DoD launches a department-wide review of the military legal system
13/05/2026 | 6 mins.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has launched a department-wide review of “all aspects of the military legal system.” Hegseth directed the Pentagon’s general counsel to evaluate legal programs across the services, compare them with one another and benchmark them against the Justice Department and criminal justice systems. Hegseth said the review “will result in recommendations to cut bureaucracy and make legal professionals more effective.” The announcement comes after Hegseth launched what he described as a “ruthless” review of how the military’s legal offices are organized as part of his campaign to move from what he calls “tepid legality” to “maximum lethality.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Veterans Affairs approves nearly $600 million in infrastructure improvements
12/05/2026 | 6 mins.
The Department of Veterans Affairs approved nearly $600 million in infrastructure improvements during the second quarter of this fiscal year. That’s just part of the nearly $5 billion the VA is spending on non-recurring maintenance this year. The spending is going toward updating infrastructure systems in medical facilities and building upgrades for elevators, electrical systems and boiler plants. The funding is also going toward preparing VA medical facilities for the rollout of a new Electronic Health Record system. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Federal government employment continues to decline
11/05/2026 | 6 mins.
Despite some hiring occurring across agencies, overall employment in the federal government is continuing to decline. That's according to the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS reports that in April, federal employment numbers decreased by another 9,000 jobs. Since peaking in October 2024, the federal sector's numbers are now down by 11.5% or 348,000 jobs.
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Nearly 12, 000 retirement claims enter OPM’s system in April
08/05/2026 | 6 mins.
Nearly 12,000 new retirement claims entered the Office of Personnel Management’s systems last month. Coupled with OPM’s processing of about 17,000 retirement applications, the agency managed to reduce its inventory by several thousand claims. April was the first time OPM’s retirement backlog has dipped below 50,000 claims in more than five months. Currently, digital retirement claims are also being processed in about two-thirds the time of traditional paper applications. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Federal workers’ compensation is getting an overhaul
07/05/2026 | 6 mins.
Federal workers’ compensation is getting an overhaul from the Trump administration. The Labor Department says it’s expanding the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act to cover more types of beneficiaries and compensation programs. That includes claimants under the Black Lung Benefits Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. Labor Department leadership says the goal is to improve drug pricing transparency, as well as promote cost savings. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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