Federal Newscast

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board is reminding federal employees of their current options for loans. All loans from the Thrift Savings Plan remain in good standing during a government shutdown, even if participants don’t make payments on time. The TSP board has also received recent feedback from participants on its loan program, with some calling it a “true lifesaver.” Others say the TSP loan and withdrawal options have relieved at least some of their stress. TSP operations continue as usual during an appropriations lapse, since the TSP board is not funded by Congress.

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The government shutdown is putting loans from the Small Business Administration on hold. SBA estimates that $170 million in loans have been paused each day. That adds up to more than $4.5 billion dollars over the length of the shutdown. SBA paid out more than $45 billion in loans to 85,000 small business in fiscal 2025. That’s a record high for the agency. 

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The Department of the Air Force is opening up its unused land across five military bases to private companies to build artificial intelligence centers. A request for lease proposals posted last week follows President Donald Trump’s executive order to use federally owned land and resources to quickly build AI data centers. In addition, the Air Force said the service “cannot afford to disregard or discount the value of any asset, and must optimize the real and potential value of those assets.” Each project must be valued at more than $500 million and require at least 100 megawatts of power to qualify. Companies can lease property on Air Force bases in Tennessee, California, Arizona, New Jersey and Georgia. The government can purchase services and power from the centers but it’s not required to do so. Proposals are due by November 14.

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The number of federal employees exiting the government this year continues to grow. The Partnership for Public Service has added thousands more to its running tally of how many feds have left their jobs since January. The latest estimate surpasses 211,000 employees who are either already gone, or who may exit soon. The organization says the increase comes from the layoffs agencies announced earlier this month ... although those are being temporarily blocked. There were also some updated numbers on how many Defense Department personnel have taken a deferred resignation. 

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The vast majority of employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs keep working during a government shutdown. But VA Secretary Doug Collins says more than 30,000 of the department’s employees have been furloughed. That’s about double what the VA outlined in its latest contingency plans. Collins says the VA will have to furlough more staff from VA’s central office next week if the shutdown continues. He’s calling on Democratic lawmakers to pass a stopgap spending bill to end the shutdown. 

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The current shutdown is taking a toll on air traffic controllers. In response to a recent union survey, 700 employees working in air traffic control jobs detailed stories of financial difficulties, like turning to local food banks, canceling medical treatments and seeking part-time jobs. The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, or “PASS,” says those hardships can carry over into the workday. The longer the shutdown goes, the more air traffic controllers feel their anxiety and stress levels rise. The union warns that can be a big distraction on the job. 

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Hawaii, Alaska and New Mexico are among the states being hit hardest by the partial government shutdown. A new report by WalletHub, a personal finance company, ranked the impact of the shutdown across all 50 states and Washington D.C., across five key metrics, including each state’s share of federal jobs to federal contract dollars per capita to national park access. WalletHub found Washington, D.C. is being impacted the most with a score of 76.33 out of 100, as 25% of all jobs are related the government. Hawaii and New Mexico earned scores of 71 each, respectively. Minnesota, Indiana and Iowa are the three states at the bottom of the list, scoring 15 or below out of 100. 

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House Judiciary Committee Democrats have launched a new website for federal watchdogs. That comes after the Trump administration pulled funding for the Council on Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency. CIGIE had provided website infrastructure services for at least 28 inspectors general offices. The Judiciary committee’s website provides report repository and hotline contact information for IG offices that relied on CIGIE’s funding. Many of the IG offices have set up temporary websites while Democrats in Congress have pressed the White House to restore CIGIE’s funding. 

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More resources for federal employees during the shutdown are continuing to pop up. Several credit unions are offering no-fee loans to furloughed federal employees. Local food banks are offering options for those who may need it. And feds who have been laid off this year can also get a $2,000 loan – with no fees and no interest – from the Federal Employees Education and Assistance Fund. The offerings come as hundreds of thousands of federal employees face missed paychecks for the foreseeable future. Civilian feds received a partial paycheck late last week – it will be their last payday until the shutdown ends. 

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Democrats are demanding that the White House follow a 2019 law to ensure back pay for furloughed employees after the government shutdown. In a letter to the Office of Management and Budget, House and Senate lawmakers wrote that the law is clear: Furloughed employees are owed back pay, just as excepted employees are. The letter comes after OMB questioned whether the law actually guaranteed pay for furloughed feds. OMB’s legal opinion, though, quickly received backlash from lawmakers, unions and other employee organizations.

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