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In Episode 2 of Bureauchat, Federal News Radio reporters Meredith Somers and Nicole Ogrysko catch up on vacant offices in the federal government — both the literal and bureaucratic ones. They also have a special holiday treat to get you in the mood to spread federal cheer!

Why doesn’t the Office of Personnel Management have a director? President Donald Trump’s original nominee withdrew his name in July, and his second appointee is still waiting for his confirmation vote to be rescheduled in the Senate.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen inspectors general positions are vacant as well, including the office at the Department of the Interior, which has been empty for more than 3,000 days.

As for vacant offices, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is getting its first ever consolidated headquarters. In about three years a few thousand employees will move in to their new offices in Camp Springs, Maryland. USCIS leadership says having everyone under one roof will be a huge benefit to mission and employee morale.

Back in Washington, 17 members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are taking the General Services Administration to court over the Old Post Office Pavilion and lease of the Trump Hotel.

And the term “base realignment and closure” is practically a forbidden phase when it comes to the Defense Department, but it may have more optimistic reception at the Veterans Affairs Department.

Don’t forget to listen to the whole episode. Federal News Radio’s own Senior Correspondent Mike Causey joins Bureauchat for a “fireside” reading of “Twas the Night Before End of Fiscal Year.”

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