State Department seeks mid-career hires to join its ranks after widespread layoffs

Every cyber threat can’t be a top priority

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<em>Interview transcript</em></p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Terry Gerton </strong>Every week seems to bring a new cyber headline, a new cybersecurity threat or a warning that we have to worry about. So what does that mean for research organizations like yours that are trying to decide where to invest their attention and resources?</p>
<p><strong>Greg Touhill </strong>Well, you know, time is not on our side. As we take a look at where we’ve been in the cyber community, we’ve gone from months to milliseconds to now nanoseconds in trying to figure out ways to better protect our data, our missions, our population, our economy, and even national security. So time is not on our side, but we do have the talent to think imaginatively. And leverage technology for positive effects.</p>
<p><strong>Terry Gerton </strong>There’s an old saying that when everything is a top priority, nothing is a priority. Your team there identified seven areas that you think deserve sustained research investment. How did you pick those seven? What distinguished them from everything else that we could be doing in cyber?</p>

<p><strong>Greg Touhill </strong>Well, we convened a group of folks, not only within the CERT, but our colleagues in industry, across academia, and such. And we identified seven foundational items or topic areas that we believe need to have greater research in this age of AI and quantum computing and rapid technological change. But we identified seven foundational areas where we believe we will get the greatest return on investment with future research.</p>
<p><strong>Terry Gerton </strong>Can you walk us through what some of those are?</p>
<p><strong>Greg Touhill </strong>Sure, we’ll start with the analytic and operational tradecraft for cyber security. How do you in fact better protect data using different types of tactics, techniques and procedures paired with advancing technologies like AI? So think AI for cyber as well as the integration of human machine teaming. The second one is ensuring that we are securing AI-based systems and workflows. Think cyber for AI, and as we see all these different activities going on in developing AI, we wanna make sure that they’re secure by design, and they are relatively resilient to cyber punches coming their way. The third one is cyber-physical system security. We have legacy operational technology, industrial control systems and such. Making sure that they stay cyber secure is critically important as we move forward, particularly with automated threats on the increase. We also have identified for the fourth one, cybersecurity for complex integrated systems. We continue to have more and more processing being put on various platforms. A great example is some of the new airplanes that are coming out, which are network computer systems of many different networks with connectivity to satellites and ground stations. You have these engines and flight services. All of those things have to be secure by design. How do we do that at scale, particularly with ever-decreasing in size but ever-increasing capabilities of the digital components? The fifth one is insider threat and human systems interaction. How do you best protect in a world where you don’t know for sure if it’s a human or if it is an automated threat? How do detect and how do you react? We follow that with secure engineering and mission confidence. You’ve got to make sure that you were doing secure by design up and down the stack and that’s hardware, software and wetware, with wetware being the human elements of systems. We’ve got to make sure all three are knitted together with secure by design principles. And then the last one is modeling and simulation in support of security. I don’t want to put somebody in the security operations center and face an event that they haven’t already practiced on in the simulator. I want them to know what to do ahead of time. Having served in the Air Force for over 30 years, I’m very well familiar with the red flag, You know, the Navy’s top gun and practicing. And when you practice ahead of time, you do mission rehearsal exercises, that cuts through the fog of war. When it comes to cyber operations, we want to use modeling and simulation to help our cyber operators cut through the Fog of Cyberwar. Those are the seven that we’ve taken a look at as foundational and important, regardless of the technologies that are coming.</p>
<p><strong>Terry Gerton </strong>Greg Touhill is the director of CERT division at Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute. Greg, that last point that you made raised the issue of mission accomplishment. And one of the things that’s interesting about this framework is you took the seven that you call foundational, but you added mission consequence as a core element. So how and why do you get mission into the consideration around cyber and where research investment should be focused?</p>
<p><strong>Greg Touhill </strong>Well, it all starts with the mission and what you’re trying to accomplish. And particularly as we look at our role at the Software Engineering Institute and its CERT division, it’s all about the mission and better protecting national security and our national prosperity that relies on a safe, secure, and trustworthy cyber domain. So we recognize that there’s always going to be advancements. We’ve seen artificial intelligence, and it has many different flavors of artificial intelligence. Not just super intelligence, which is, think commander data is a super intelligent AI. But we have lots of other AIs that are out there, but we also are on the cusp of quantum computing. And what’s after that? You know, as we’re looking at advances in photonics and other type of technologies that are coming out that are gonna increase the velocity of transmission, for example. There’s a lot out there, and we wanted something that was going to provide a framework for research that is going to be practical, productive, and a good return on the taxpayers’ money, but also could be used outside of that government-funded research for companies to be more competitive in the marketplace.</p>
<p><strong>Terry Gerton </strong>As you think about this framework and the seven areas, are there places where you think the gaps are particularly large and where research funding should be focused?</p>
<p><strong>Greg Touhill </strong>That’s a great question. And frankly, I could go up and down the stack and make a business case for each one of them. But I think we took a look at the priorities of the seven. We started at the top with the analytic and operational trade craft for cybersecurity. How do I best integrate technology into cybersecurity operations? For defense in particular, we want to make sure that the tactics, techniques, and procedures are appropriate for the threats that are out there, the technologies being employed, not only by the defenders, but most importantly, against the threats, that are human controlled, but technologically enhanced. So our top priority was analytic and operational trade craft. But as you go through our report, which is available through sei.cmu.edu, each one of them is critically important. And as we take a look at the audience for this report, I’m sure there’s people that are in various different parts of critical infrastructure who are going to zero in on one or more of the different framework elements and say, that one really appeals to me and my mission. I think they’re all important. They’re all worthy of further investment, but it depends on the organization that is doing the mission to determine which one of these is the most important to them.</p>

<p><strong>Terry Gerton </strong>The framework is really designed for organizations who are responsible for national security functions. If you’re in a civilian agency, are there any changes to the lens that you want those folks to look at this framework through?</p>
<p><strong>Greg Touhill </strong>Well, I think, you know, regardless of where you are in the military, as a fed civilian employee and both you and I have served in both military as well as stock up, we’re all in the national security business. We serve the people of the United States of America. And further, we recognize that our work in protecting the United states of America relies on a strong national economy as well. So, while our focus in the CERT is towards that national security, we recognize that the National Defense Authorization Act has more than just the Department of Defense/war. It’s more than just the Department of State and DHS. All of us in Team America have to work together to make a more safe, secure, and resilient cyber domain.</p></blockquote>
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Federal Movers & Shakers | October 30, 2026

OPM reminds federal employees about rights to report misconduct

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<ul><li style="margin-top:20px;">The Office of Personnel Management is reminding federal employees that they should be allowed to report misconduct of their colleagues, without fear of retaliation. In a memo to agencies, OPM says concerns about potential EEO complaints, grievances or personal liability should not discourage feds from reporting suspected wrongdoing. OPM is telling agencies to communicate these protections to employees and promptly address any instances of retaliation that arise. 

-- Drew Friedman<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://www.opm.gov/chcoc/latest-memos/protections-against-retaliation-for-employees-who-report-misconduct-or-participate-in-performance-conduct-and-suitability-processes.pdf">Memo on protections against retaliation for employees who report misconduct</a> - Office of Personnel Management)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">The Veterans Affairs Department is planning to go on a hiring spree.  VA is ramping up to deal with an expected influx of new benefit claims in the coming years. The agency says it plans to hire more than 2,000 new employees in 2027 to help process a record number of benefits claims Veterans are expected to file in the next few years. VA currently has more than 13,000 employees who process claims, but expects the volume to rise due to its campaigns to reach veterans who have not enrolled in benefits. VA says in 2026 it received a record 3.15 million claims, 80 percent more than 2022.  VA posted a claims processing job announcement on October 19 and is using its direct hire authority. 

-- Jason Miller<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-hiring-2000-employees-to-process-rising-number-of-veteran-claims/">VA to hire 2k more employees to process claims </a> - Department of Veterans Affairs)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">The Census Bureau wants to expand its research on new ways to collect data across its business surveys. In a new request to the Office of Management and Budget, the bureau says business survey results have declined over the years, and it wants to explore new ways to enhance data collection by gathering information directly from businesses via automated methods. The Census Bureau will share its findings of the process with other federal statistical agencies to help improve data collection across the government. 

--Silvia Oakland<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/29/2026-22117/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-to-the-office-of-management-and-budget-omb-for">Census Bureau looks to modernize federal statistical data methods</a> - Federal Register)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">The end of the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey is official. Agencies have two months left to conduct required annual assessments of employee satisfaction and engagement. That’s after the Office of Personnel Management finalized a rule to decentralize the survey, while also making substantial changes to the required questions. OPM says the changes will make the engagement survey more useful and actionable for managers. But critics warn that it will undermine years of comparable workforce data and reduce transparency. 

-- Drew Friedman<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2026/10/opm-formally-discontinues-federal-employee-viewpoint-survey/">OPM formally discontinues Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey</a> - Federal News Network)</div></li><p></p>

<li style="margin-top:20px;">Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren are calling for the Treasury Department to delay implementing TreasuryDirect’s use of ID.me until after the 2027 tax filing deadline. In a letter to Secretary Scott Bessent and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano, the senators say the accelerated timeline didn't provide users with enough time to complete the transition to ID.me. The senators also pointed to the department's overall use of the ID.me platform, even after Congress expressed concerns in 2024. The letter also cites the September 29 executive order that directs agencies to favor using Login.gov. In August the Treasury Department said it would require ID.me for access to TreasuryDirect starting October 28. 

-- Silvia Oakland<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-warren-press-treasury-and-irs-on-rushed-transition-to-id-me-for-savings-bond-investors/">Wyden, Warren ask Treasury to pause IRS transition to ID.me</a> - U.S. Senate)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">An industry group that represents companies that helps military families move is urging the Defense Department to revise a number of proposed rules governing the department’s moving program. Movers for America said one of the group’s biggest concerns is the ability of small businesses to meet the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level 2 compliance requirements. The group warns the rule will force a significant number of moving companies to leave the military market. There is also new language in the proposed rules that prohibits service members from sponsoring or escorting moving companies onto military installations. 

-- Anastasia Obis<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-news/2026/10/industry-pushes-back-on-dods-proposed-rules-for-moving-program/">Industry pushes back on DoD's proposed rules for moving program</a> - Federal News Network)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">Democratic leaders on two House committees are calling on the State Department's inspector general to investigate the agency's personnel practices and whether it is requiring a partisan loyalty test for Foreign Service Officers. Congressmen Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Robert Garcia (D-CA), the ranking member of Oversight and Reform Committee, say in a new letter to the IG that, if true, these practices violate federal law and department regulations. The letter comes after the Washington Sun reported career diplomats seeking mid- and senior-level assignments had been asked whether they voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 elections. 

-- Jason Miller
<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://mcusercontent.com/e711646c72c197262ff8d3d32/files/1b781aaa-b5ab-7dc0-5716-075908c39d54/Meeks_Garcia_OIG_Letter_Partisanship_and_Assignments_85_.pdf">Two top Democrats call on State IG to investigate reports of partisan loyalty tests</a> - House Foreign Affairs Committee)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">Air Force and Space Force civilians will soon be able to apply for the department's highly competitive civilian development programs. But there is a major change in how the department reviews and accepts applications. This year, the Air Force Personnel Center Civilian Development team will not allow applicants to resubmit their nomination packages that were returned for missing documentation or administrative errors. The application window for these programs opens on January 6. 

-- Anastasia Obis<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://www.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4635320/civilian-development-application-changes-academic-year-2028/">Air Force tightens application rules for civilian development programs </a> - U.S. Air Force)</div></li><p></p></ul>
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OPM looks to recruit the next generation of federal employees

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<ul><li style="margin-top:20px;">Early-career workers looking to join public service have some upcoming opportunities. The Office of Personnel Management is hosting a hiring fair today, targeted at recruitment of employees under 30 years old. At the event, candidates will have the opportunity to interview for a role, with the potential to receive an initial job offer. It’s the first recruitment event in a planned series, OPM said. For fiscal 2027, the Trump administration has set a governmentwide target of making 33% of all new hires early-career talent. 

-- Drew Friedman<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USOPM/bulletins/430c3cb">Hiring fair for early-career employees</a> - Office of Personnel Management)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">The Trump administration has moved forward with overhauling agencies’ reporting requirements on human capital management. A final rule from the Office of Personnel Management this week officially replaces traditional human capital reviews and operating plans. Instead, agencies will have to use a different framework centered on the Trump administration’s annual staffing plans and reviews. OPM said the change is meant to streamline workforce planning, while aligning agencies’ strategic human capital goals with administration priorities. 

-- Drew Friedman<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-22093.pdf">Final rule on strategic human capital management</a> - Office of Personnel Management)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">A new bill would let citizens update their change of address once across all agencies. The Tell Government Once Act would require the General Services Administration to streamline how citizens notify federal agencies about a change of address. GSA would create a voluntary form on Login.gov for users to complete indicating which agencies to share the change of address with. The form would not store the address change and would not share with agencies not approved by the user. Reps. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) and Congresswoman Young Kim (D-Calif.), who introduced the bill, say it won't create any new databases or require any additional funding. 

-- Silvia Oakland<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://subramanyam.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-suhas-subramanyam-and-rep-young-kim-introduces-tell-government-once-act">New bill aims to streamline change of address across federal agencies</a> - Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.))</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">The State Department is being sued over not paying its construction bills. BL Harbert International has filed suit in the Court of Federal Claims to recover more than $450 million from the State Department in unpaid construction costs. The Birmingham, Alabama, company said despite repeated attempts, State has failed to pay it for12 embassy and consulate projects in places including Mexico, Guatemala, Turkey and Thailand. In its lawsuit, BL Harbaret said the government has now taken possession of each of those projects and has been actively utilizing some of them for more than three years without paying the extra costs it incurred. 

-- Jason Miller<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(Construction company sues State for $450M over unpaid bills - BL Harbert )</div></li><p></p>

<li style="margin-top:20px;">The Office of the National Cyber Director is expanding its critical infrastructure cybersecurity pilots. This week, ONCD launched Project Lifeline 250, a six-month pilot to strengthen cybersecurity across rural hospitals in South Carolina. The effort builds on the Project Watershed 250 effort in Texas, an initiative announced this summer to strengthen water sector cybersecurity. Both pilots are aimed at evaluating cybersecurity solutions that can be scaled to protect infrastructure across the country. 
-- Justin Doubleday 
<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://governor.sc.gov/news/2026-10/gov-mcmaster-white-house-national-cyber-director-cairncross-launch-project-lifeline">Project Lifeline 250</a> - South Carolina Governor’s office)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">The Department of Homeland Security has banned a Swiss company’s products from government IT systems. DHS has ordered agencies to steer clear of products and services from Switzerland-based cybersecurity company Acronis. The removal and exclusion order was signed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in July, but released publicly this week. Acronis provides cybersecurity services to companies across the world. But Mullin’s order points to the privileged access that Acronis’s products provide to customer cybersecurity systems, arguing they present a significant risk to U.S. government IT systems. The intelligence community had already banned Acronis from highly classified systems last year. 

-- Justin Doubleday<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/cybersecurity/2026/10/dhs-bans-swiss-cyber-firm-from-federal-systems/">DHS bans Swiss cyber firm from federal systems</a> - Federal News Network)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">The Federal Communications Commission is ramping back up its cybersecurity assurance program for Internet of Things (IoT) and connected devices. The revitalized U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program is now being led by FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty. Trusty will help coordinate efforts to put the program into practice, engage with stakeholders and make the label useful and understandable for Americans shopping for connected devices. The FCC initially launched the Cyber Trust Mark program in 2023 with the goal of creating a voluntary process for companies to submit their internet devices to third-party assessors who will evaluate the products to determine if they meet more rigorous cybersecurity standards to earn a Cyber Trust Mark label.   

-- Jason Miller

<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/carr-announces-trusty-will-lead-us-cyber-trust-mark-program">FCC names Trusty to lead revitalized U.S.. Cyber Trust Mark program</a> - Federal Communications Commission)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">The National Institute of Standards and Technology said agencies can expect new resources to help navigate the transition to post-quantum cryptography. NIST officials say the Quantum Readiness Task Force will release white papers to help guide conversations with third-party providers and suppliers. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said agencies need to continue identifying high-value assets and move quickly if they're going to meet migration deadlines. CISA and NIST officials will continue to look at industry partners to help guide how to accelerate the migration process. 

-- Silvia Oakland<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/">NIST says new PQC resources are on the horizon</a> - Federal News Network)</div></li><p></p></ul>
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Federal workforce cuts linked to lower satisfaction scores across government services

Government efficiency starts before the work begins

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<p>Government has spent decades improving how administrative work is processed. Agencies have invested in technology, systems and processes designed to make existing work faster, more efficient and less expensive.</p>
<p>But there is another question worth asking: Does the work need to enter the organization at all?</p>
<p>This is the concept of administratively unnecessary work (AUW): work that consumes government resources but could have been prevented before entering normal government workflows.</p>
<p>The goal is not to process AUW more efficiently. The goal is to prevent it from entering government workflows in the first place.</p>

<p>The State Department challenged business as usual. Using reported reductions in commercial mail volume at the State Department and applying estimated costs based on Postal Service estimates and conservative shipping costs, analysis estimates more than $5 million in operational savings.</p>
<p>The Diplomatic Pouch and Mail Division implemented an approach to identify non-mission-critical commercial mail at two operational sites (SA-32 and HST). SA-32 handles mail destined for embassies and consulates around the world. HST, the main office downtown, handles mail for domestic offices in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>Both operations analyzed the mail entering their facilities and determined that a significant portion of non-mission-critical mail was AUW. Based on that determination, the sites worked with Waste-Free Mail (WFM), which enabled the State Department to communicate directly with the vendors producing the material and request that it be stopped at the source. This prevented unwanted commercial mail destined for embassies, consulates and D.C. buildings from ever being created.</p>
<p>I worked with the State Department offices at SA-32 and HST and the director of logistics throughout the implementation and evaluation. The State Department continues to use this approach to reduce unwanted commercial mail. In a little over two years, 1.41 million commercial mail pieces have been eliminated across the SA-32 and HST operations. The Logistics Department monitors and tracks mail-volume data, allowing the operational and sustainability impact to be measured and reported. The resulting data showed that reducing unwanted mail at the source reduces the downstream resources required for mail staff and office administrator handling, storage space, machine usage and disposal associated with AUW.</p>
<p>The significance is not simply the amount saved. The approach is fundamentally different from traditional mail management: Rather than making the processing of unwanted mail more efficient, it enables agencies to prevent AUW before government resources are committed to receiving, handling, distributing, storing and disposing of it.</p>
<p>The technology used at the State Department has also been tested during pilot programs at five U.S. Air Force installations: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Keesler Air Force Base, Maxwell Air Force Base, Sheppard Air Force Base and Patrick Space Force Base. All five installations achieved mail volume reductions, with documented reductions ranging up to 70%. WFM worked with the participating mail operations through the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC), San Antonio, Texas, during the pilots to evaluate the technology’s ability to reduce unwanted commercial mail entering the installations. These results suggest that the issue deserves to be considered more broadly than as a mail management problem.</p>
<h3><strong>The cost of unnecessary work</strong></h3>
<p>When unnecessary work enters a federal organization, it can create a chain of activities that require people, space and infrastructure.</p>

<p>In this case, employees receive, sort, distribute, process, store, potentially reship and eventually dispose of materials that never needed to enter the organization in the first place.</p>
<p>Although each task may appear small, collectively these activities consume government resources — and ultimately taxpayers pay for them.</p>
<p>This raises a broader question about how government defines efficiency.</p>
<p>If an agency becomes very efficient at processing unnecessary work, has it actually eliminated the underlying cost?</p>
<p>Or has it simply become better at processing something that should never have entered the agency?</p>
<p>The decision is not simply whether to process the work more efficiently. The question is whether the work should enter the government at all.</p>
<h3><strong>Why does AUW exist?</strong></h3>
<p>AUW often exists because the organization responsible for performing the work may not have the authority, incentive or visibility to eliminate it.</p>
<p>The people processing the work are typically measured on how efficiently they perform their assigned responsibilities — not on whether the work should exist in the first place. As a result, organizations can become highly efficient at processing work that may provide little or no value to the government.</p>
<p>When an efficiency opportunity affects employees, administrative personnel, operations, storage, facilities and disposal, it should be viewed as a government efficiency issue, rather than solely as the responsibility of the organization that processes the work.</p>

<p>The decision to eliminate that work often requires executive leadership because the benefits and consequences extend beyond any single organization.</p>
<h3><strong>Technology changes the game</strong></h3>
<p>Today, technology makes it possible to identify and prevent AUW before government resources are committed.</p>
<p>The objective is straightforward: Stop unnecessary work at the source rather than making government more efficient at handling it.</p>
<h3><strong>The big, audacious question </strong></h3>
<p>How much AUW is entering the federal government today, and how much of it could be prevented?</p>
<p>The federal government should conduct a governmentwide evaluation to determine whether preventing AUW should become a federal operational efficiency initiative.</p>
<p>The objective would be to identify work that consumes government resources but could be prevented before entering normal government workflows.</p>
<p>Such an evaluation is different from simply looking for cuts. It would first determine whether the work provides sufficient value to justify the government resources required to receive, process, store or dispose of it — and then ask whether that work could be prevented at its source.</p>
<p>This approach shifts the focus from simply doing work better to determining whether the work needs to be done at all.</p>
<p>Let’s determine what work does not need to be done at all — and prevent it before government resources are committed.</p>
<p><em>Michael Sanders is president of Intra-Mail Network and developer of the Waste-Free Mail app.</em></p>
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SSA ‘corrects’ millions of Social Security Number database files

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<p>The Social Security Administration has used internal and external data to correct nearly 15% of all active Social Security Numbers across 330 million U.S. citizens and nearly 390 million total records, according to a <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/news/en/press/releases/2026-10-20.html" target="_blank">press release</a> from last Tuesday. </p><p>The agency says updates to its SSN databases reflect its commitment to protecting Americans’ identity, preventing fraud and preserving proper program administration.</p><p>“The Social Security Number database is our country’s books and records. The database’s accuracy is essential to maintaining integrity of government services for citizens,” SSA Commissioner Frank Bisignano said in the release.</p><p>The agency says the SSN cleanup effort has added 17 million death dates to records that previously lacked them by using internal SSA and State Department data.</p><p>SSA says it has updated roughly 25 million records missing citizenship information by using the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements — or SAVE — services. The agency is currently working on correcting another 8.5 million records with inaccurate immigration status.</p><p>“This is the first time SSA has undertaken an effort of this scale, and I am proud of the work we have done to strengthen the foundation of identity data relied upon throughout government and the economy,” Bisignano said.</p><p>The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, an independent nonprofit, raised concerns about SSA’s push to clean SSN data in <a href="https://www.ncpssm.org/entitledtoknow/ssa-is-fixing-social-security-data-that-worries-us/" target="_blank">an Oct. 23 blog post</a>.</p><p>The group warned that the SAVE database is “incomplete and prone to errors,” pointing to instances where the system has <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2026/09/25/voter-database-supreme-court/" target="_blank">mistakenly flagged</a> U.S. citizens as non-citizens. </p><p>“Now, some of the SAVE inaccuracies will be transferred into SSA’s files, doubling down on the use of inaccurate data and making it even more difficult to find an uncorrupted file to check data against,” Max Richtman, the committee’s president and CEO, said in the post.</p><p>The group also argued that the Trump administration could not be trusted with updating SSA data because of past alleged misuse, such as intentionally <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/us/politics/migrants-deport-social-security-doge.html" target="_blank">including living people</a> in a database of dead people and a former Department of Government Efficiency employee <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/10/social-security-data-breach-doge-2/" target="_blank">uploading sensitive information</a> into a thumb drive.</p><p>An SSA spokesperson referred to the agency’s release when asked for comment on the SSN corrections.</p></div></div>
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Details emerge on revisions to paid administrative leave regulations

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<ul><li style="margin-top:20px;">More details are emerging on the Trump administration’s revisions to paid administrative leave. Agencies’ ability to pay employees not to work during workforce reduction efforts has been formalized. Paid leave will also be allowed during reduction-in-force notice periods, the Office of Personnel Management said. OPM’s latest guidance comes after it finalized regulations to conform with the rules for the deferred resignation program. OPM is expected to soon update other online resources to reflect the new regulations. 

-- Drew Friedman<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://www.opm.gov/chcoc/latest-memos/revised-administrative-leave-regulations.pdf">Revised administrative leave regulations</a> - Office of Personnel Management)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">The White House is following a court's order when it comes to reduction-in-force policies. The Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management have formally rescinded two memos calling for reductions in force during shutdowns. The Trump administration agreed to terminate the two memos as part of its settlement in September to end a lawsuit by a coalition of federal employee unions including the American Federation of Government Employees, National Federation of Federal Employees and National Treasury Employees Union. Along with the removing the two memos, the Trump administration agreed to rescind every RIF notice issued during the 2026 shutdown and reinstate employees with back pay from the State Department, General Services Administration and Small Business Administration. Additionally, agencies must remove from their shutdown contingency plans any language authorizing RIFs, or RIF work, during a lapse in appropriations, unless a statute expressly permits it.
 
-- Jason Miller<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/M-27-01-Status-of-Documents-Addressing-RIFs-During-a-Lapse.pdf">OMB rescinds memo allowing RIFs during shutdowns</a> - Office of Management and Budget)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">A new strategy from the Agriculture Department is directing agencies to identify ways to expand access to American seafood across procurement programs. The strategy instructs agencies to identify and eliminate all procurement and administrative barriers that prevent American processors from competing for federal food procurement contracts. Another part of the strategy calls on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, Customs and Border Protection and USDA to establish a joint interagency task force. The group will address foreign seafood imports that enter the country through mislabeling or country-of-origin fraud. 

-- Silvia Oakland<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/america-first-seafood-strategy.pdf">America First Seafood Strategy</a> - Agriculture Department)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">So-called “TSP millionaires” finished fiscal 2026 strong. More than 224,000 Thrift Savings Plan participants closed out the fiscal year with an account balance above $1 million. It’s just below the record for the number of TSP millionaires, which was reached in the third quarter of fiscal 2026. On average, TSP millionaires have been contributing to their accounts for about 27 years.

-- Drew Friedman<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/FRTIB-FY26Q4-Account-Balance-Report.pdf">Account balance report, fiscal 2026, quarter 4</a> - Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board)</div></li><p></p>

<li style="margin-top:20px;">The Army’s platform that allows vendors to get their software reviewed, accredited and deployed into Army environments more quickly is now live. Project Gatekeeper gives vendors the ability to provide their software and receive real-time feedback on vulnerabilities, compliance issues and other risks before bringing it onto the Army’s secure networks. Companies will need their Common Access Cards to log in until the Army completes its Login.gov integration. 

-- Anastasia Obis<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://gatekeeper.dso.army.mil/">Army’s platform that speeds up software approvals is now live</a> - U.S. Army)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">The Army's Strategic Capital Initiative is still going full bore despite being launched by former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. Marc Andersen, who manages Army finances, said the initiative, which aims to attract industry to co-invest in the service’s infrastructure, is “not slowing down” under new leadership. In fact, the service plans to expand the program across its installations over the next three to five years. Andersen said industry should anticipate another round of requests for information soon. Driscoll resigned as secretary in September. 

-- Anastasia Obis<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://federalnewsnetwork.com/army/2026/10/armys-strategic-capital-initiative-is-not-slowing-down-under-new-leadership/">Army’s Strategic Capital Initiative is ‘not slowing down’ under new leadership</a> - Federal News Network)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking feedback on a high-level cybersecurity handbook for public- and private-sector leaders. The initial public draft of the Information Security Handbook: A Guide for Executive Leadership, or SP 800-100, is restructured to align more with NIST's Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 and other related frameworks. The draft includes risk management fundamentals and continuous monitoring strategies. SP 800-100 was last updated in 2006, and in 2024 NIST put out a call for pre-draft comments. The public comment review period is open until Dec. 4.     

-- Silvia Oakland<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/100/r1/ipd">NIST seeks feedback on cybersecurity</a> - National Institute of Standards and Technology)</div></li><p></p><li style="margin-top:20px;">General Dynamics Information Technology, or GDIT, has a new president. Amy Johnson takes over the top spot starting Nov. 3. She replaces Amy Gilliland, who left earlier this month after 17 years in the role. Johnson comes to GDIT after spending 27 years with General Dynamics Mission Systems, where she held senior roles in engineering, engineering management and business leadership across cybersecurity, defense electronics, space and intelligence systems. Most recently, Johnson was vice president and general manager for space, cyber and intelligence for the past two-plus years. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science and computer systems engineering. 

-- Jason Miller<div style="display:block; font-style: italic;">(<a href="https://www.gd.com/Articles/2026/10/23/amy-johnson-appointed-president-of-gdit">GDIT makes quick work of naming a new president</a> - GDIT)</div></li><p></p></ul>
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                            © 2026 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.</em>
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These former feds could be members of Congress next year

The Department of State is the executive department that advises the President on foreign policy and conducts the diplomatic relations of the United States. It operates embassies and consulates abroad, negotiates treaties and international agreements, issues passports and visas, and represents the country in international organizations. Headed by the Secretary of State, it originated as the Department of Foreign Affairs by the Act of July 27, 1789, and was renamed the Department of State the same year (22 U.S.C. 2651).

Department of State

Marco Rubio

Issues U.S. passports, adjudicates visa applications at embassies and consulates abroad, and helps Americans in trouble overseas through arrests, deaths and evacuations. It also determines and documents claims to U.S. citizenship for people born abroad.

Bureau of Consular Affairs

Mora Namdar

Conducts U.S. diplomacy on cyber and digital issues: negotiating with other governments on cybersecurity, internet governance, data flows and technology standards, and building partner capacity against cyber threats. The State Department's own internal cybersecurity sits instead with the Bureau of Diplomatic Technology.

Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy

Adam Cassady

Tracks human rights conditions in every country and writes the annual human rights reports Congress requires before U.S. security assistance decisions. It also runs U.S. programs supporting democratic institutions, labor rights and civil society abroad.

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Riley M. Barnes

Protects U.S. personnel, facilities and information at diplomatic missions abroad and at State Department buildings at home, guards the Secretary of State and visiting foreign officials, and supervises the Marine Security Guard program. It also protects foreign missions and diplomats in the United States.

Bureau of Diplomatic Security

Todd Wilcox

Runs the U.S. government's international exchange programs - Fulbright scholarships, the International Visitor Leadership Program, and youth and professional exchanges - bringing foreign participants here and sending Americans abroad. It carries on the exchange work of the U.S. Information Agency, folded into State in 1999.

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Catherine Dillon

Runs U.S. counternarcotics and criminal justice assistance abroad: training and equipping foreign police, prosecutors, courts and prison systems, and funding programs against drug production, trafficking and transnational crime. It is the State Department's aid channel, not an operational law enforcement agency like DEA or FBI.

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Frank Cartwright Weiland

Develops and carries out U.S. policy at the United Nations and in other multilateral organizations, and directs the U.S. diplomatic missions to them. It is the State Department's bureau for multilateral institutions; relations with individual countries belong to the regional bureaus.

Bureau of International Organization Affairs

McCoy Pitt

Sets U.S. refugee admissions policy and manages the overseas processing, transportation and initial resettlement of refugees admitted to the United States. It is also the State Department's humanitarian focal point, funding and overseeing the international organizations that assist refugees and displaced people abroad.

Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration

Andrew Veprek

The national electorate of the United States; elects the President and Vice President through the Electoral College.

People of the United States

Trains American diplomats and other federal employees who work on foreign affairs, running language instruction, area studies, consular and tradecraft courses and preparing officers and their families for overseas posts. It is the State Department's school, formally the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center.

Foreign Service Institute

Director of the Foreign Service Institute

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government and holds the executive power of the federal government under Article II of the Constitution. Elected to a four-year term through the Electoral College, the President serves as commander in chief of the armed forces, executes federal law, makes treaties and nominations subject to Senate action, and may veto legislation passed by Congress.

President of the United States

Donald J. Trump

Secretary of State, the institutional head of Department of State. Appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, under Act of July 27, 1789 (Department of Foreign Affairs), renamed by Act of September 15, 1789; 22 U.S.C. 2651; directs the agency's staff, budget, and statutory functions.

Secretary of State

One graph entry standing in for 5 parallel organizations: Bureau of Administration; Bureau of Diplomatic Technology; Bureau of Human Resources; Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; Office of Medical Services (State). Each has its own page, reachable from the connections below.

Management Bureaus (5)

One graph entry standing in for 6 parallel organizations: Bureau of African Affairs; Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs; Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs; Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs; Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. Each has its own page, reachable from the connections below.

Regional Bureaus (6)

The Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, established by Article I of the Constitution. It is composed of 100 members, two from each state, elected to staggered six-year terms. The Senate shares legislative power with the House of Representatives and additionally holds the sole power to give advice and consent to treaties and to presidential nominations and to try impeachments. The Vice President serves as its presiding officer.