Category: Congress

Top House Democrats seek DOGE details, questioning if it operates ‘outside the bounds’ of US law

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Democrats on the House Judiciary and House Oversight committees have filed a lengthy Freedom of Information Act request questioning whether the Trump administration’s DOGE Service is operating “outside the bounds of federal law,” The Associated Press has learned. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia are seeking detailed information about the authority of the Department of Government Efficiency Service, including billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk and some 40 other people, to carry out firings of federal workers and dismantling of federal agencies.…

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Trump’s RTO gets rid of the wrong federal workers

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President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of a full-time, five-day-a-week return-to-office (RTO) mandate for federal employees has sparked heated debates across the nation. Framed as a strategy to reduce the size of the federal workforce and boost efficiency, this decision overlooks a critical consequence: the potential loss of the government’s most experienced and skilled employees. If history is any indication, this sweeping policy could usher in a new wave of resignations that would undermine the very efficiency it seeks to enhance. We don’t have to speculate blindly about what might happen.…

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House passes bill to fund federal agencies through September, though prospects unclear in Senate

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed legislation Tuesday to avert a partial government shutdown and fund federal agencies through September, providing critical momentum as the measure now moves to the Senate, where bipartisan support will be needed to get it over the finish line. Republicans needed overwhelming support from their members to pass the funding measure, and they got it in the 217-213 House vote. Just one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted against the measure. And just one Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted for it.…

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Key takeaways, trends from GAO’s 2024 bid protest report

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Every fall, the Government Accountability Office fulfills its obligations under the Competition in Contracting Act of 1984 (CICA) and reports to Congress the number of bid protests that were filed in the previous fiscal year. GAO’s annual report also identifies each instance in which a federal agency did not fully implement a recommendation made by GAO in connection with a bid protest during the prior year, and each instance in which a final decision in a protest was not rendered within 100 days after the date the protest was submitted…

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‘How you do it matters’: GAO heightens concerns about federal workforce

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Comptroller General Gene Dodaro’s very last congressional hearing on the Government Accountability Office’s high-risk list went back over some familiar yet urgent ground, as the long-time head of GAO repeatedly warned Congress about the future of the federal workforce. “I’ve been very concerned about the federal workforce,” Dodaro told lawmakers on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee during a hearing last week. “It doesn’t have the proper skills that are needed to address many of these important areas that are providing critical services to the American people, and at…

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How to keep the courts out of administrative decisions

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Attorney Domenic Powell worked for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau until today, when the Trump administration sort of canceled it. Ironically, this CFPB attorney wrote about how to court-proof administrative branch decisions. That was in December, before the onslaught of Trump-DOGE activities that have mostly ended up in court. Powell joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss. Interview transcript: Tom Temin: And we should also point out that you are a fellow of the American Bar Association, specializing in regulatory affairs and administrative procedures. First of all, tell us…

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