Commerce Department cuts health insurance early for some recently fired employees
Commerce employees were briefly reinstated under a federal judge’s order. But an appeals court allowed the firings to remain in effect.
Michele Sandiford
- The Commerce Department dropped health insurance coverage for some recently fired employees sooner than promised, according to the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Acting Ranking Member Stephen Lynch said Commerce fired about 800 probationary employees under the Trump administration, and that some of them lost health coverage on April 8, days before they were officially fired. Commerce employees were briefly reinstated under a federal judge’s order. But an appeals court allowed the firings to remain in effect.
- Amid concerns over deep cuts to federal programs, Army officials are defending plans for an expensive military parade in Washington, D.C., calling it a strategic investment in recruitment and retention. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said the parade is a “once in a lifetime opportunity to expand the service’s recruiting pool. I think we as a United States have an amazing opportunity to tell a story of an institution that is older than our country itself. I believe, very specifically, that telling that story will directly lead to a recruiting boom that will fill up our pipeline for the coming years.” He also said the impact of the parade will be “measurable and quantitative” in terms of recruitment outcomes. The parade is estimated to cost $45 million.
- The Office of Management and Budget wants to increase its workforce by 20 in fiscal 2026, including two additional employees for the U.S. DOGE Service. Those two employees would be funded through the IT Oversight and Reform Fund. OMB Director Russ Vought told House Appropriations Committee lawmakers the agency’s $155.7 million request is a $17 million increase over 2025. As a part of that increase, OMB wants $10 million for DOGE. The administration expects to collect another $35 million in reimbursable funds from agencies for a total of $45 million for DOGE. Vought told lawmakers each agency will have DOGE teams and the funding will help support their work.
- The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is at an inflection point amid deep workforce cuts. About 1,000 CISA employees have left their jobs since January. That’s one-third of the agency’s staff. News of the exodus comes as Sean Plankey, President Trump’s nominee to serve as CISA director, testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this morning. In addition to workforce cuts, Plankey will likely face questions about the future of CISA’s partnerships with the private sector.
- The Army has yet to provide Congress with formal details about its sweeping transformation initiative, more than a month after publicly announcing the effort. When asked about the timeline for a detailed proposal, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said the Transformation Initiative will be an iterative process and that “there will be no one date where the first batch of ATI will be completed.” The service is already cutting 1,000 positions from the headquarters and moving those soldiers into combat formations. Program cuts and procurement shifts are also underway. Driscoll said while the cuts will be reflected in the fiscal 2026 budget, the service will continue executing the fiscal 2025 budget as directed including funding items it no longer needs.
- A lawsuit claims the Department of Health and Human Services relied on flawed data to slash more than 10,000 jobs. Attorneys representing seven former HHS employees said the department knew it had flawed personnel data when it carried out a reduction in force on April 1. The lawsuit states RIF notices had lower performance ratings than what employees actually received or incorrectly listed them as working for certain offices or geographic locations. Federal employees under the Privacy Act can challenge adverse personnel actions based on inaccurate or incomplete records.
- The National Science Foundation plans to invest up to $100 million in next-generation telecommunications technology. The NSF announced the new funding opportunity this week as part of its Verticals-enabling Intelligent Network Systems program. The two-track program will invest in both fundamental research and “Next-G” technology demonstrations. Initial proposals are due by Aug. 25.
- There’s a new bipartisan effort to improve how agencies buy and manage software. Agencies could save at least $750 million a year by improving how the government buys, manages and uses software. Under the newly reintroduced Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets or SAMOSA Act, Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is seeking to increase the rigor and oversight of agency software acquisition. Among the bill’s provisions would be to require agency CIOs, CFOs, CAOs and CDOs to work together to create an inventory looking at costs, consolidation opportunities and infrastructure needed to support the applications. The Senate’s bill is similar to the House version introduced in March.
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