about whether it's using the app to surveil protestors and whether the agency is integrating commercial data into the technology. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal pay caps are contributing to ongoing recruitment and retention challenges in the Defense Department's blue-collar workforce. A new report from the Government Accountability Office has found that multiple DoD installations are struggling to keep employees in the Federal Wage System, due to longstanding pay limitations set by Congress. GAO also pointed to evidence that the pay rates for blue-collar federal employees have deviated from pay rates in the larger labor market, making it even harder for DoD to compete with the private sector. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The House passed its version of the 2026 defense policy bill, which includes a 3.8% pay bump for service members. House Republicans pushed the bill through largely without Democratic support after adding conservative provisions and blocking debates Democrats sought on issues like expanding the use of the military inside the country. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith, who voted against the bill, said the GOP included “countless partisan amendments” and “silenced debate of critical issues.” The annual legislation also includes sweeping acquisition reforms aimed at changing how the Pentagon does business. The Senate is expected to pass its version of the defense bill later this week. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Pentagon has published the final acquisition rule implementing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program. The rule, released in yesterday's Federal Register will allow Defense Department procurements to include CMMC assessment requirements. The assessments are intended to ensure defense contractors are following cybersecurity standards for protecting controlled unclassified information. The Pentagon estimates 80,000 defense contractors may be required to obtain a CMMC assessment. Officials plan to phase in the requirements over a three-year period. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal employees, on average, are waiting longer to see their retirement applications processed. New data from the Office of Personnel Management for August shows it takes an average of 70 days to process a claim from a retiring fed. But if retirement claims are coming to OPM in less than 60 days, those cases take, on average, 45 days to complete. At the same time, OPM received more than 9,400 retirement claims last month. OPM's backlog of retirement claims dropped by 2,000 to 24,300. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Energy Department is being sued over its plan to purge old Freedom of Information Act requests. The nonprofit group American Oversight filed the suit in U.S. District Court last week. It challenges DOE's effort to require individuals to re-confirm their interest in FOIA requests. In an August notice in the Federal Register, DOE announced that those with a FOIA request submitted prior to October 1, 2024, must email the agency within 30 days to keep the request open. American Oversight argues the move violates the law and would open the door for other agencies to sidestep their obligations under FOIA. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Federal employees at the Department of Health and Human Services are calling for the resignation of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. A letter signed by more than 1,000 HHS workers warns that Kennedy's actions this year have endangered the nation's health. Most recently, Kennedy fired the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The employees say the secretary has also been spreading inaccurate health information. Earlier this year, HHS laid off thousands of employees in a reduction in force.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The House Homeland Security Committee wants to reauthorize and reform the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015. The law expires at the end of this month. On Wednesday, the committee passed a bill that would extend the law for another 10 years. It would also update the law to account for advances in artificial intelligence and require the Department of Homeland Security to improve its outreach on emerging cyber threats. The bill is advancing in the House, but its path forward in the Senate remains unclear as the law's expiration nears.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All 16 funds in the Thrift Savings Plan posted positive results in August. New data from the Federal Thrift Investment Retirement Board shows that the S fund had the largest month over month increase of just over 4%, while the I fund also continued its strong performance. Every fund is positive year-to-date with 11 funds posting double digit returns for 2025. The I fund continues to earn the biggest returns with a 21.5% gain for this year while all the L funds are seeing returns over 10% over the last eight months. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security are teaming up to enforce compliance with trade laws. DHS and DoJ have launched a Trade Fraud Task Force to pursue enforcement actions those who try to evade tariffs and other duties. The cross-agency group will rely on the Tariff Act of 1930, the False Claims Act, and Title 18's trade fraud and conspiracy provisions. The task force is asking for tips from any domestic industries that are harmed by unfair trade practices and trade fraud. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.