The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

Congress has faced a series of crises in its casework function. My next guest says layoffs in the executive branch lessen agencies' abilities to deal with citizens. So citizens turn to Congress to expedite casework. And that's starting to overwhelm congressional offices. Anne Meeker is a former Congressional staff member and now Popvox Foundation deputy director. She joins me now.

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The firings of 1000s of federal employees have sparked a flurry of legal questions. There are plenty of nuances in the rules for probationary federal employees, and some legal eagles say agencies may have made errors or skirted probationary rules. Many fired feds have already filed appeals to the Merit Systems Protection Board Federal News Network's drew Friedman gets more from Federal Practice Group founder, Attorney Deborah D'Agostino.

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The nominee to be Deputy Director for budget at the Office of Management and Budget is pushing back against the idea that the firing of probationary federal employees was indiscriminate. Former Congressman Dan Bishop told senators during his nomination hearing there are good reasons for agencies to let go of these employees. No surprise, Democrats disagreed. Federal News Network's executive editor, Jason Miller, brings us more.

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Maybe because he was a spy, but my next guest has some novel ideas about leadership in places like large federal agencies. He's written a book about it called How Great Bosses Can Change Minds and Drive Innovation. Mike Mears retired as chief human capital officer of the CIA, and he joins me now.

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For federal employees, the world has turned upside down. Is it possible to create a healthy work environment with all of the DOGE stuff going on? Is it possible to concentrate on the work you thought you were hired to do? Here with some practical advice, Rice University organizational psychologist Danielle King.

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Today on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin

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Among the agencies trying to reform themselves, the National; Nuclear Security Administration. Reform requires certain best practices to be in place, including metrics and measurements. The NNSA needs a little work. That's among the finding from a Government Accountability Office audit. Details now from GAO's director of natural resources and environment, Allison Bawden.

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After public pressure from members of Congress, the Office of Personnel Management said it has categorically, that's OPM word, exempted Federally Employed military spouses from the return to the office mandate. The memo is celebrated as a success in some quarters, but military spouses themselves, they're not so sure. Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis has more.

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Today on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin

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The Department of Veterans Affairs is in the process of reinstating some of the probationary employees it recently fired, but Senate Democrats are calling on VA to go one step further and rehire the entire 1000 of them. Lawmakers say some probationary VA employees worked in critical positions, including assisting the Veterans Crisis Line. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman has the latest

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