Federal Newscast

House Democrats are making a push to secure data at the Treasury Department. A group of lawmakers have introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act. The bill seeks to add a layer of protection against anyone seeking to access the agency's systems. The legislation would bar anyone with conflicts of interest -- or without a security clearance from getting into the Treasury Department's data. The bill comes after billionaire Elon Musk and some of his employees gained access to Treasury Department data. House Democrats say they're expecting a Senate companion bill for the Taxpayer Data Protection Act shortly.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Agencies have 45 days to identify Senior Executive Service roles that were made career-only positions during the Biden administration. A new memo from the Office of Personnel Management directs agencies to reverse the career-only status for those roles, and instead open them to potentially political appointments. For any career positions agencies think should be exempted from conversion, agencies have to explain their reasoning for why it should remain a career-only role. The White House says it’s taking the action after seeing reports of agencies redesignating positions to career-only during the previous administration. OPM’s memo is an effort toward implementing President Trump’s executive order to make feds in policy-related positions at-will workers.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Top House Democrats are pressing President Donald Trump about Elon Musk’s access to classified data. In a letter to Trump on Tuesday, the ranking members of seven House committees ask whether Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team have the security clearances needed to access sensitive data. They point to reports about the DOGE group breaking security procedures to gain access to sensitive systems at the Treasury Department, the Office of Personnel Management and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Dems want answers from the White House by February 14th.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lawmakers are raising concerns about Elon Musk’s access to the Treasury Department’s payment systems. Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden are both pressing Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for more details. In separate letters, both Warren and Wyden say the DOGE team’s access to Treasury systems poses major legal and security concerns. They also ask whether any safeguards are in place to protect sensitive data.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Any new contract with federal unions signed toward the end of the Biden administration are null and void under a new memo from the White House. In President Donald Trump's order issued Friday night, he says any last-minute, lame-duck collective bargaining agreements try to bind a new president to his predecessor's policies and that is illegal. Specifically, Trump is referring to the contract the Social Security Administration signed with the American Federal of Government Employees, which guaranteed employees telework and remote work for five years. AFGE says approved union contracts are enforceable by law, and the president does not have the authority to make unilateral changes to those agreements.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lawmakers are making a bipartisan effort to secure better retirement benefits for federal

firefighters. Virginia Democrat Gerry Connolly and Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick have introduced the Federal Firefighters Families First Act. If enacted, many federal firefighters would receive larger retirement benefits. The House bill aims to change the retirement calculation for federal firefighters to account for overtime hours worked. The lawmakers say the bill would align federal firefighters’ benefits with what state and local firefighters already receive.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new task force will oversee the Defense Department's efforts to abolish all diversity, equity and inclusion offices within the department. The task force's mission is described as getting rid of “any vestiges of such offices that subvert meritocracy, perpetuate unconstitutional discrimination, and promote radical ideologies related to systemic racism and gender fluidity.” The move is part of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plan to create “merit-based, color-blind policies.” Housed under the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, the task force will oversee the removal of DEI programs and the reform of promotion and selection policies. Hegseth said the Defense Department “will not consider sex, race, or ethnicity when considering individuals for promotion, command, or special duty.”

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee are pushing back on President Donald Trump’s mass firing of agency watchdogs. Chairman Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dick Durbin say Trump didn’t follow the law when he removed 18 inspectors general last Friday. A 2022 law requires the president to give 30 days’ notice to Congress and case-specific reasons when removing an IG. The lawmakers are asking Trump to provided those detailed explanations for each IG removed and to provide a list of acting IGs.  

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Justice Department says it's fired more than a dozen employees who had worked on criminal investigations into President Trump before his election. A DOJ official says the career prosecutors were fired because the acting attorney general doesn't trust them to carry out Trump's agenda, and that it's part of ending, quote, "the weaponization of government." DOJ didn't identify the fired employees, and it's not yet clear whether they'll challenge their terminations under civil service protection rules.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Some federal employees may have seen a test email land in their government inboxes last week. The Office of Personnel Management is looking to open a direct line of communication to

the federal workforce. OPM is currently testing a web capability that should let the agency email all civilian feds at once from a single email address. OPM says it will continue testing the email function over the next week.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.