Federal Newscast

Congress is one step closer to adopting a tougher name for the Department of Defense. An amendment added to the annual defense policy bill that passed the House would formally change its title to the Department of War. The name change echoes an executive order President Donald Trump signed in September. Only Congress has the authority to legally rename a federal department. Both chambers of Congress must approve the new name for it to take effect. 

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OPM is taking steps to fill positions related to tackling critical agency needs and building out AI systems across the government. In a recent memo, Director Scott Kupor says the agency has created a candidate pool of more than 3,500 qualified candidates through hiring actions including the Tech Force and CyberCorp. Those include positions in IT, project management, contracting, finance and human resources. The candidates have already been vetted as part of the cross-government hiring efforts and can be hired more quickly than the traditional path.

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Federal employees with disabilities are suing the Justice Department for denying their reasonable accommodations requests to telework. A new class action complaint alleges that DOJ’s new policy violates the Rehabilitation Act. Two DOJ employees involved in the lawsuit previously had approved telework accommodations for years, due to a disability. But after strict return-to-office requirements, their telework accommodations were later denied. 

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Agencies are getting a green light to temporarily lift federal telework restrictions during the FIFA World Cup. A new memo from the Office of Personnel Management says agencies operating in U.S. host cities are allowed to offer some limited telework options to employees, as needed. OPM officials say telework may be helpful in cases where cities are experiencing high traffic congestion and commuting delays.

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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 says paper checks are 20 times more expensive than electronic checks and are more susceptible to fraud. SSA beneficiaries seeking an exemption to this policy can request a waiver from the Treasury Department. 

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May was a good month for every fund in the Thrift Savings Plan. New data from the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board shows all 16 accounts returned positive month over month results. The C Fund saw the most with 5.26% while five of the L funds also enjoyed 5% returns. For the year, the "I” fund remains the big winner, growing by more than 16%. Overall, 11 funds are producing returns of more than 10% for 2026. 

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Agencies will soon be able to pay as much as $400,000 a year to certain employees with skillsets in the national security sector. President Donald Trump told the Office of Personnel Management on Friday to establish new regulations to pay experts in specific fields related to supply chain resilience, secure access to critical minerals and advanced technologies and advance priority investment programs essential to our national defense and economic security. The memo says this increase in the top line pay for these positions is necessary to advance the rapid recruitment of the exceptionally skilled investment, engineering, financial and legal professionals needed to expand the nation’s capacity.

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Some Thrift Savings Plan participants are taking advantage of a new option for Roth in-plan conversions. The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board reports that roughly 30,000 TSP participants have converted some of their contributions since the feature launched earlier this year. In a survey, about 93% of TSP participants who used the new conversion option say the process was “easy.” 

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Democrats are demanding that the Department of Agriculture secure new childcare options for federal employees. In April, USDA’s current childcare service provider announced it would not renew its contract, closing two childcare centers in the D.C. region in July. But Democrats say USDA has not communicated any plans to offer an alternative to the employees who rely on those centers.

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Amid soaring gas prices, a union is urging the Trump administration to allow telework flexibilities for federal employees. The National Treasury Employees Union says a full in-office mandate, coupled with high gas prices, is creating financial burdens for many employees. In a letter to the Office of Personnel Management, NTEU argues that feds should be approved to telework at least until gas prices go back down to normal. The vast majority of federal employees have been working fully in person since 2025, under orders from the White House.

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