Elections

The major takeaways for federal employees from the first presidential debate

President Biden and former President Trump clashed over the role of government and their vision for how to manage agencies.

Senate Dems call for an update on vote.gov improvements

More than a dozen Democratic senators signed a letter to the General Services Administration asking for an update on the agency’s work to modernize the government’s voting information platform.

Some agencies aren't fulfilling Biden's promise to give feds time off to vote

Agencies are exploiting loopholes or issuing restrictive policies, confounding staff.

Former CISA chief warns of ‘very chaotic environment’ ahead of midterms

Chris Krebs said those hoping to undermine confidence in U.S. elections may have their best shot yet during this week’s midterm vote.

What would a GOP takeover of the House mean for the Oversight Committee? 

The chair-in-waiting for the once “sleepy” committee would like to investigate COVID-19’s origins, the Biden administration’s border policies and the president’s family members. 

IRS tech, CISA funding in Build Back Better

An effort to put $3.5 billion into key governmentwide tech modernization accounts appears to have come up short in the Build Back Better bill, but there's still a lot of technology spending on the table.

Christopher Krebs: Truth and consequences

Krebs spent 2020 working furiously to ensure the integrity of our elections, while also ensuring that ransomware, software supply-chain vulnerabilities and a range of other rapidly escalating risks didn't cripple government operations or the nation's critical infrastructure.

Few agencies sought Schedule F conversions

In the waning days of the Trump administration, only a relative handful out of hundreds of eligible agencies and department responded to an executive order that looked to reclassify vast swathes of the federal civil service as at-will employees.

Lawmakers reach bipartisan deal to probe Jan. 6 attack

The proposed commission would have investigative and subpoena powers and would hold hearings to produce a report by the end of 2021.

OPM details pandemic emergency paid leave program

This special leave will be available through the end of the fiscal year or until the $570 million fund is exhausted, OPM documents say.

NIST framework focuses on election cybersecurity

The new draft framework combining election security and cybersecurity is the first of its kind for NIST.

IC: Foreign actors tried to affect U.S. election via influence campaigns, but not by hacking

The intelligence community's newly declassified report largely concludes Russia attempted to meddle in the U.S. election through influence operations but did not attempt the kinds of cyberattacks observed in 2016.

Biden looks to expand time off for feds to vote

An executive order issued Sunday on voting access includes a directive to the Office of Personnel Management to support federal employees looking to vote or serve as poll workers or observers during elections.

With Tanden out, top House Dems push Young for budget director

The House Speaker her and top lieutenants are pressing for the nomination of Shalanda Young to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

Manchin's opposition could sink OMB nominee

President Biden's pick of Neera Tanden's to head the Office of Management and Budget is in peril after a powerful centrist Democrat has announced his plan to vote no on the nomination.

Sen. Peters takes over HSGAC

The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee will be faced with oversight responsibilities over the SolarWinds hack, the federal government's response to the pandemic and with legislation to implement the Biden administration's priorities for the federal workforce.