The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

A lot of the heavy lifting for the 2026 defense authorization bill wrapped up in the House last week. That Chamber's Armed Services Committee finished its annual marathon markup session with a 55-2 vote that sent the bill to the House floor. And there were at least a couple of surprises from the Republican controlled committee areas where the bill contradicts some significant Trump administration priorities as we continue our coverage of this year's NDAA process, Federal News Network's Jared Serbu has details on that aspect of the legislation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Trump administration has created a classification of political appointees called Schedule G. The new employment category will let agencies hire non career federal employees to work on the administration's policies. The White House says Schedule G will improve operations and efficiency, but some critics are wary of the executive order's broader implications Here with more is Federal News Network's Drew Friedman.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Department of State is trying to reorganize itself while also adopting the functions of USAID and evaluating all foreign assistance programs. Any one of those is a big project on its own. Taking them on simultaneously presents serious challenges. State's own Office of the Inspector General recently reported on how well the effort is going. Here with more details is the Acting Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Stat Arne Baker. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

More than two decades have passed since Congress last approved a recission request from a President. With last weeks' approval of $9 billion in funding clawbacks, the Director of OMB now says there will be more. Director Vought also said budgets should be "less bipartisan." What does this mean for agencies still trying to spend their 2025 funds? Here with insight on the implications of recissions is Bloomberg Government's deputy news director, Loren Duggan.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Staff of the Office of General Counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services report that they have been notified of a planned reduction of their regional offices from ten to six. That might not sound too surprising given all of the other workforce cuts happening across the government, but these folks are on the front lines of preventing waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, a high priority for the Trump Administration. Here with more details on this story is investigative producer with the Project on Government Oversight, Maren Machles. 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 Whether you're reorganizing a closet or a government agency, it's helpful to have a plan before you start Cutting back on the waste, fraud, and abuse watchdogs at HHS Are we entering a new era in federal budgeting?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

House Armed Services committee's version of the 2026 defense policy bill. Just like the Senate's bill, focuses heavily on reforming the Defense Department's slow acquisition process, it also continues the quality of life improvements that began last year in the defense bill federal news networks. Anastasia Obis is here with more details.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The White House is working on some big cybersecurity policy updates, new zero trust strategies, post quantum cryptography guidance and new security requirements for drones are all on tap for more details, Federal News Network's Justin Doubleday joins me now. 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 Congress is interested in expanding AI training for federal workers A retelling of a military tragedy you may have never heard ofSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A new bill in the House aims to expand federal workforce access to AI Training. But with AI coming in many different forms and functions depending on particular positions and missions, agencies may be asking "AI Training for what?" Here with some suggestions about how to prioritize training strategies is the Director of Emerging Security Trends at the SANS Institute, John Pescatore.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.