Senators join House probe into GSA lease with Trump organization

In today's Top Federal Headlines, two Senators want to know how the General Services Administration plans on avoiding conflicts in its lease with now President-...

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

In today’s Top Federal Headlines, two senators want to know how the General Services Administration plans on avoiding conflicts in its lease with now President-elect Donald Trump for the Old Post Office building.

  • Two Senate Democrats have joined their House counterparts in demanding answers from the General Services Administration about the terms of the lease with the Trump Organization. Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to GSA administrator Denise Turner Roth, asking how the agency plans to minimize any conflicts of interest in its deal with Trump for the Old Post Office building in Washington, D.C. GSA awarded the Trump Organization a 60-year, $180 million lease in 2013. House lawmakers sent a similar letter earlier this week. (Sen. Elizabeth Warren)
  • A whistleblower has testified on potential gender discrimination at the Agriculture Department. Denise Rice, a fire prevention technician for the National Forest Service, told the House Oversight Committee about retaliation on women reporting sexual harassment. Joe Leonard, USDA assistant secretary for civil rights, argued the department has made significant progress towards fighting gender discrimination. (House Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
  • Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee John Thune (R-S.D.) wants to know why it’s taking the Federal Aviation Administration so long to modernize. Thune sent a letter to FAA Administrator Michael Huerta, looking for the reasons why FAA’s mulit-billion dollar effort to update air traffic control operations, know, as “NextGen,” is taking so long to implement. (Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation)
  • The Senate has reinstated certain protest rights for government contractors. Government contractors will soon again have the ability to protest civilian agency task and delivery orders to the Government Accountability Office. The Senate passed a House bill to restore GAO’s authority to hear protests of task orders worth at least $10 million. The bill now goes to President Barack Obama to be signed into law. GAO’s authority to hear bid protests of civilian agency task orders expired Sept. 30. The authority could change again in the near future. The Defense Authorization bill includes a provision to raise the protest threshold to $25 million from $10 million. Congress is expected to vote on the NDAA this week. (Rep. Mark Meadows)
  • Agencies will soon have to tally up how many senior executive positions they’ll need for 2018 and 2019. The Office of Personnel Management said it doesn’t foresee agencies’ numbers changing much because of the upcoming transition, so new agency leaders have a chance to weigh in on mission priorities and budgets. Agencies must submit SES numbers once every two years. (Chief Human Capitals Officer Council)
  • President-elect Donald Trump continues to assemble his national security team. Retired Gen. James Mattis is his pick for defense secretary. Via Tweets and other public statements, the President-elect had already made it quite clear that he was impressed by his discussions with Mattis, a former Marine Corps general, but he made it official from the stage of a rally in Ohio last night. Mattis is highly regarded as a strategic thinker in defense circles, but he would be the first retired general to serve as Defense Secretary since George Marshall, 66 years ago. And like Marshall, Mattis would need a congressional waiver to get around laws designed to preserve civilian control of the military, since he only left uniformed service three years ago. (Associated Press)
  • A final rule issued by OPM bans agencies from asking applicants about their criminal history until after making an offer of employment. This is to help agencies comply with President Barack Obama’s many memorandums on opening up more opportunities for those with stains on their records. OPM said agencies can ask for exceptions to the rule though when a criminal background check is pertinent. The rule goes into effect Jan. 3. (Federal Register)
  • President Barack Obama could probably spend the rest of his term shepherding appointments through the Senate. The president has sent up several names. Robert Storch, deputy Justice inspector general, to National Security Agency IG. Seth Harris, former deputy labor secretary, for the Amtrak Board. And Michael Leary, of the intelligence community, as IG for Social Security. And unless the Senate acts quickly, the Postal Service will have no board of governors come Thursday. (White House)
  • IRS officials said they’re rethinking its workforce as it prepares implement some big operational changes over the next five years. IRS Chief Human Capital Officer Daniel Riordan said many jobs for existing employees may change when the IRS starts its Future State program. Many of its functions are planned to move online to replace in-person customer services. (Federal News Radio)

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