The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

The Army's decision to consolidate its official social media accounts is raising concerns well beyond public affairs. Small businesses that rely on LinkedIn, X and other platforms to track contracting opportunities, connect with program offices and learn about new requirements say they could lose a key entry point into the acquisition process. The move comes as Army leaders continue urging nontraditional companies and commercial firms to do business with the service. Federal News Network's Rachel Cohen has more on what this could mean for the defense industrial base.
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NASA’s successful demonstration of laser communications during the Artemis Two mission marked a turning point for a technology that has been in development for years. It proved that optical communications can support human spaceflight operations, sending high-resolution imagery and scientific data as four astronauts traveled around the Moon. Nikki Desch is the project manager for the Orion Artemis Two Optical Communication Payload System at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She talked about the capabilities with Federal News Network’s Anastasia Obis.
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Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton
As Washington debates the future of the civil service, one legal scholar argues that a professional career workforce is more consistent with conservative principles than many people think
The federal government can track an award from Washington to a state government. Following it the rest of the way is often where the trail goes cold.
Before heading home for August, the Senate cleared a few items that could have lasting consequences
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Federal spending transparency has been a bipartisan goal for nearly two decades, and USAspending.gov was built to help taxpayers follow the money. But a new report from the Project on Government Oversight suggests that much of the accountability challenge begins after dollars leave federal agencies and move through states and other intermediaries. Joining me to explain what government can and can't see today is Sean Moulton, senior policy analyst at POGO.
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Much of today's civil service debate focuses on giving presidents greater control over the federal workforce. But if you go back to some core conservative principles, the case for a professional, merit-based civil service becomes stronger, not weaker. Joining me to make that case is Christopher Walker, professor of law at the University of Michigan.
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