Trump administration official draws bipartisan criticism

In today's Top Federal Headlines, members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee want the Office of Government Ethics to review comments made by...

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, members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee want the Office of Government Ethics to review comments made by Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to President Donald Trump, to see if she violated ethics rules.

  • A counselor to President Trump draws bipartisan criticism after she urges people to buy clothing from the First Daughter’s fashion line. A letter from  Reps Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), called on the Office of Government Ethics to review if Kellyanne Conway violated an ethics rule during an interview, and to advise if disciplinary action is needed. (House Oversight and Government Reform Committee)
  • OGE’s website was down for hours mid-day Thursday, after reporting an “extraordinary volume” of calls, emails and website visits. According to the office’s Twitter account, the agency received a large amount of contacts about “recent events.” The agency stressed it only works to prevent ethics violations and advise agencies, it does not enforce them though. (Office of Government Ethics)
  • Three Veterans Affairs employees were charged with stealing prescription drugs from the VA John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Arkansas says the stolen drugs were worth more than $77,000. VA’s Inspector General began the investigation after a report showed large amounts of unaccounted drugs were being charged to VA accounts. (Department of Justice)
  • A former three-star general who served as the top military aide to Defense secretary Ash Carter loses two of his stars and tens of thousands of dollars in annual retirement pay. The Army announced disciplinary actions against former Lt. Gen. Ron Lewis on Thursday, months after an inspector general report substantiated allegations that he’d used his government credit card at overseas adult entertainment venues while travelling with the Defense secretary, used alcohol to excess, had inappropriate interactions with female subordinates and lied to investigators. Lewis also received a written reprimand from the Army’s vice chief of staff before being forced to retire as a brigadier general. The demotion will cut his military pension by roughly $20,000. (Associated Press)
  • The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is on a fact finding mission this year. Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) said he wants to hear from the federal community about the existing authorities, processes and laws which make their jobs more difficult. He said the goal is to change the General Schedule and possibly pass new legislation. The committee will hold several hearings on the topic throughout the year. (Federal News Radio)
  • 15 senators introduce a resolution recognizing federal employees and their contributions to public service. They said they won’t let the Senate pass any bill that erodes fair pay, benefits or merit system principles. The resolution includes five recent actions from the Trump administration that the senators said undermine federal workforce. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.)  signed the resolution. (Sen. Chris Van Hollen)
  • President Trump and the nation’s airline executives dusted off an idea that was shelved during the Obama administration. During a White House meeting, Trump called the air travel system totally out of whack, citing slow and costly efforts to modernize. He said he supports the idea of privatizing air traffic control and putting a pilot at the head of the FAA. Privatizing has had bipartisan support, and also a thumbs up from the controllers’ union. (Associated Press)
  • Army Cyber Command will start two new pilots to recruit and develop its forces. The command is establishing a test program that directly commissions officers from the private sector instead of making them go through military prerequisites. Army Cyber Command is also starting a career program to help civilians move through the cyber workforce. (Federal News Radio)
  • A R&D agency seeks better answers by more clearly understanding the questions behind the problems. The Intelligence Community is turning to the wisdom of the crowds for its next generation analysis tool. The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity or I-ARPA launched a multi-year research effort to develop and test large-scale, structured collaboration methods. The Crowdsourcing Evidence, Argumentation, Thinking and Evaluation, or CREATE, program will hopefully give analysts a better understanding of the evidence and assumptions that support or conflict with their conclusions. IARPA awarded a broad agency announcement to four academic teams, including George Mason University, to develop the tools. (I-ARPA)

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