Federal Newscast

The collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees remain in limbo after an appeals judge ruled in favor of the Trump administration. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March ending collective bargaining rights for national security employees. The order expanded who is considered a national security employee to more than three dozen agencies. The appeals court ruled 2-to-1 on technical grounds, finding that the unions don’t have the legal right to sue because the Trump administration has said it won’t end any collective bargaining agreements while the case is being litigated.

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A top House Democrat wants an investigation into the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to IRS systems. Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly requested the investigation in a May 15th letter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. He raised concerns about DOGE plans to centralize IRS data. Connolly also highlighted potential issues with the IRS’ data-sharing agreements with the Department of Homeland Security. 

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To reduce leased space costs by 30 percent within the next 18 months, the Defense Department is closely tracking building occupancy to find underutilized spaces. It is also moving more personnel to existing military installations to reduce the number of people working in rented office buildings. Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment Robert Thompson said the effort is critical to “eliminating waste and duplication” while “maximizing the value of the department’s real estate portfolio.” The Defense Department is reducing its leased space costs as it implements a government-wide return-to-office policy requiring thousands of employees to resume in-person work. 

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Customs and Border Protection is looking to expand its use of facial recognition. In a new request for information, CBP says it’s seeking solutions for capturing facial images of occupants in vehicles. The technology would be used at ports of entry to compare biometrics in CBP’s Traveler Verification Service. CBP and other Homeland Security agencies have been expanding their use of facial recognition to expedite traveler screening in recent years. 

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Health and Human Services is reinstating some employees after firing thousands last month. HHS is bringing back about 100 employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The agency researches and makes recommendations to prevent work-related injury, illness, disability, and death. Most of the reinstated employees work in Morgantown, West Virginia. HHS fired about 10,000 employees in April and another 10,000 took voluntary incentives to leave the agency. 

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The Labor Department is making major cuts to a watchdog office that ensures federal contractors aren’t discriminating against their employees. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs laid off about 90% of its staff last week, leaving only about 50 employees nationwide. OFCCP was created in 1965 to protect American workers from race and gender discrimination by federal contractors. Employees who got RIF notices will separate from the agency on June 6.

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The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is considering updates to a key cybersecurity law. The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 20-15 expires this September. The intelligence committee last week received briefings from multiple agencies on how the law has worked out so far. The statute incentivizes private industry to share cyber threat data with the government. But Intelligence Committee Chairman Rick Crawford says the law needs to be updated to account for a decade of evolving technology and cyber threats. 

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Democrats are attempting to secure full collective bargaining rights for federal health care employees. A new bill from Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth would allow nurses, clinicians and other professionals at the Veterans Health Administration to negotiate with management over their workforce concerns. The bill has been introduced in the past. But this time around, Duckworth says the bill is especially important given the Trump administration's efforts to broadly cancel collective bargaining across agencies.

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Lawmakers are calling on the Trump administration to prioritize funding for more recruiting at the Coast Guard. Last year, the Coast Guard exceeded its recruiting goals for the first time since 2017. But the service is still 3,000 members short of its targeted enlisted goal. Lawmakers say the 2026 budget should seek to fill those gaps and return the Coast Guard to its full operational capacity. The Trump administration is seeking increases for the Department of Homeland Security in 2026 . . . but it has yet to release specific details on its proposed Coast Guard budget. 

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A federal court is putting a hold on the Trump administration’s plans to eliminate three small agencies. A judge at the U-S District Court in Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction … putting a temporary hold on cuts to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service which helps resolve collective bargaining disputes and the Institute of Museum and Library Services the primary source of federal support for U.S. libraries and museums. The judge’s ruling also blocks further cuts to the Minority Business Development Agency.

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