#federal-workforce

#federal-workforce

As the Trump administration shrinks the federal workforce, the private sector is developing artificial intelligence that could fill in gaps - specifically, agentic AI, technology that can take action without precise instructions. The "agentic enterprise," where humans work alongside AI agents, was the theme of Salesforce's annual conference last week. Currently, it's largely a hypothetical in the federal context. Agencies don't have Salesforce-powered agents in production, and what exactly counts as an AI agent is debatable, as the term is used to describe systems with varying degrees of autonomy.

ARLINGTON, Va. Only two states, Virginia and New Jersey, hold their elections for governor the year after the presidential election and the year before the midterms. The races are often seen as a test of voter sentiment, but just weeks out from the election, two late-emerging issues in Virginia may be reshaping that state's contest. Abigail Spanberger, a former member of Congress, is the Democratic candidate, and Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate, is the commonwealth's current lieutenant governor.

The "reductions in force," or RIFs, is the latest blow to the federal workforce, which is already down 200,000 employees this year. Vought announced the layoffs on X, saying, "The RIFs have begun." What they're saying: "We'll be cutting very popular democrat programs that aren't popular with republicans," President Trump said Thursday at the White House. A spokesperson for the OMB confirmed the RIFs have begun and are "substantial." They did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment specifying which departments were impacted.

On the first day of the federal government shutdown, FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed a trainee agent after learning that the person had displayed a rainbow Pride flag at their desk during a prior assignment in Los Angeles during the Biden administration. The move, first reported by MSNBC's Carol Leonnig, a multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with deep law enforcement sourcing,

In August, months after Elon Musk left the federal government, the director of the Office of Personnel Management offered the first hard estimate of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency's impact on the civil service. The government would likely end 2025 with about 300,000 fewer employees than it had at the start of the year, he told reporters. Most resignations were attributable to the incentives DOGE had offered the federal workforce to resign their positions. The total figure amounted to one in eight workers.

President Donald Trump won a second term with a promise to support the working-class voters who backed him. But many workers now feel less secure and find their jobs harder to do - squeezed by immigration crackdowns, federal layoffs and funding cuts, and weakened labor protections. The uncertainty fueled by these policies, combined with Trump's trade wars, is beginning to surface in economic data, economists say.

Kupor emphasized that "OPM is its own agency" and will make decisions in the best interests of its operations, despite seeking to collaborate with the Department of Government Efficiency.

I don't think the commissioner of Social Security is like a globally known title. It is to you, right? But, like, it wasn't to me, he said.

"Gerry lived his life to give back to others and make our community better. He looked out for the disadvantaged and voiceless."

Vought has worked closely with Musk to ideologically reshape the federal workforce, aiming to instill a sense of fear among civil servants and cut funding drastically.

"We are actively looking and recruiting to fill those positions that are integral to the efforts and the key frontlines," Rollins told members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.

The GOP's proposals aim to reduce federal spending by impacting retirement benefits for federal employees, while simultaneously seeking to extend tax cuts for the wealthy.

A free press is a necessary, if hardly sufficient, bulwark to fend off the threat of authoritarianism.

"No Federal civilian position that is presently vacant may be filled, and no new position may be created, except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or required by applicable law."