.Rep. Marcy Kaptur has brought back her bill to lower health care costs for fallen service members’ partners for longer, while Joe Wilson wants to offer veterans more job support, via GovExec. govexec.com/pay-benefits/2…

NEW: I read through 1,600 pages of Trump's budget and documented every federal job cut. The admin is expecting a net reduction of 107K next year. Only DOT sees an increase; even DHS hiring at CBP/ICE is outpaced by cuts at FEMA and TSA. # will grow when VA and DOD are included

SCOOP: VA has signed a $726,000 agreement with OPM to implement mass layoffs. The veterans agency says it lacks expertise to carry out such widespread cuts on its own. VA says its RIF plans are fluid, but this shows it's moving forward on a large scale--even w/ court injunction

“Systems break and it takes days to fix them because no one is left who knows how,” they said. It’s making modernization projects take longer because of time dedicated to “putting out fires” where “the guy who knows how to fix it is gone.” nextgov.com/modernization/…

NEW details on federal agencies supporting ICE's immigration raids, some in unprecedented ways: - 250 IRS agents are providing manpower support on raids and are deputized to make arrests - 1/4 of USCIS refugee officers are currently supporting ICE - TSA + more...full details👇

An April decision by the justices means that federal employees called up to active service could be eligible for differential pay, and that the Merit Systems Protections Board could receive a wave of new claims, via GovExec. govexec.com/pay-benefits/2…

SCOOP: The White House is holding meetings with DOGE, new postal leadership, the Treasury Department and others to discuss broad reforms of USPS. Lots of WH policy advisors and lawyers involved. One proposal under consideration: a rarely used emergency price hike

.National Park Service is scrambling to fill top-level positions at posts throughout the country, launching a new initiative to fill dozens of vacant roles that some inside the agency fear will only create new openings at other sites, via Eric Katz. buff.ly/19IkILi

Employees chanting "N-S-F" ahead of a press conference where it was announced that the Housing and Urban Development Department will be moving into the National Science Foundation's HQ with no word on where the science agency's employees will be relocated

Legislation from Rep. Marcy Kaptur , D-Ohio, seeks to ensure that select members of the executive branch get annual training on the budget process or face a possible suspension of financial decision making for their agency, via GovExec. govexec.com/workforce/2025…

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board will put into effect a final rule recalculating how federal employees repay accrued interest on reamortized loans from the government’s 401(k)-style retirement plan, via GovExec. govexec.com/pay-benefits/2…

Just in: Following Supreme Court ruling, U.S. Department of State Spokesperson says State is moving into the implementation phase of its reorganization. Thousands of employees expected to lost their jobs as soon as tomorrow. "This is the point where it begins," she says.

To help fill a 3,000-person gap in the air traffic control workforce, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is pushing a bill to bring retired controllers back on the job, via Government Executive. govexec.com/pay-benefits/2…

NEW: Howard Lutnick, who department oversees the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis, was asked today by employees there about independence of federal statistics. He said that independence was “nonsense,” and all that matters is accuracy and getting “the right answer.”

A proposed U.S. Department of Education regulation would introduce new enforcement authority to a department the Trump administration has spent much of the year trying to unwind, centered on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, via GovExec. govexec.com/pay-benefits/2…

NEWS: The IRS is abandoning its layoff plans and is now actually working to plug mission-critical staffing gaps. Story with Eric Katz govexec.com/workforce/2025…

.Sen. Tammy Baldwin is resurrecting legislation aimed at extending military health care coverage to an estimated 130,000 troops in the National Guard and military reserves, via GovExec. govexec.com/pay-benefits/2…

SCOOP: The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, based in GA and responsible for training hires at 75 agencies, is pausing operations for anyone besides ICE. It's responsible for training DHS components like Border Patrol + TSA, military police, etc. Now paused thru Dec. 👇

SCOOP: The Veterans Affairs Department is putting caps on its staffing, according to a leaked memo I got, leading to the elimination of positions. VA is tightening hiring, creating significant hurdles for any office go over the new caps. VA expected to target vacancies for cuts

“This is a book with gravity, a book that needed to be done” - Northwestern Medill alum Michael Wilbon on fellow alum Christine Brennan’ new book, “On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports”