The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

When the Trump Administration terminated the work of USAID around the world, thousands of people were suddenly separated from their work and their communities. That unexpected termination was detrimental to their mental health. One country brought its own resources to help dislocated USAID employees deal with those challenges. Here to share more details of this important work is the Program Manager at StrongMinds in Uganda, Ms. Lucy Onen.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Agencies officially have more leeway to fire federal employees who recently started a new job. That's after the Office of Personnel Management finalized changes to the federal probationary period. OPM says its final rule sets expectations for a high performing Federal workforce, but some say the OPM rule focuses on the wrong reforms for probationary employees. Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman, got more from the Partnership for Public Services, Vice President of Government Affairs, Jenny Mattingly.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Cybercom was created in 2006, its commander was dual-hatted as the commander of the National Security Agency. The expectation then was that the two organizations would eventually be separated. But in a world of increasing cyber threats, some argue that the current situation works just fine. Here to make that case is the Chairman of the Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation (CITI) subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Don Bacon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Defense Department's fiscal 2026 budget request is down slightly from last year, but that's only part of the story. Pentagon officials decided to take a highly unusual approach this time and shift a portion of defense funding to the reconciliation bill that is still moving through Congress. Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis is reporting on this story.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton US Cybercommand is 15 years old--is it ready to stand on its own? Inside the battle for control of the Library of Congress Paying attention to the details of the latest Executive Order on CybersecuritySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The latest cybersecurity order sets some new standards and direction, but it also goes back and makes changes to Biden-era executive orders. If you didn't take a red pen to the previous versions, you might miss some of the important details. Fortunately, my next guest did do the markup. Here with a practical discussion of what these changes mean for government contractors is partner in the Governmental Practice in Shepherd Mullin's Washington, D.C. office, Townsend Bourne.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

President Trump's removal of the Librarian of Congress unsurprisingly provoked an immediate court challenge. Depending on the resolution of that case, there's much at stake for the legislative branch. Here with insights as to why it matters is Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Kevin Kosar.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

An IRS watchdog finds this year's tax filing season went smoothly despite recent staffing cuts, but it warns taxpayers may face challenges during next year's filing season. The IRS has lost more than a quarter of its employees under the Trump administration, and the agency also faces a lot more work if Congress passes the budget reconciliation bill. Federal News Network's Jory Heckman joins me with more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The National Counterintelligence and Security Center is a relatively new organization within government, but the nominee to lead the center wants to make the NCSC the nerve center for us counterintelligence activities. Here with more details on the organization and the nominee is Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As the Senate works through the reconciliation megabill, what's in and out matters a lot to federal workers. Here with an update on those negotiations and other congressional happenings is WTOP's capitol hill correspondent Mitchell Miller.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.