Trump administration

Dedicated civil servants, or an out of control ‘deep state?’

Jeff Neal writes that the more civil servants see attacks by political appointees and politicians on their skills, work, integrity and even their patriotism,…

Commentary

FILE - The Department of Health and Human Services building is seen in Washington, April 5, 2009. The federal Department of Health and Human Services is failing to meet its responsibilities for leading the nation’s response to public health emergencies ranging from the coronavirus pandemic, to extreme weather disasters and even potential bioterror attacks, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog says in a report Thursday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

GAO: HHS needs to find ways to shield its scientists from political strong-arming

Federal Newscast

FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2020, file photo, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testifies during a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on the Postal Service on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Tom Williams/Pool via AP, File)

DeJoy: USPS in recovery but ‘uncomfortable changes’ still to come under reform plan

People

FILE - U.S. Postal Service Postmaster General Louis DeJoy speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill, on Feb. 24, 2021, in Washington. DeJoy said Thursday, March 31, 2022, that the Justice Department has closed without criminal charges an investigation into political fundraising activity at his former business. (Jim Watson/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Postmaster General says he’s been cleared in federal probe

People

(Spokane VA Medical Center Photo)

VA reopening union talks after Trump era’s contentious bargaining

Veterans Affairs

First pulse survey results are out and SSA didn’t do too well

Unions

Night falls at the the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021, with the deadline to fund the government approaching. Republicans in the Senate are poised to stall a must-pass funding bill as they force a debate on rolling back the Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandates for some workers. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Federal employee disputes sit in limbo as MSPB nominees await confirmation

Workforce Rights/Governance

FILE - The U.S. Capitol in Washington is shown on Dec. 29, 2020. Saule Omarova, 55, was nominated this month to be the nation’s next comptroller of the currency. If confirmed, she would be the first woman and person of color to run the 158-year-old agency. Omarova will appear in front of the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021 as part of her nomination. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

One other thing in government is growing about as fast as the national debt

Management

FILE - Michael Carvajal, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing examining issues facing prisons and jails during the coronavirus pandemic on Capitol Hill in Washington, on June 2, 2020. Carvajal is resigning amid increasing scrutiny over his leadership in the wake of Associated Press reporting that uncovered widespread problems at the agency, including a recent story detailing serious misconduct involving correctional officers. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Pool via AP, File)

US prisons director resigning after crises-filled tenure

People

A Metropolitan Police Department cruiser blocks a street near the U.S. Capitol and a Library of Congress building in Washington on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, as law enforcement officials investigate a report of a pickup truck containing an explosive device. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Calls for Capitol Police inspector general to publish reports

Federal Newscast

OPM looks to repeal federal workforce policies impacted by Trump executive order

Hiring/Retention

FILE - In this May 11, 2015, file photo, nuclear waste is stored in underground containers at the Idaho National Laboratory near Idaho Falls, Idaho. The Biden administration has affirmed a Trump administration interpretation of high-level radioactive waste that is based on the waste's radioactivity rather than how it was produced. The U.S. Department of Energy announcement last week means some radioactive waste from nuclear weapons production stored for decades in Idaho, Washington and South Carolina could be reclassified and moved for permanent storage elsewhere. (AP Photo/Keith Ridler, File)

Biden administration affirms Trump era interpretation for high-level nuclear waste

The Biden administration has affirmed a Trump administration interpretation of high-level radioactive waste that is based on the waste’s radioactivity…

Facilities/Construction

Should the Office of Special Counsel have more Hatch Act enforcement power?

The law, enacted in 1939, prevents political activity by appointed and career federal employees while on the job.

Agency Oversight

In this Jan. 23, 2015, photo, wild horses are seen during a BLM tour in the Pine Nut Mountains just outside of Dayton, Nev. Under the threat of another legal battle, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has quietly pulled the plug on a public-private partnership in northern Nevada aimed at shrinking the size of a wild horse herd through the use of contraceptives, according to documents The Associated Press obtained on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. (Jason Bean/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP) NO SALES; NEVADA APPEAL OUT; SOUTH RENO WEEKLY OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT

How can BLM manage with many vacancies after headquarters relocation?

Hiring/Retention

For more, the GAO’s director of Natural Resources and Environment Issues, Frank Rusco, spoke to the Federal Drive with Tom Temin.