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

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

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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White House moves to eliminate Federal Executive Institute

The Federal Executive Institute, a long-standing leadership development center for federal executives, is shutting down. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing the Office of Personnel Management to take all necessary steps to abolish the FEI. “Per POTUS’s order, the Federal Executive Institute will be closed. It’s time the federal workforce worked for America’s taxpayers!” OPM said on social media platform X. The institute opened its doors in 1968 — President Lyndon B. Johnson created it as a senior staff college within the federal government to support…

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Unions, lawmakers urge federal employees to be cautious, stay in their jobs

Democratic lawmakers, as well as many federal unions and organizations, are urging federal employees to exercise extreme caution in response to the Trump administration’s request for voluntary resignations from the career federal workforce. Many organizations, including the National Treasury Employees Union, are encouraging federal employees to remain in their jobs and reject the Trump administration’s offer of what it called a “deferred resignation program” to the majority of the roughly 2.2 million career federal employees. “The so-called ‘deal’ is a hostile effort to disparage federal employees, weaken agencies and disrupt…

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9 GOP bills for federal employees to track in the new Congress

At the start of the 119th Congress, lawmakers were quick to introduce a flurry of bills that would have lasting consequences for the federal workforce. Much of the GOP-led legislation will be familiar to federal employees — a majority of the bills have been reintroduced for at least the last couple of years. But now that Republicans hold a majority in both chambers of Congress, and with the incoming Trump administration, the prospects for the legislation may be shifting. Here are just a handful of bills from Republican lawmakers in…

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