Matt Bracken

Washington, D.C.

Managing Editor at FedScoop

Managing editor of @FedScoop & @CyberScoopNews. Previously seen @MorningConsult, @baltimoresun & @TucsonStar. Michigan Man. Signal: MattBracken.33

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Articles

SBA sticks to DOGE cost-savings claims, though details - and math - remain fuzzy

3 weeks ago | fedscoop.com | Matt Bracken

The Small Business Administration’s top official told lawmakers this week that DOGE has found billions of dollars in savings via canceled contracts and identified hundreds of millions in fraudulent loans thanks to “data analytics” — but declined to share specifics behind those big-money claims.
Senate Democrats seek audit of DOGE access to Social Security systems

3 weeks ago | fedscoop.com | Matt Bracken

In the aftermath of DOGE incursions into Social Security Administration computer systems, a trio of Senate Democrats is pushing legislation that would require performance and security audits into what the Elon Musk-founded group left behind in those networks. The Protecting Seniors’ Data Act of 2025, introduced Wednesday by Sens.
Russell Vought: DOGE will ‘be far more institutionalized’ at agencies

3 weeks ago | fedscoop.com | Matt Bracken

Elon Musk’s semi-exit from the federal government hasn’t derailed the supposed efficiency work his DOGE deployees are doing at federal agencies, a reality the White House’s top budget official said Wednesday he’d like to cement. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told lawmakers on the House Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee that he envisions “some of the consulting work” DOGE has done to continue in the Executive Office of the President.
Bill to overhaul federal software buying gets another shot in the Senate

3 weeks ago | fedscoop.com | Matt Bracken

Congress has better agency software buying practices in its sights once again, with a bipartisan group of six senators reintroducing a bill Wednesday that would strengthen federal oversight and management of such purchases.
Login.gov has one lingering data-security priority to address, watchdog says

3 weeks ago | fedscoop.com | Matt Bracken

Eight years since its launch, Login.gov has narrowed the capabilities gap with many of its commercial counterparts, according to the Government Accountability Office, but there’s one outstanding data priority that the General Services Administration’s single sign-on platform needs to address.
DOGE took credit for his team's work. Now, an OPM alum fights to get his job back

3 weeks ago | fedscoop.com | Matt Bracken

The Office of Personnel Management took a well-deserved victory lap last month in announcing the rollout of the federal government’s first wholly digital retirement application. That “landmark” development, OPM said, was due in large part to the efforts of Elon Musk’s pet project.
Treasury seeks public input tied to Trump’s order on electronic payments

4 weeks ago | fedscoop.com | Matt Bracken

Four months ahead of a deadline to shift the federal government from paper-based payments to electronic methods, the Treasury Department is seeking feedback from the public on how best to approach that transition. In a request for information published Friday in the Federal Register, Treasury said it welcomes comments from individuals and organizations on the implementation of President Donald Trump’s electronic payments executive order, which was issued in March.
OPM outlines merit hiring plan, new SES process ahead of hiring freeze end

4 weeks ago | fedscoop.com | Madison Alder |Matt Bracken

The Office of Personnel Management released two guidance documents Thursday outlining its plan for the hiring and recruitment of federal workers, roughly a month-and-a-half before the administration’s hiring freeze is set to lift.
Fannie Mae partners with Palantir on mortgage fraud detection tech

1 month ago | fedscoop.com | Matt Bracken

Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is enlisting data analytics giant Palantir in a new partnership aimed at cracking down on mortgage fraud. Under the agreement, Palantir’s technology will be deployed to uncover fraud in mortgage packages before they reach Fannie Mae.
Judge OKs DOGE access to Treasury payment systems

1 month ago | fedscoop.com | Matt Bracken

The Treasury Department IT systems that house Americans’ most sensitive financial data can be accessed again by DOGE liaisons to the agency, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. Judge Jeannette Vargas of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York lifted the temporary restraining order she issued in February after determining that the Trump administration had properly vetted DOGE staffers at Treasury and put them through required training.