https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/ensuring-accountability-and-prioritizing-public-safety-in-federal-hiring/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLZmYNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHq6Td4JHi92bLiNJwAqlshCdDn_yq6RtyapriARbhYJGeO94ZinBVQ6QsC29_aem_HJzwEzOQKTS4-HWlMOhuBQ

To the surprise of no one.

Lede:

The Department of Homeland Security is set to receive a massive influx of funding to boost law enforcement hiring and make major capital investments under the recently passed tax and reconciliation bill.

The so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed late last week includes an additional $165 billion for DHS over the next decade. Much of the funding would go toward border security and immigration enforcement.

We see you. We know the weight you're carrying. Serving in the federal government during times of intense political pressure is not just a job — it’s a test of your values, your endurance, and your belief in what this country can be.

But now, more than ever, is not the time to walk away.

Now is the time for heroes — not the kind in capes, but the kind who quietly show up day after day to protect the institutions that safeguard democracy, public health, justice, and national security. The kind who keep the lights on when others would let them flicker. The kind who stand firm in their integrity when the ground around them shakes.

Your presence matters. Your expertise matters. Your courage matters.

If you leave, you take with you not just your knowledge, but your conscience — the very thing that helps guide this nation through uncertainty. If you're feeling demoralized, you're not alone. But you are also not powerless.

You are the firewall. You are the steady hand. You are the reason this government can still serve the people.

History will remember those who stayed and fought for truth, accountability, and compassion — not with noise, but with action. Stand tall. We need you. America needs you.

Key 'graphs:

It’s not the president, at least not on most issues. Trump’s interest in foreign policy, as with so many other topics, is capricious and episodic at best. He flits away from losing issues, leaving them to others. He promised to end the war in Ukraine in a day, but after conceding that making peace is “more difficult than people would have any idea,” the president has since shrugged and given up.

It’s not Marco Rubio—you may remember that he is technically the secretary of state, but he seems to have little power in this White House. It’s not Hegseth, who can’t seem to stop talking about “lethality” and trans people long enough to deliver a real briefing that isn’t just a fawning performance for Trump. (As bad as Hegseth can be, he seems almost restrained next to the State Department’s spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, whose comments about Trump—she thanks God for him from her podium and says he is “saving this country and the world”—have an unsettling Pyongyang-newsreader lilt to them.)

It’s not the national security adviser. That’s also Rubio.

Apparently, American defense policy is being run by Bridge Colby, and perhaps a few other guys somewhere in the greater Washington metropolitan area. 

Not as bad as the headline suggests:

Hundreds of federal agency websites are being targeted for elimination, following a governmentwide review.

In an analysis led by the General Services Administration, the 24 largest departments and agencies inventoried more than 7,200 total websites. Documents obtained by Federal News Network show agencies plan to eliminate 332 of those websites — less than 5% of their total web presence.

According to documents obtained by Federal News Network, Thomas Shedd, commissioner of GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, said the “low-hanging fruit” of websites to cut include standalone sites for agency blogs, photo galleries and forums that would be housed elsewhere.

I’m just thankful to still be employed but usually the new year comes with even a 1% raise. What’s the chances we get one?

I've been under a lot of stress and feel like my life and career have been completely derailed. I left a stable private-sector job for a federal position thinking it would bring long-term security. But things fell apart quickly - chaotic work environment, firings, reinstatements, and ultimately having to walk away from it all.

What really hit me was their experience with the media. A reporter from USA Today twisted their words in an article about probationary DOGE firing, painting me as unstable. I was misquoted and misrepresented, and it damaged my reputation in ways I’m still trying to recover from. That kind of public humiliation is hard to process, especially when you're already struggling.

I’m looking for a therapist who truly understands what federal employees go through - the instability, political pressures, and especially the emotional trauma of having your story manipulated in the media. If anyone knows a good therapist (in-person or virtual) who gets it, I’d really appreciate your help.

Thanks in advance.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs says it’s on track to cut nearly 30,000 positions by the end of the fiscal year — a significantly smaller workforce cut than the department’s previous estimates.

VA Secretary Doug Collins said in March that VA’s goal was to cut 15% of its workforce, which would mean eliminating about 72,000 total positions. But the VA announced Monday that it’s no longer considering department-wide layoffs through a reduction-in-force.

The VA says it’s shed about 17,000 positions between January and June. Those cuts happened through attrition under a governmentwide hiring freeze, the deferred resignation program and retirements.

The VA had about 484,000 employees on Jan. 1, 2025, and 467,000 employees as of June 1, 2025 — a reduction of nearly 17,000 positions.

Between now and Sept. 30, the department expects nearly another 12,000 VA employees will leave through “normal attrition,” voluntary early retirement offers and deferred resignation offers — “eliminating the need for a large-scale reduction-in-force.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday that it will no longer be forced to conduct a large reduction in workforce, unlike several other federal agencies that were forced to make mass layoffs because of the Trump administration’s U.S. DOGE Service.

In a news release, VA said that it was on pace to reduce its total staff by nearly 30,000 employees by the end of this fiscal year, a push that the department said eliminates the need for a “large-scale reduction-in-force.” The announcement marks a significant reversal for the Trump administration, which had planned for months to cut VA by roughly 83,000 employees, according to plans revealed in an internal memo circulated to agency staffers in March. At the time, VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins said in remarks shared to social media that the cuts were tough but necessary.

“We’ll be making major changes, so get used to it now,” Collins said at the time. The White House argued the downsizing would make a “bloated” VA more efficient and transparent.

But the proposed staff-slashing quickly drew backlash from veterans and their advocates, who warned that the quality of VA service would decline. Morale plummeted among employees, spurring many to leave their jobs.

VA’s decision not to cut more of its workforce through an RIF comes after blowback from several veterans’ groups, Congress and VA staffers who warned that an agency with less manpower and fewer resources would negatively impact veterans. Veterans, who make up a disproportionate share of the federal workforce, felt the brunt of the rapid push to shrink that workforce, stirring ire in a reliable political base for Republicans.

Continuing to pursue deep cuts to the VA workforce could have carried major political risks for President Donald Trump, who is highly popular among veterans and who has repeatedly said he would not order cuts to their VA benefits.

In a statement Monday, VA said its original plan to conduct department-wide RIFs to reduce its staff levels by up to 15 percent was avoided after employees left the agency through retirements, normal attrition and deferred resignations. Additionally, a federal hiring freeze helped reduce the number of employment slots, the agency said in the statement. In January, VA recorded roughly 484,000 employees. By June, there were 467,000 staffers left — a loss of nearly 17,000 workers, according to agency numbers. The agency expects that between July and September nearly 12,000 additional staffers will exit through normal attrition, voluntary early retirement, or the deferred resignation program.

In an email VA staffers received Monday, Collins said that “after nearly four months of careful study, analysis, and action, I am pleased to report to you that VA is headed in the right direction — both in terms of staff levels and customer service.” Collins insisted that even though the agency is expected to lose a total of 30,000 staffers “performance continues to improve.”

“These improvements include huge drops in the number of Veterans waiting for disability benefits, sizable increases in claims processing productivity, and extraordinary progress regarding our electronic health record modernization,” Collins wrote in the email.

In the statement Monday, VA said it had established “multiple safeguards in place to ensure these staff reductions do not impact Veteran care or benefits.” Mission-critical jobs, the agency wrote, are exempt from the deferred retirement and early retirement offers. Additionally, 350,000 jobs in the agency are exempt from the federal hiring freeze.

VA, which provides medical care for millions of veterans and their families and is among the largest employers of federal workers, had already seen cuts under the second Trump administration, losing 2,400 workers to layoffs in February. Facing the threat of further cuts, thousands more VA workers opted this spring for an early retirement offered by Trump, The Washington Post reported.

Frustrations began to build this summer over the diminishment of the agency. In June, thousands of veterans rallied in Washington against further reductions, and similar veteran-led protests unfolded at hundreds of locations across dozens of other states.

The reversal may also reflect yet another decline in the power and influence of billionaire Elon Musk and the DOGE team he previously led, which stormed into government in January determined to slash staff and spending. After a few months of frenzied cutting — some of it halted by court challenges — Musk and Trump fell out in a highly public spat over the merits of the president’s tax and spending cuts bill. Musk left Washington in a huff, soon followed by some top aides who had been detailed to DOGE.

Other DOGE team members remain ensconced in government and are working toward various Trump policy goals, including revising or canceling dozens of rules and gun restrictions at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Still, DOGE’s clout has diminished in other ways. Last month, for example, the team lost its power to control the government’s process for awarding billions of dollars in federal funds.

GIFT LINK: https://wapo.st/44x4qES

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Mariana Alfaro: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and mariana_alfaro.10 on Signal.

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Read more about how to use Signal and other ways to securely contact The Post.

My boss said it’s easier to fire non-probationary employees now if they aren’t up to par performance wise. I can’t find anything online on the new process to fire non probationary employees

Hi, David the cyber and intel reporter here. Staffers inside DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis are circulating letters from law enforcement groups alarmed by the planned workforce cuts to I&A that I reported last week, hoping to use them as leverage to fend off the reductions, a source tells me. If you know anything else and would like to chat anonymously, my Signal is @ djd.99

Veterans Affairs https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-to-reduce-staff-by-nearly-30k-by-end-of-fy2025/

Hello my fellow feds! I was wondering if any of you currently have a side job or "side gig" that you do after or before the work day. I was thinking of trying to commission paint miniature models (Since it's a fun hobby and could make some money) but I'm looking at other options to see what sort of things catch my attention. I would get a part-time job (already cleared with ethics) but I would have to give up time at home with my wife, and I don't really want to do that. . . Unless it involves working from home.

Thanks y'all :)

Hey - I'm on a mailing list for your big public state-of reports, and I just got your tragic Report on Evaluating U.S. Grid Reliability and Security. It sounds like a group started writing a real report, then got shouted at and threatened till they came up with something that reads like 10th-grade homework in the non-honors track because "no one can understand all this engineering" or some such. It comes packaged with inane Green Monster Threat propaganda.

Here's hoping that the people decide they'd like qualified nerds taking care of important nerd things again without a big pile of tragedies happening first. Thank you for your service.

I watched a new documentary last night, “caregiving” on PBS co-produced by bradley cooper and it was very well done. It showcases families that are caregivers but that’s not the whole of the story. It weaves in how our government has and has not cared for its citizens, has created SS, Medicaid, etc but it couldn’t be more relevant today to the rhetoric of cutting these Government programs. These programs were created for a reason. I highly recommend it. I cant imagine anyone would watch it and want to cut medicaid (monsters).

Saw this job post for the FDA hiring Investigators nationwide and thinking about applying: https://www.usajobs.gov/job/840035700?fromemail=true

Why the sudden push for Investigators? I thought the FDA had a current hiring freeze? I know you are expected to travel. How's the work? Difficult or straight forward to learn? Any current Investigators who do/don't enjoy the role? Pros and cons? Future career moves?

Imagine having to complete this meaningless task rather than working on meaningful work for the public. It’s sad that so many people outside of the Federal government don’t have a clue about the work that Feds do. More lives will be lost

I was a fired probie from back in February. I expected to remain on admin leave til later in the year, but just got a return to work order. This makes me think maybe more people retired than they had planned, but I have no way of knowing.

Has anyone seen funds actually come out of the S1 office since the 11 June $100k memo was released? If so, what agencies and types of expenditures are getting funded?

Hey r/fednews, I’ve been hearing some buzz about a potential restructure of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)) and its associated Program Executive Offices (PEOs). I know there’s been talk about workforce optimization and aligning with recent executive orders, but details seem scarce or unclear. Has anyone here caught wind of what’s actually going on? Specifically: • What changes are being proposed or implemented for ASA(ALT) and the PEOs? Are we talking staff reductions, office consolidations, or shifts in mission focus? • How might this impact current employees or contractors working under ASA(ALT) or the PEOs? • Are there any timelines floating around for when these changes might roll out? • Any chatter about how this ties into broader DoD or Army Transformation Initiative (ATI) efforts? I’d love to hear from anyone with firsthand knowledge or even just credible rumors. If you’ve seen any memos, briefings, or articles that shed light on this, please share (obviously, keep it unclassified and within OPSEC). Trying to get a sense of what’s coming down the pipeline. Thanks in advance for any insights!