Republicans in Congress propose bill to fast track Trump plans

Republicans, Congress, Fast, Track, propose, Bill, plans, Trump
  • Two Republican lawmakers want to make any governmentwide reorganization plan an up or down vote by Congress. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) Reorganizing Government Act of 2025 would fast-track any plan President Donald Trump submitted to Congress. Lawmakers said the bill would help give the president the authority to streamline government operations to better serve the American people. Comer and Lee said this legislation restores a reorganization authority that was last in effect in 1984, aiming to modernize and improve government efficiency.
    (Bill would restore President’s government reorganization authority – House Oversight and Accountability Committee)
  • The U.S. DOGE Service finally has an online presence. DOGE.gov offers basic details about the organization. The site highlights data around the workforce, regulations and savings. It is one of three new website recently registered with the federal government’s .gov domain. The two others include waste.gov and DEI.gov. Neither of these are active. Agencies also got rid of 21 other websites, including some sites left over from the Biden administration like buildbackbetter.gov. DOGE is also recruiting new members with an online application.
  • Service members receiving fertility treatments will continue to get their travel expenses covered. The Defense Department reversed its course once again after it canceled its travel policy for non-covered reproductive health care, including abortion. A new memo from the Defense Travel Management Office said the rescission of the policy should not be interpreted as the elimination of access to non-covered assisted reproductive treatments, such as in vitro fertilization or egg retrieval. The policy covers transportation, lodging and food costs to access off-base reproductive health care.
  • The Office of Personnel Management exempts all federally employed military and Foreign Service spouses from Trump’s return-to-office mandate. The guidance comes after public pressure to clarify OPM’s initial return-to-office guidance and its exemptions in regards to spouses of service members working remotely. The new directive said all spouses of active-duty service members who work remotely are “categorically exempt” from returning to in-person work. The memo also exempts spouses of deceased service members, as well as spouses married to service members who have a 100% disability rating upon retirement. The return-to-office mandate is particularly disruptive for federal workers married to service members who relocate every two to three years.
  • The National Federation of Federal Employees is joining a lawsuit challenging federal employee headcount reductions. The lawsuit focuses on the Trump administration’s firing of probationary employees, large scale reductions in force and calling on federal employees to resign. The lawsuit also challenges the administration’s plans to eliminate entire agencies.
    (NFFE Files New Lawsuit Over Illegal Gutting of Federal Workforce – National Federation of Federal Employee)
  • The Office of Personnel Management advised agencies to fire probationary employees after its deferred resignation offer. There are approximately 200,000 probationary employees across the entire federal government. A source familiar with OPM’s decision-making said it met with agencies and provided them with guidance to lay off probationary employees, with “case by case exceptions.” Probationary periods for federal employees typically last a year. Some positions require two-year, or even three-year, probationary periods. Those usually are reserved for law enforcement officers and certain employees at the Defense Department.
  • “Non essential” consulting contracts are coming under scrutiny. The General Services Administration is leading a new governmentwide initiative to eliminate non-essential consulting contracts for things like report generation, research, coaching or one that produces an artifact. In a memo to agency leaders, the Federal Acquisition Service said it already identified contracts at specific agencies that may involve non-essential consulting. GSA is asking agencies to complete a survey for each contract and indicate whether they plan to terminate that contract. Additionally, if an agency doesn’t plan on ending or descoping the non-essential contract, GSA wants a one-sentence explanation as to why. GSA is also offering help in terminating the contracts, as it has already cancelled similar of its own contracts worth $ 80 million.

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