#agency-gutting

[ follow ]
#oakland
East Bay (California)
fromThe Oaklandside
13 hours ago

Oakland fired its Human Services director after just 5 months

Dr. Jason Lester was terminated from his role as head of Oakland's Human Services Department after five months due to conflicts with city officials.
East Bay (California)
fromThe Oaklandside
2 days ago

A quick guide to the Oakland charter reform debate

Oakland voters may restructure city government in November, focusing on charter reform proposals that concentrate power in the mayor's office or strengthen the City Council.
East Bay (California)
fromThe Oaklandside
13 hours ago

Oakland fired its Human Services director after just 5 months

Dr. Jason Lester was terminated from his role as head of Oakland's Human Services Department after five months due to conflicts with city officials.
East Bay (California)
fromThe Oaklandside
2 days ago

A quick guide to the Oakland charter reform debate

Oakland voters may restructure city government in November, focusing on charter reform proposals that concentrate power in the mayor's office or strengthen the City Council.
San Francisco
fromPadailypost
15 hours ago

Opinion: How to convince voters to raise taxes? Cry wolf

Bay Area leaders are using fear tactics to push for a half-cent sales tax increase for mass transit, framing it as a citizen initiative.
#fair-work-agency
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
5 days ago

Fair Work Agency's priorities criticised days before its launch

The government aims to reduce regulatory burdens on businesses, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the new Fair Work Agency in protecting workers' rights.
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
5 days ago

Fair Work Agency's priorities criticised days before its launch

The government aims to reduce regulatory burdens on businesses, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the new Fair Work Agency in protecting workers' rights.
fromFortune
18 hours ago

'This utter lack of communication and consultation flies in the face of federal law': states push against immigration detention plans | Fortune

ICE purchased a 418,000-square-foot warehouse in Surprise, Arizona, for $70 million, with plans for a processing site capable of handling 1,000 to 1,500 immigrants daily.
US politics
SF politics
fromSacramento Bee
1 day ago

California Assembly committee gives initial OK to state employee telework bill

Assembly Bill 1729 aims to protect California state workers' telework options and suspend the governor's return-to-office order.
Healthcare
fromArs Technica
1 day ago

Trump admin makes sweeping request for medical records of federal workers

The Trump administration plans to collect sensitive medical records from millions of federal workers and retirees, raising legal and health policy concerns.
NYC politics
fromPolitics NY
1 day ago

Inside Government with PoliticsNY: A Q&A with Council Member Gale Brewer

Gale Brewer focuses on affordable housing, public safety, and community services to improve constituents' daily lives in New York City.
#higher-education
fromPadailypost
2 days ago

New police chief likes being the good guy

Reifschneider said he tries to think about a moment when he helped someone, even if it's something mundane like pulling up behind a driver who ran out of gas. He's encouraged his fellow police officers to also reflect on a good deed.
Mission District
fromThe New Yorker
2 days ago

Trump Guts the Forest Service Ahead of Wildfire Season

The Trump Administration's sweeping changes to the Forest Service, which operates under the Department of Agriculture, represent a gutting of an agency that has been a stable fact of life for over a century.
Non-profit organizations
#irs
Remote teams
fromAccounting Today
3 days ago

IRS telework plunged after Trump return-to-office mandate

The percentage of IRS employees working from home dropped from 65% to 25% after a directive for in-person work was issued.
SF politics
fromNextgov.com
3 days ago

The IRS wants to shrink its workforce by nearly 4,000 - and use technology to make up the difference

The IRS plans to reduce its workforce by 4,000 employees, relying on technology to maintain performance despite significant staffing losses.
Remote teams
fromAccounting Today
3 days ago

IRS telework plunged after Trump return-to-office mandate

The percentage of IRS employees working from home dropped from 65% to 25% after a directive for in-person work was issued.
SF politics
fromNextgov.com
3 days ago

The IRS wants to shrink its workforce by nearly 4,000 - and use technology to make up the difference

The IRS plans to reduce its workforce by 4,000 employees, relying on technology to maintain performance despite significant staffing losses.
Left-wing politics
fromFortune
3 days ago

America's CEOs have become reluctant guardians of democracy | Fortune

Business leaders have historically played a crucial role in promoting democracy and social justice in America.
Washington DC
fromPOLITICO
1 week ago

Hill staffers brace for their boss's 'TMZ moment'

Lawmakers are being photographed in leisure activities while government funding remains unresolved, prompting criticism and discussions among staffers about public perception.
US Elections
fromLGBTQ Nation
1 year ago

GOP congressman tells furious federal workers being fired is part of God's plan for them - LGBTQ Nation

Rep. Mark Alford faced backlash from constituents after suggesting job losses by Elon Musk are part of God's plan.
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
1 day ago

The Most Transparent Presidency in History-And the Most Opaque

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel declared the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional, potentially allowing Trump to destroy or take records from his administration.
Business intelligence
fromNextgov.com
1 week ago

Survey: Human capital is a key barrier to government AI adoption

Federal leaders view AI as essential for improving agency efficiency, but many initiatives remain in early stages due to various implementation barriers.
fromSFGATE
3 days ago

SF Mayor Daniel Lurie cuts 127 city jobs as more layoffs loom

Facing a budget deficit that will rise to $1 billion, alongside significant cuts in federal and state funding, we have a choice: take action now or be forced to do twice as much in the coming years.
San Francisco
fromAllthingssmitty
1 week ago

You probably don't need to lift state - Matt Smith

Keep state as close as possible to where it's actually used. Lift it when multiple components need it or you need to coordinate behavior between components.
React
fromFortune
5 days ago

The Trump administration is blurring the public and private sector workforce, and OPM director Scott Kupor won't rule out conflict of interest risks | Fortune

One of the things that I'm hoping to do a better job on is getting people from the private sector-who've been in the private sector their whole career-who also spend a couple years in government at some point in their career, and learn something.
Non-profit organizations
fromInvestigative Post
6 days ago

Investigative Post event on reforming Buffalo and NY government.

John Kaehny has written and successfully lobbied for the passage of state and New York City laws related to government transparency and accountability, including the first open data law in the world in 2012.
NYC politics
Right-wing politics
fromTruthout
6 days ago

No Kings Must Mean No War: Foreign Policy Is Least Democratic Space in Politics

The majority of Iranian Americans oppose the war on Iran, despite media portrayal of pro-monarchy sentiments.
Washington DC
fromNextgov.com
6 days ago

Civilian agencies face 10% cuts in Trump's 2027 budget

President Trump proposed a $2.2 trillion fiscal 2027 budget with increased defense spending and cuts to non-defense agencies.
fromNextgov.com
2 weeks ago

Agency data leads worry about staff capacity to tackle statutory requirements, survey finds

Among the 189 CDO and other data leader respondents to the annual survey conducted by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Data Foundation, about 40% said they had lost six or more employees last year.
EU data protection
fromNextgov.com
1 week ago

HHS reverses Biden-era restructuring of its IT and tech operations

HHS Chief Information Officer Clark Minor stated that consolidating the CTO, CDO, and CAIO roles within his office allows the department to move faster on shared platforms and protect systems more effectively.
Healthcare
New York City
fromwww.amny.com
2 weeks ago

NYC BUDGET: City Hall approves first round of savings after Mamdani told agencies to tighten belts | amNewYork

Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration identified over $1.7 billion in savings to address NYC's budget gap through various efficiency measures.
Law
fromAbove the Law
2 weeks ago

The Judiciary Is Still Unaccountable, And This Congress Won't Fix It - Above the Law

The Judiciary Accountability Act aims to extend anti-discrimination protections to judiciary employees, promoting transparency and accountability in the judicial system.
NYC politics
fromCity Limits
6 days ago

Councilmember Investigated Over Possible Bribes In Shelter Contracting, And What Else Happened This Week in Housing

Councilmember Farah Louis is under federal investigation for allegedly steering shelter contracts in exchange for benefits.
Social justice
fromemptywheel
3 weeks ago

The New Regime - emptywheel

Liberalism creates separation between economic winners and losers, breeding mutual resentment and social division that destabilizes society.
fromLos Angeles Times
3 weeks ago

Four of the five civilians who oversee the LAFD step down

The fire commissioners are appointed by the mayor and are supposed to provide civilian oversight for the Fire Department. But during critical discussions about the Palisades fire, the commissioners have largely been quiet. Addressing the LAFD's failure to fully extinguish the Lachman fire, which later reignited into the Palisades fire, Chief Jaime Moore conceded at a January board meeting that mop-up procedures needed to be strengthened.
Los Angeles
UK politics
fromwww.bbc.com
2 weeks ago

Ministers hope red tape cuts will speed-up decision making

The government aims to expedite decision-making by eliminating outdated regulations and overlapping consultations to reduce red tape.
Business
fromHarvard Business Review
3 weeks ago

The Shifting Relationship Between Business and the U.S. Government

Business leaders face a changed relationship with government, requiring new strategies to navigate political uncertainty affecting tariffs, trade, and military decisions.
US news
fromThe Washington Post
3 weeks ago

Did Trump cuts slow access to public records? We found 26 cases that say yes.

Federal workforce reductions have severely impaired agencies' ability to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests, with at least 13 agencies citing staffing cuts as reasons for missing FOIA deadlines in court.
Education
fromFortune
4 weeks ago

'I don't know if we're ready': Governors from each party appalled at 100-year-old federal workforce strategy | Fortune

The United States education and workforce pipeline is critically broken, leaving workers unprepared for automation and economic instability as AI technologies rapidly advance.
#local-government
UK politics
fromwww.bbc.com
3 weeks ago

Reform council leader survives no confidence vote

Reform UK council leader George Finch survived a no-confidence vote by one vote at Warwickshire County Council, with 27 voting against removal and 26 voting for it.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
4 weeks ago

Why We Need a Formal, Mandatory, and Remunerated "Citizen Lobby"

Post-Cold War optimism about democracy and internet freedom has been undermined by geopolitical tensions, neoliberalism, nationalism, and corporate influence that concentrate power among the already wealthy.
fromTheregister
2 weeks ago

Wales used Copilot to justify axing publicly funded body

I was alarmed and made a point to the board that the review refers to Microsoft Copilot as being used to evaluate the returns. I don't think you can rely on artificial intelligence to do that. It's just wrong.
UK politics
SF politics
fromMission Local
3 weeks ago

Months and millions later, maybe few changes to city commissions after all

San Francisco's Commission Streamlining Task Force recommendations to cut or weaken dozens of city commissions face minimal board support and will likely result in only minor, non-controversial changes like eliminating inactive bodies.
Artificial intelligence
fromwww.nytimes.com
1 month ago

Video: Opinion | The Government's A.I. Alignment Problem

AI alignment is fundamentally a political question about instantiating different moral philosophies into systems, and government pressure on AI companies signals potential suppression of diverse values.
US politics
fromemptywheel
3 weeks ago

Accountability - emptywheel

Accountability for Trump and his administration is essential to prevent him from scapegoating Muslims for failures resulting from his Iran conflict decisions.
Law
fromAbove the Law
1 month ago

The Justice Department Is Lowering Its Ethical Guardrails - Above the Law

The Justice Department eliminated a policy classifying senior political appointees as 'further restricted' under the Hatch Act, removing safeguards requiring election law enforcers to maintain strict political neutrality.
EU data protection
fromTheregister
1 month ago

UK's Shared Services Strategy is entering the danger zone

The UK government's Shared Services Strategy faces legal challenges and implementation risks as it pursues a £1.7 billion consolidation of 17 departments into five cloud-based shared services centers by 2028.
fromNextgov.com
4 weeks ago

Vought takes aim at GAO in new guidance

Doing so has failed to prioritize agency internal control processes to adequately protect American taxpayer dollars, leading to documented examples of widespread abuse. Prior versions of OMB's guidance have overly deferred to the direction and priorities of external entities whose views are not binding on the Executive Branch, such as the Government Accountability Office.
Washington DC
NYC politics
fromNBC New York
4 weeks ago

Mamdani pledged a 'culture of transparency.' But he's not ready to hand over these gov't records.

Mayor Mamdani promised transparency and accountability but delayed releasing AI program records, citing FOIL request backlogs similar to his predecessor's approach.
Business
fromHarvard Business Review
1 month ago

What to Do When Your Board Is Meddling in Operational Work

Boards are increasingly adopting operational roles, blurring governance and management boundaries through private equity-style monitoring as economic uncertainty and AI disruption intensify.
#civil-service-reform
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

Reform UK government would replace top civil servants with policy believers'

Reform UK plans to dismiss permanent secretaries across all government departments and replace them with outsiders or officials deemed more aligned with party priorities, risking civil service politicization and loss of institutional expertise.
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 weeks ago

Reform UK government would replace top civil servants with policy believers'

Reform UK plans to dismiss permanent secretaries across all government departments and replace them with outsiders or officials deemed more aligned with party priorities, risking civil service politicization and loss of institutional expertise.
fromBloomberglaw
1 month ago

Punching In: Labor Department Watchdog Pressed on His Future

I'm here on this panel today answering your questions as the inspector general. I hope if you are indeed doing this that you do resign. I am well aware of the Hatch Act. The inspector general is currently heading an investigation into both Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who is accused of committing travel fraud and having an affair with her bodyguard, and the secretary's husband Shawn DeRemer, who allegedly assaulted at least two female department employees.
US politics
US politics
fromTruthout
1 month ago

Documents Expose Ties Between Trump Officials and Industries They Help Regulate

Stephen Feinberg, now Deputy Secretary of Defense, maintains financial ties to Cerberus Capital Management, which owns companies awarded billions in Pentagon missile defense contracts he oversees.
fromEntrepreneur
2 months ago

How to Win Big With Public-Sector Partners

Understanding the difference in purpose Unlike private businesses, which exist to make a profit, public institutions are designed to create impact - especially social and economic outcomes that benefit everyone, not just paying customers. A public agency doesn't measure its success in revenue or margins, but in how much it improves lives, builds equity and maintains public trust. This doesn't mean budgets and spending don't matter - they absolutely do - but money is not the goal. It's the tool.
World politics
fromNextgov.com
1 month ago

These former government tech leaders are prepping day-one plans for a future administration

Watching how much the team was able to get done quickly was "astonishing," said Mikey Dickerson, a senior advisor for the Tech Viaduct. Those behind Tech Viaduct say that Elon Musk's team caused harm that will take years to undo, but it also showed how much can get done in government when you have the force of political will behind you.
US politics
Law
fromAbove the Law
2 months ago

Accountability In An Age Of Unaccountability - Above the Law

Legal system turmoil: arrests, Epstein file fallout, judicial misconduct, and mounting ethical breaches requiring disbarment of dishonest administration lawyers.
#civil-service
US politics
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 months ago

New Trump administration rule makes it easier to fire career civil servants

OPM will reclassify about 50,000 senior career federal employees as at-will, allowing expedited removal for misconduct or intentionally subverting Presidential directives.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Darren Jones to make it easier to sack senior civil servants under plans to rewire' Whitehall

He said performance indicators for senior officials would be set by ministers and those civil servants not meeting expectations would be shown the door. Instead of the sideways shimmy to another team or department if you fail to perform, I'm afraid you will be sacked, he said, adding that the doers, not the talkers would be in line for promotion.
UK politics
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
3 months ago

I Tried to Be the Government. It Did Not Go Well.

Government staffing cuts and institutional disruptions have weakened regulatory oversight, prompting individuals to perform personal safety checks such as buying Geiger counters.
#federal-workforce
fromAxios
2 months ago
US politics

Trump admin green lights rule making it easier to fire thousands of federal employees

fromAxios
2 months ago
US politics

Trump admin green lights rule making it easier to fire thousands of federal employees

UK politics
fromwww.bbc.com
2 months ago

Can a council do five days' work in four?

South Cambridgeshire District Council adopted a 32-hour, four-day week and reports improved retention, higher applicant numbers, agency savings, and maintained or improved most service metrics.
UK politics
fromwww.bbc.com
2 months ago

Lobbyists' trade body calls for urgent reform after Jim Murphy 'errors'

Arden Strategies offered paid access to ministers and senior advisers, prompting calls for urgent reform and an apology for "clumsy language".
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Appointment of Antonia Romeo as head of civil service shows poor judgment' say former colleagues

Keir Starmer appointed Antonia Romeo as cabinet secretary despite a 2017 formal bullying complaint that an investigator found had a case to answer before being dismissed.
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Ministers must end barking mad' restraints on civil service pay, union leader warns

Civil service pay restraints prevent recruiting and retaining technical and digital specialists, undermining delivery and regulatory performance without competitive pay and sufficient resources.
fromPortland Mercury
1 month ago

Portland City Council Votes To Reshape Its Committee Structure

Portland's transition to a new form of government last January brought new practices and procedures for the City Council. Among the largest changes, impacting both the Council and members of the public, was the introduction of eight policy committees. The committees, which considered topics including transportation, climate, finance, homelessness, and public safety, were intended to provide a focused venue for councilors to introduce legislation and hold conversations on specific topics, as well as to hear public testimony.
US politics
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Former top civil servant warns more due diligence' to be done over replacement of Chris Wormald

No 10 must conduct thorough due diligence before appointing Antonia Romeo as cabinet secretary, with interim acting arrangements likely and uncertainty over final selection.
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Top civil servant could become third key No 10 departure in days

Chris Wormald, the cabinet secretary, is negotiating his exit from No 10 amid a wider senior staff shakeup in Keir Starmer's operation.
UK politics
fromwww.independent.co.uk
2 months ago

Reform council's cost-cutting chief resigns after suggesting authority made no cuts'

A Reform UK councillor resigned after suggesting Kent County Council had not made promised savings and had not cut frontline services beyond prior Conservative plans.
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

Put Humans in Charge Again

Strong executive authority and flexible decision-making enable rapid, large-scale public works, mass hiring, and fast crisis responses when bureaucratic processes are bypassed.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Energy and health optimism help lift civil service morale under Labour

Civil service morale rose slightly after Labour took power in 2024, with the biggest jumps in satisfaction in the energy and health departments, an annual Whitehall monitor report will show. The survey from the Institute for Government (IfG) thinktank, due to be published this week, found that morale rose from 60.7 to 61.2% on the civil service employee engagement index. This is a composite measure that captures civil servants' feelings about how things are done in their organisation, and their pride in where they work.
UK politics
fromwww.npr.org
2 months ago

The Education Department's efforts to fire staff cost over $28 million, watchdog says

A new report from a government watchdog suggests the Trump administration's efforts to fire staff at the U.S. Department of Education cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. The report, from the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), focuses on the department's Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which investigates complaints of discrimination in schools based on students' sex, race, national origin, disability and more.
US politics
US politics
fromLos Angeles Times
2 months ago

Charter Reform Commission, L.A. City Council look to impose transparency rules

Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance requiring Charter Reform Commission members to disclose private communications with elected officials and staff to boost transparency.
US politics
fromNextgov.com
1 month ago

Contract reviews continue at OMB, official says

OMB is leading a government-wide review to cull and reform IT contracts, emphasizing commodity IT and empowering CIOs in procurement and budgeting.
fromTruthout
2 months ago

Majority of Americans Want ICE Defunded as Confidence in Agency Collapses

A majority of Americans say they have little or no confidence in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with most also saying they would like to see the agency defunded. According to an Economist/YouGov poll published on Tuesday, just 30 percent of Americans have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in ICE, while 55 percent say they have no confidence in the agency. Another 16 percent said they only had "some" confidence in ICE.
US politics
[ Load more ]