THE FEDERAL NEWSCAST, (length about seven minutes), is a weekdaily, high-information compilation of nine 40-second news stories and news packages, generated by ...
OPM issues federal civilian hiring freeze guidance
More details are emerging about President Trump’s federal hiring freeze executive order. A memo from the Trump administration confirms that military personnel, as well as hires for many national and public security positions, are exempt from the freeze. But there are some additional exemptions as well. Agencies can still make new hires for the Postal Service, and for federal employees who are up for an internal promotion. OPM says agencies should also review any recent appointments in the Pathways Program for early-career workers on a case-by-case basis. Agencies can make further requests for exemptions to the hiring freeze by submitting paperwork to the Office of Personnel Management.
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7:32
DHS nominee advances out of committee to Senate floor
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem’s nomination for homeland security secretary is moving forward in the Senate. The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 13 to 2 on Monday night to advance Noem’s nomination to the Senate floor. Noem will play a key role in overseeing the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and border security policies. She has also pledged to rein in the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s work on mis- and dis-information. The director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, Benjamine Huffman is currently leading DHS as acting secretary.
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7:39
Federal agencies under 90-day hiring freeze
All agencies are under a 90-day hiring freeze with the exception of military personnel of the armed forces or of positions related to immigration enforcement, national security or public
safety. The freeze will last until OMB, OPM and the new advisory board Department of Government Efficiency submit a plan to the White House to reduce the size of the government’s workforce through efficiency improvements and attrition. The freeze would lift for all agencies except for the IRS, which would remain unable to hire new employees until the Treasury Secretary, OMB and DOGE determine it's of national interest to lift the freeze. The new hiring
freeze is nearly identical to an executive action Trump took on his first day in office in 2017. The 2017 hiring freeze lasted for nearly three months.
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7:53
Democrats introduce FAIR Act to raise federal pay in 2026
Civilian federal employees just got a 2 percent average raise added to their pay checks. But Democrats are already looking ahead to next year’s federal pay raise. The FAIR Act would give federal employees a 4-point-3 percent pay increase beginning next January. Congressman Gerry Connolly and Senator Brian Schatz have reintroduced the bill each year for about the last decade. But beyond its introduction, the legislation has never seen action in Congress. Still, Democrats say the larger raise in the FAIR Act would help federal pay keep pace with rising costs of living.
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6:14
Comer introduces SHOW UP Act to get federal workers back to the office
Federal employees are facing a familiar bill in a long line of legislation aiming to cut telework options. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer reintroduced the SHOW UP Act this week. The bill would return federal employees to the work arrangements they had prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. In practice, it would largely scale back federal telework. The House passed the bill in the last Congress. But the Senate did not take any action on the companion legislation. During a hearing this week, Comer said there’s “no reason” feds shouldn’t go
back to pre-pandemic telework levels.
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THE FEDERAL NEWSCAST, (length about seven minutes), is a weekdaily, high-information compilation of nine 40-second news stories and news packages, generated by the non-partisan, non-political, private-sector team of reporters at Federal News Network. Federal News Radio Producer/Newscaster Peter Musurlian assembles and reads the stories on the THE FEDERAL DRIVE with TOM TEMIN, the weekday morning-drive program, heard from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. (ET) on the Federal News Network app (and website), on any smart speaker, and on WFED 1500 AM, a 50,000-watt 'Class A' powerhouse radio station in the nation's capital. The podcast is most popular with FNN's audience of highly educated listeners, who conveniently access THE FEDERAL NEWSCAST, 24/7, on any podcast platform . Listen to it (as just mentioned) or read the stories each weekday morning at FederalNewsNetwork.com, where the news items contain hyperlinks for those who want more information on a given story.
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