Federal Newscast

The Postal Service has largely failed to meet service standards, even after reducing those standards. A new report from the Government Accountability Office finds that the declining services are in part due to cost-cutting initiatives. In response, USPS officials say they have made some progress to modernize and improve services, but emphasized that a full solution would require significant structural reforms made by Congress and the White House.

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In today's Federal Newscast, the public’s trust in government is declining, new research from the Partnership for Public Service shows.

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In today's Federal Newscast, as Congress pushes to eliminate the Space Development Agency as an independent organization, the organization’s director said he “has some concerns, but not too many.” 

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For the second time in a matter of weeks, the Justice Department won a big settlement from a federal contractor to settle claims it violated the False Claims Act.

Plus, a federal court holds up one of the White House's reduction efforts for one agency, and a large swath of soldiers get the ok to rejoin the military after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

These stories and more in today's Federal Newscast!

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House Republicans are calling for fair compensation and benefits for more federal law enforcement personnel. A letter addressed to the Office of Personnel Management points out discrepancies in how some law enforcement officers are classified for retirement purposes. The GOP lawmakers are calling on OPM to review the benefits specifically for police officers at the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, as well as DoD’s Force Protection Agency, and personnel at the Federal Protective Service. 

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The National Park Service has designated the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial as an affiliated area. The National Park Service, the Department of Defense and the Pentagon Memorial Fund signed a memorandum of agreement earlier this week to create a formal affiliation with the National Park Service. The agreement leaves ownership and day-to-day management of the memorial by DoD unchanged. Through the partnership, the organizations will work together to strengthen public understanding of the memorial, its national significance and the events it commemorates. Dedicated on September 11, 2008, the memorial honors the 184 victims killed at the Pentagon and aboard Flight 77.  

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All 11 Democrats on the House Veterans Affairs Committee are pressing Doug Collins, the VA secretary, for answers about why the agency is rejecting requests from employees for reasonable accommodations. In a letter sent to VA yesterday, Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano and 10 other lawmakers want Collins to provide answers to nine questions about the department's policies and actions in granting telework and other workplace flexibilities. The committee members say they continue to hear cases of veteran employees who were previously approved for telework accommodations now being required to commute to a duty station. The lawmakers want answers from VA by September 22. 

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Federal wildland firefighters will continue to earn overtime pay, even after they hit a legal cap on overtime hours. The continuing resolution that Congress passed last week included a provision to extend a waiver on the cap for federal overtime pay, at least until the end of 2027. Many wildland firefighters work extensive overtime during peak wildfire season. But due to a legal loophole, they often meet a ceiling on earning overtime pay. The National Federation of Federal Employees is calling for the passage of legislation to permanently scrap the overtime 

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Two Democrat lawmakers are demanding Elon Musk, the former head of the U.S. DOGE Service, explain why 99% of the claimed savings from at the Homeland Security Department never materialized. Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, and James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) called on Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), chairman of the committee, to hold Musk accountable for DOGE’s actions. Thompson and Walkinshaw say a recent report by the Government Accountability Office shows DOGE alleged savings were mostly from IT contracts that it cancelled, but DHS continues to buy these services through other acquisition vehicles. 

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Adam Telle, the Army's assistant secretary for civil works, will serve as acting Army secretary. President Donald Trump announced the pick on social media Thursday, calling Telle a "great patriot who is respected by all." Telle took the job overseeing the Army Corps of Engineers in August 2025 after serving as a longtime Senate staffer. He also worked in the White House's legislative office during Trump's first term. Telle has not served in the military. He replaces Dan Driscoll, who resigned this week amid clashes with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

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