Erich Wagner

1 week ago | govexec.com | Erich Wagner

Just days after reports surfaced that administration officials listed more than 6,000 living immigrants as dead in a key Social Security database, President Trump signed a memo Tuesday that could give the green light for the agency to effectively strip hundreds of thousands of Americans of their legally obtained benefits.

1 week ago | govexec.com | Erich Wagner

The Office of Personnel Management last week issued new guidance encouraging agencies to pay political appointees the maximum federal salary and removing career HR workers from the appointment process.

1 week ago | govexec.com | Erich Wagner

President Trump appears set to propose freeze civilian federal employees’ pay next year, according to draft budget documents. The news came in the form of a passback, which is effectively the Office of Management and Budget’s response to agencies’ individual budget submissions. A report by the Congressional Research Service says agencies can appeal certain programmatic decisions to OMB, the documents are, for all intents and purposes, the office’s final decision.

2 weeks ago | govexec.com | Erich Wagner

The Trump administration has apparently ceased collecting federal workers’ union dues via voluntary payroll deduction at agencies targeted by a recent executive order seeking to strip employees of their collective bargaining rights without notice, leaving labor groups in financial upheaval.

2 weeks ago | govexec.com | Erich Wagner

A draft plan for service delivery at the Social Security Administration includes “field office consolidation” as a goal for next year — even as the agency maintains publicly that it isn’t closing field offices. SSA posted Monday on X that it “is NOT permanently closing field offices. Only underutilized hearing office space has been closed and without permanently closing field offices.” But a plan circulating within the agency includes a goal to “further reduce footprint” in 2026 and beyond.