• Thousands of federal employees who left the government via the deferred resignation program have essentially been replaced. That's according to new data analysis from the Partnership for Public Service. The nonprofit found that the agency and occupational series for more than 20,000 employees who took the DRP can be matched to a position later filled in the same category. The turnover marks a loss of institutional knowledge and capacity, the Partnership said.
• The Federal Emergency Management Agency has a new top IT official. Steven McAndrews started as FEMA’s chief information officer this week. McAndrews joins FEMA after spending more than four years as deputy CIO at the National Nuclear Security Administration. McAndrews has also previously served at the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Homeland Security and the Census Bureau. In a LinkedIn post, McAndrews said he’s “thrilled at the opportunity to drive innovation for the systems our nation needs during an emergency.”
• Employees of the Agriculture Department's Foreign Agriculture Service successfully challenged the Trump administration's return-to-office policies. A third-party arbitrator on Monday sustained the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees' grievance that USDA violated the employees' collective bargaining agreement and the Telework Enhancements Act when ending telework without negotiations. The arbitrator says USDA should restore telework for the affected employees and pay 80% of the case costs. This is the USDA's second loss before an arbitrator in the last week. Employees of the Rural Development Agency won their grievance last week over similar return-to-office policies. The Trump administration has now lost as many as 18 cases before third-party arbitrators.
• The Army has launched a central fiscal dashboard to get a better picture of the service's financial health. The Fiscal Frontline program combines transactions from older systems in one place in real time so commanders and financial analysts can track spending and find funding shortfalls more easily. That information can help leaders reallocate resources to address urgent operational needs as they arise. The Army said Monday the dashboard is also a "significant leap forward" for accountability as it heads into a major audit.
• The Army is ramping up efforts to secure its sprawling ecosystem of critical software and data by reassigning its central cloud management organization. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Monday directed the newly renamed Enterprise Cloud Management Activity to report to Army Cyber Command at Fort Gordon in Georgia. The organization previously operated under the service’s chief information officer. The move aims to strengthen the Army's "unified oversight of both cyber defense and cloud infrastructure," while also finding ways to reduce costs via cloud optimization and rolling out systems that can track military spending, among other projects.
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is putting a call out for innovative technologies to improve patient outcomes. CMS wants industry to submit ideas to address long-standing challenges across four areas of healthcare. Through its newly launched QualTech program, vendors will have the opportunity to demonstrate innovative technologies to CMS leadership and other experts. Challenge areas include emerging opportunities for AI to help protect patients and strengthen healthcare quality. Another area focuses on the use of AI in potentially increasing the number of Medicare beneficiaries who receive annual wellness visits. Initial ideas under this three-phased effort are due by Sept. 4, with finalists presenting their ideas to CMS leadership at an early November event.
• The Trump administration is facing a new lawsuit over its changes to suitability and performance standards for federal employees. Four federal unions argue that the Office of Personnel Management exceeded statutory authority and violated the intent of the Civil Service Reform Act when it issued its final regulations earlier this summer. Taken together, the unions say the overhauls will make it easier for OPM to fire employees while also limiting options for feds to challenge their removals.
• The Coast Guard is working to establish formal military career pathways in contracting and acquisition. The proposed move is part of Force Design 2028, with the goal of improving the speed, accountability and effectiveness of how the Coast Guard buys equipment and services. The new pathways for service members would align with the federal civilian GS-1102 contracting series. Over the next two years, the Coast Guard is planning to open transfer pathways for officers, enlisted and chief warrant officer tracks, service officials said.

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