Social Security looks to fully transition to electronic payments

• The Social Security Administration is looking to fully transition to electronic payments this year. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last year directing the Treasury Department to stop issuing paper checks for all federal payments. SSA said paper checks are 20 times more expensive than electronic checks and are more susceptible to fraud. Social Security beneficiaries seeking an exemption to this policy can request a waiver from the Treasury Department.
  (Social Security to fully transition to electronic payments - Social Security Administration)
• Senior agency executives have more opportunities to enroll in a federal leadership training program. The Office of Personnel Management has added extra sessions for its governmentwide development program, called Leadership for an Efficient and Accountable Government. OPM first launched the training program last year. The additional dates begin in early 2027. Participating executives have to pay a tuition of $8,500.
  (Leadership for an Efficient and Accountable Government (LEAG) program update - Office of Personnel Management)
• President Donald Trump has turned to Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to serve as acting director of national intelligence. In a Truth Social post, Trump said Pulte will continue to lead FHFA while he heads up the nation’s top spy office. He’ll replace Tulsi Gabbard, who is resigning at the end of June. Pulte is a businessman and staunch political ally of Trump. His selection immediately drew criticism from Democrats and some Republicans over his lack of national security experience.
  (FHFA Director Bill Pulte tapped for DNI - President Donald Trump on Truth Social )

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• The Forest Service is offering buyouts to employees ahead of an agency reorganization that will move hundreds of positions across the country. The agency will offer Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) to employees impacted by the agency’s upcoming reorganization. The Agriculture Department announced in March that the Forest Service would move its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah. About 500 employees will have to relocate as part of the headquarters' move. The agency plans to shutter its nine regional offices, and so far plans to keep only 20 of its 77 research facilities.
  (Forest Service offers separation incentives to employees ahead of upcoming relocations - Federal News Network)
• Two leaders on the House Foreign Affairs Committee are seeking to overhaul the Foreign Service Act. The Foreign Service Modernization Act would initiate the first comprehensive review of the Foreign Service Act of 1980. The bill would implement certain personnel policy reforms, including broadening ambassadors' authorities and oversight to carry out foreign policy overseas and increase expeditionary diplomacy efforts. The act would also create a pilot program for a Diplomatic Reserve Corps, similar to military service reserves, that would deploy diplomats to respond to crises. It targets human resources and hiring, with goals to modernize HR technology at the State Department and increase hiring of military veterans into the Foreign Service. This bill’s proposal comes after the committee passed a reauthorization for the State Department last fall.
  (Lawmakers seek to modernize Foreign Service Act for first time in 46 years - House Committee on Foreign Affairs)
• Amid sweeping federal workforce reductions, scientific agencies took a harder hit than most. The federal workforce overall has shrunk by about 12% under the Trump administration, but staffing losses were between 30-40% at agencies including the Forest Service, National Science Foundation, National Park Service and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In total, nearly 118,000 employees working in federal science agencies separated from their jobs between September 2024 and February 2026. That’s all according to new data analysis from the Partnership for Public Service.
  (Federal science research report - Partnership for Public Service)
• The one remaining protest of the mega human resources IT contract from the Office of Personnel Management has been denied. This decision by the Government Accountability Office yesterday clears the way for a possible award. Sources tell Federal News Network that OPM could make a decision between teams led by either Oracle or Workday in as little as a few days or even a week. GAO denied Economic Systems' protest of the consolidated HR IT system, saying none of the company’s arguments provided a basis for the complaint to be sustained.
  (GAO denies protest of OPM HRIT contract - Government Accountability Office)
• A new artificial intelligence executive order sets the stage for a new flurry of governmentwide cyber activity. President Donald Trump’s AI security executive order calls for new binding operational directives and other security guidance within the next 30 days. It directs agencies to expand their use of AI-enabled cybersecurity tools. And it calls for the establishment of an AI cybersecurity clearinghouse to coordinate and remediate new software vulnerabilities. The EO has received the most attention for setting up a voluntary, 30-day government review period for advanced AI models before they’re released more broadly.
  (AI executive order sets stage for new cybersecurity directives - Federal News Network)

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