On Dec. 22, President Donald Trump (R) issued 15 pardons and five commutations. Those pardoned included former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos and former congressmen Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), and Steve Stockman (R-Texas). President Trump has issued 43 pardons and 21 commutations while in office. Of those, Trump issued 28 pardons and 15…
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on December 17 issued a proposed rule aimed at continuing the implementation of President Donald Trump’s (R) 2018 civil service executive orders. The proposed rule prioritizes federal employee performance over length of service in decisions concerning a reduction in force—a principle set forth in Executive Order 13839, “Promoting Accountability and Streamlining Removal…
On December 3, Donald Trump signed an executive order that aims to promote the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by federal agencies while protecting public trust and upholding the law. The order directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to post a roadmap for future policy guidance about AI consistent with the…
On Oct. 27, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) introduced the Saving the Civil Service Act (H.R. 8687) to block President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 13957. The executive order, issued on Oct. 21, aims to give agency heads greater flexibility in the appointment of staff members who serve in policy-related positions and make it easier for agency…
The National Treasury Employee’s Union (NTEU) on October 26 filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that aims to block the implementation of President Donald Trump’s (R) Executive Order 13957. The order, issued on October 21, reclassifies federal civil service employees in the competitive service who serve in policy-related roles as members of the the excepted…
President Donald Trump (R) on October 21 issued an executive order, “Executive Order on Creating Schedule F in The Excepted Service,” that directs agencies to reclassify federal civil service employees in the competitive service who serve in policy-related roles as members of the excepted service. Supporters of the order claim that the change will increase…
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Friday issued final rules that revise federal agency methods for addressing poor-performing employees in the civil service. The rules implement President Donald Trump’s (R) Executive Order 13839, which aims to streamline the discipline and dismissal processes for poor-performing federal employees. The regulations implement the following changes to agency…
A Ballotpedia study of all 50 state constitutions and administrative procedure acts (APAs) showed that 29 state APAs require administrative agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before implementing rules, as of September 2020. Cost-benefit analysis is an aspect of agency dynamics, one of the five pillars key to understanding the main areas of debate about…
The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity. From October 5 to October 9, the Federal Register grew by 1,836 pages for a year-to-date total of 64,374 pages. Over the same period in 2019 and…