HHS Employees Sort Out Return-to-Office Mandate

This is a MedPage Today story. Employees at HHS and its various sub-agencies are struggling to figure out how to implement President Donald Trump's executive order requiring them to report in-person to their work sites full-time, and how the changes will affect them. An Early Executive Order The in-person work requirement was outlined in an executive order signed by President Trump on January 20, his first day in office. The two-paragraph order stated that "Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary." The order was further explained in a January 27 memo to agency heads from both the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)....

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RFK Jr. says he has 'generic list' of HHS staffers who 'should move out'

Newly confirmed Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he has a "generic list" of people he wants removed from his department. "I have a list in my head ... we have a ...
The Hill - 4d
Trump Tests Legal Limits in Pushing out Federal Employees

President Trump and Elon Musk, who is leading the administration’s downsizing efforts, are pushing for quick and widespread layoffs. But the blitz has run into a complicated set of restrictions.
The New York Times - 5d
This New Algorithm for Sorting Books or Files Is Close to Perfection

The library sorting problem is used across computer science for organizing far more than just books. A new solution is less than a page-width away from the theoretical ideal.
Wired - 2d
Return-to-office mandates cause logistics chaos

Workers complain of pressures on desk space and parking as employers demand they quit working from home
Financial Times - 4d
Trump order targets COVID vaccine mandates in schools

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday to halt federal funding for any schools and universities that require students to have COVID-19 vaccinations, though no state has such a mandate. ...
CBS News - 4d
A Mandate for Boston’s Suburbs: Make Room for More Apartments

The state required 177 cities and towns served by public transit to loosen their zoning rules so that more multifamily housing can be built. A number of them resisted.
The New York Times - 2d
Murkowski backs Kennedy for HHS secretary despite 'concerns'

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced she will support Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bid to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) despite having “concerns” about his views on vaccines ...
The Hill - 6d
RFK Jr. on track for confirmation as HHS secretary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to have cinched the votes he needs to be confirmed as secretary of Health and Human Services. CBS News congressional reporter Taurean Small has more.
CBS News - 5d
VA cutting 1,000 employees

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has dismissed more than 1,000 new employees as part of a wave of federal government layoffs that began this week, sparking concerns the firings could impact ...
The Hill - 4d
Trump slams Biden over paper straws, declares mandate ‘is dead’

President Trump in an early Saturday post slammed former President Biden over what he called the previous administration's mandate against plastic straws. "Crooked Joe’s MANDATE, 'NO PLASTIC ...
The Hill - Feb. 8
UK must respect Trump's mandate, new US ambassador tells BBC

In his first day on the job, Lord Peter Mandelson says "we have to respect and understand what drives" the US president.
BBC News - Feb. 10
Respect Trump’s mandate and handle disputes ‘directly and privately’, says Mandelson

UK ambassador to Washington says Britain has a strong relationship with US and can influence president. Britain must respect Donald Trump’s “strong and clear mandate for change”, Peter Mandelson ...
The Guardian - Feb. 11
Trump bars federal funding for schools with COVID vaccine mandates

No states mandate that students receive the COVID-19 vaccine, though other vaccine requirements remain in place.
CBS News - 4d
Trump bars federal funds for schools with COVID vaccine mandates

President Trump signed an executive order Friday calling for withholding federal funds for schools and universities that impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, though no states currently have such a ...
CBS News - 4d
Trump bars federal funding for schools with COVID-19 mandates

Presented by American Medical Association — President Trump signed an executive order Friday stripping funding from schools and other educational organizations that require students and staff to be ...
The Hill - 4d
Trump bars federal funding to schools with COVID vaccine mandates

The executive order applies to students and not to teachers or staff.
ABC News - 4d
HHS Has Many Health Equity Offices. What Will Become of Them?

This is a MedPage Today story. Of five major HHS agency offices focused on health equity, only one has taken down its website amid President Trump's executive orders to end federal government ...
ABC News - Feb. 9
Here's What RFK Jr. Can and Can't Do if Confirmed as HHS Chief

This is a MedPage Today story. President Trump said he would take health agencies in a new direction on the campaign trail and has chosen some controversial nominees to help him achieve his goal, ...
ABC News - Feb. 9
Judge orders HHS, CDC, FDA to restore deleted webpages with health information

The NGO Doctors for America argued that HHS, CDC and FDA violated federal law in removing medical information from public-facing websites.
CBS News - Feb. 11
Senate tees up final vote on RFK Jr. to lead HHS

The Senate voted along party lines Wednesday to end debate on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a key step that puts him on the precipice ...
The Hill - 6d
Senate voting on RFK Jr.'s confirmation as HHS secretary

RFK Jr. faced weeks of questions regarding the longtime anti-vaccine activist's ability to be confirmed to the nation's top health care post.
CBS News - 5d
Watch live: Senate votes on RFK Jr. to lead HHS

Senators will take to the floor Thursday morning to vote on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy’s confirmation would put the ...
The Hill - 5d
RFK Jr. poised to become HHS secretary after clearing key hurdle

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is poised to become the next secretary of Health and Human Services after his nomination cleared a key hurdle on Capitol Hill. NBC’s Ryan Nobles reports for TODAY.
NBC News - 5d
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. confirmed as HHS secretary in 52-48 vote

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will likely be sworn in Thursday afternoon as the new secretary of Health and Human Services after being confirmed by the Senate in a 52-48 vote. CBS News congressional ...
CBS News - 5d
As HHS secretary, DOGE and Trump may pose biggest hurdles for RFK Jr.

Now that he’s got the job, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may struggle to navigate his new position as secretary of Health and Human Services as the agency contends with potential job cuts.
NBC News - 5d
Watch: RFK Jr. sworn in to lead HHS under Trump

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn Thursday afternoon as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services during a ceremony at the White House. Kennedy was confirmed by the Senate to lead ...
The Hill - 5d
How RFK Jr. achieved his HHS confirmation after vaccine controversy

The Senate confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday. He faced questions over his past remarks on the efficacy of vaccines during his confirmation ...
CBS News - 4d
Five pressing questions as RFK Jr. takes HHS reins

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent decades as an outsider railing against federal health authorities. His entire Make America Healthy Again movement is based largely on undermining the scientific and ...
The Hill - 1d
CFPB terminates dozens of employees: Reports

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) fired dozens of employees late Tuesday, according to media reports. The agency sent termination notices to about 70 probationary employees, Reuters ...
The Hill - 6d
NOAA Employees Told to Pause Work With ‘Foreign Nationals’

An internal email obtained by WIRED shows that NOAA workers received orders to pause “ALL INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENTS.”
Wired - Feb. 6
Ex-employees say Musk ally was a 'hatchet man'

Tom Krause, an Elon Musk ally hired to overhaul the Treasury Department, has a lengthy record of hardline reforms in the private sector, according to some ex-employees.
ABC News - Feb. 11
Federal employees deserve respect — not Elon Musk

In the name of “efficiency,” the Trump administration is waging a cruel war on federal employees, who now live in chaos and fear.
The Hill - Feb. 11
My Employee’s Girlfriend Visits Him Every Day

… And two other tricky workplace dilemmas.
Inc. - 6d
Judge Allows Trump to Proceed With Government Employee Buyout

As of last week, about 65,000 federal employees had signed up for the buyouts.
Inc. - 6d
Purge of government employees underway at FBI and other agencies

CBS News Department of Justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane reports on the ongoing dismissals of FBI agents and other federal workers, as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi's Wednesday ...
CBS News - 5d
Federal employee layoffs begin at Department of Education

President Trump has said of the Education Department that he'd "like it to be closed immediately."
CBS News - 5d
FIFA suspends employee for alleged underage sex

FIFA has suspended an employee after he was reportedly arrested on suspicion of having sex with an underage boy while on a work trip in Miami.
ESPN - 5d
DOGE software approval alarms Labor Department employees

Elon Musk’s DOGE received approval from the Department of Labor to use software that could allow it to transfer vast amounts of data.
NBC News - 5d
Blue Origin Cuts 10% of Its Employees

In an email to employees, the company’s chief executive said the company had become bloated during its growth in recent years.
The New York Times - 5d