GovExec Daily

Healthy skepticism toward public institutions can be welcome in a civil society that allows for conversation and debate power structures. But, the last few decades of anti-government sentiment have proven to truly degrade trust in government across the board, culminating in President Donald Trump's four years of his administration that attacked "root and branch" the legitimacy of the administrative state and government itself.

Dr. Lisa Parshall is a Professor of Political Science at Daemen University. She's one of the authors of the book, Directing the Whirlwind: The Trump Presidency and the Deconstruction of the Administrative State, now in its second edition. In the first part of a two-part discussion, she joined the podcast to discuss how the Jan. 6 insurrection affected the public's view of government and the different approaches to administrative power.

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The COVID-19 crisis effects on work-life culture has been vast, from the ways we interact with one another to the hybrid work environment that has become synonymous with the pandemic. For feds, hybrid is the new normal, which has had a major impact on businesses. In D.C., the federal government accounts for a quarter of pre-pandemic jobs and owns or leases one-third of D.C's office space, which doesn't just affect public servants, but also downtown businesses. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently called on the Biden administration to get feds back into offices or change its relationship with property in downtown D.C.

On Wednesday's podcast, GovExec Daily's Adam Butler and Ross Gianfortune analyzed the telework situation in D.C. for public servants, businesses and everyone else.

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Stagnation can be extremely dangerous for any leader, but for public servants in a constantly-evolving workplace, it can be even more precarious. Self-reflection and thus growth can be excellent tools for managers.

Andrew Feldman is the founder and principal consultant at the Center for Results-Focused Leadership, which helps public agencies use evidence, data and strategy to improve their results. He also hosts the Gov Innovator podcast. He has a piece on our site right now headlined "A Personal-Growth Strategy for Effective Leadership." He joined the podcast to discuss his post and how public service leaders can manage personal growth.

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In an era of chaotic politics, roller coaster economic indicators and historic inflation, individuals would be smart to keep an eye on their holistic financial situation. For many public servants, financial wellness programs can be a way that they get more in touch with their finances and many agencies offer these programs for employees.

Sidney and Saundra Curry are co-founders BC Holdings of Tennessee, a financial wellness and workforce training company. BCH has worked with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Labor and the Defense Department to provide financial literacy training programming. As part of our #MoneyMonday series, they joined the podcast now to discuss financial literacy programs for public servants.

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In the two and a half years that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has been in that role, he's rankled members of Congress, the public and industry groups with his operational changes. But, he presses on, telling GovExec that he's going to make mistakes, but ultimately learn from them.

Senior Correspondent Eric Katz spoked to DeJoy recently for a story headlined headlined "USPS Prepares for a 'Year of Implementation,' and the Shaping of Louis DeJoy's Legacy." He joined the podcast to talk about DeJoy's plans and the construction of his legacy as Postmaster General.

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Eric's story on DeJoy: https://www.govexec.com/management/2022/12/usps-prepares-year-implementation-and-making-louis-dejoys-legacy/381307/

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The history of patriarchal society on which much of American culture is built relies on a set of characteristics that bring masculinity and leadership together. To gain access to these higher rungs of hierarchy, women have to navigate, adjust and break the constraints of these concepts. As gender equality becomes more a priority for society, understanding and deconstructing these connections becomes is paramount

In a series of papers, the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service has conducted research on women leadership in government. Emily Kalnicky is the Director of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning at the Partnership for Public Service and has been working on this research. She joined the podcast to discuss women and leadership in public service roles.

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Partnership for Public Servic'e LeadHERShip series: https://ourpublicservice.org/read-watch-listen/reports/leadhership-in-the-federal-government/

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Before the new Congress was seated this week, the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol wrapped up its business by releasing its 800-plus-page report and hundreds of interview transcripts. With the second anniversary of the attack upcoming and recent intelligence community warnings of domestic extremism, the committee's findings are as important as ever.

Courtney Bublé joined the podcast to discuss the January 6 report and the committee's work.

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Even compared to widespread internet adoption, social media is pretty new. Despite its relative newness, at least seventy percent of Americans use one or another social media platform regularly, according to Pew Research. The internet is forever, of course, so the digital paper trail is a part of the security clearance process.

Lindy Kyzer is the editor of ClearanceJobs.com, a former Defense Department employee and, as a GovExec contributor, has a post right now headlined "Social Media Monitoring in the Security Clearance Process." She joined the podcast to discuss her post and the social media vetting process for security clearances.

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The COVID-19 crisis thrust Dr. Anthony Fauci into the spotlight in ways even he could not have imagined. As the pandemic became more deadly, he became a political villain for many in the anti-science movement and the sole hero for those who saw villainy in the Trump administration's fumbling early pandemic response. As vaccines and science became a political football, Fauci became another of the many avatars on which Americans hung their political tribalism.

Fauci has been a guest on GovExec Daily twice this year. He spoke to Courtney Bublé in February about the "all-of-government" approach to COVID-19 policy and he later joined to talk about his career in September after he announced his impending departure from government. In this episode, you'll hear the highlights of the podcast's conversations with Fauci from this year.

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Lawmakers met late into Wednesday night following a joint session address by Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the omnibus spending bill and hit a roadblock overnight. But, Thursday morning, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a deal to advance the plan before Christmas weekend.

GovExec Senior Correspondent Eric Katz has been covering the spending bill negotiations. He joined a special edition of the GovExec Daily podcast from the U.S. Capitol to discuss the omnibus negotiations.