FCW Insider: Oct 26

House Dems mull response Trump's order to remake the civil service

The presidential election is one obvious check on the recent executive order to reclassify many federal civil servants as at-will employees, but congressional Democrats are looking at other ways to block the new policy.

The next defense budget fight

Defense committee leaders look for a cohesive national security strategy that supports reductions without hampering readiness, but progressives might seek steeper cuts.

A post-COVID IT roadmap

It's time to start talking about the next steps we need to take to ensure that our IT infrastructure and tools can continue to support the remote workers, while providing state-of-the-art, timely customer service

Quick Hits

*** The Office of Personnel Management notified agencies on Friday that it would have the "final authority" over what federal agency positions are reclassified as Schedule F under a sweeping executive order remaking the competitive civil service. Agencies were advised that they could recommend positions for rescheduling that did not fall within the precise categories of the order, so long as there is written explanations demonstrating that a position is "policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating, or require[s] working closely with senior officials in the case of confidential positions." FCW will have more on this story as it develops.

*** Washington Technology reports that the Defense Information Systems Agency is delaying the release of its $11.7B information technology enclave contract.

*** States' mail-in ballot applications have accessibility issues that could hinder the ability of someone with a disability from requesting a ballot. GCN has more on this story.