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We know these are challenging and unprecedented times for our members, most especially public servants working at the federal level. We also know that you are receiving a cascade of news every day—sometimes it feels like every minute—and trying to make sense of it all.

To help cut through some of the noise, ASPA is sending this e-digest, Federal Workforce in Turmoil, a curated selection of articles and commentaries with an eye toward sources that may not typically end up in your inbox. We hope to capture what you need to know for as long as you need to know it.

We encourage you to forward this digest to those in your network to be added to our distribution list.

Trump officially plans for civilian federal pay freeze in 2027

Drew Friedman, Federal News Network

August 28

The president is officially planning for a pay freeze on both base and locality pay for most civilian federal employees, citing fiscal responsibility and economic conditions.

Read More Here

Pushed out by the Trump administration, these ex-feds want to make agency firings simpler and fairer

Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive

August 27

In the midst of the Trump administration’s overhaul of the procedures for removing agency staffers, which critics contend is chipping away at federal employees’ due process rights, We the Doers issued a report on federal firing reform.

Read More Here

EEOC votes to propose new rule stripping feds of hearing rights, class action complaints

Erich Wagner, Government Executive

August 27

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission voted 2-1 to propose new regulations that would overhaul how federal workers may pursue workplace discrimination claims, removing employees’ right to request a hearing before an administrative judge and outright banning class action cases outside of federal court.

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DHS names DOGE staffer as next CIO

Justin Doubleday, Federal News Network

August 27

The Department of Homeland Security has turned to a Department of Government Efficiency team member as its next chief information officer.

Read More Here

The Censorship Machine: Silencing the National Security Workforce

Julia Curlee, Lawfare

August 26

A campaign of public retaliation and personal incentives has taught current and former public servants to stay silent.

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Agencies backfilled 20,600 employees who left government under the deferred resignation programs, analysis finds

Sean Michael Newhouse, Government Executive

August 25

As the Trump administration slashed the civil service last year by more than 300,000 employees, about 41% of the separations were a result of the deferred resignation program. Under the initiative, participating workers were generally placed on paid leave for several months through the end of September 2025 when their federal service officially ended.

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Senior officers advised Hegseth to keep civilian-protection program. He axed it anyway

Megan Rose and Hannah Allam, ProPublica via Defense One

August 25

Shortly after taking office last year, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth polled the nation’s top commanders about cutting a program designed to protect civilians during U.S. military operations. Every commander rebuffed the idea.

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Unions: OPM’s suitability and performance management overhauls assert ‘plenary’ authority over federal firing

Erich Wagner, Government Executive

August 25

A coalition of unions that represent roughly half of all civilian federal employees have sued the Trump administration, seeking to halt a pair of recent regulatory changes that erode federal workers’ civil service protections and instill unprecedented power in the government’s dedicated HR agency.

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Resources

Inside the Implementation of Schedule Policy/Career

Nick Bednar, Lawfare

June 5

According to Scott Kupor, 97 percent of the positions are at or above the GS-15 level, the highest grade on the General Schedule pay scale. The order also transfers some GS-13 and GS-14 employees, mostly those working within the Office of Management and Budget. This initial order transfers significantly fewer employees to Schedule Policy/Career than the 50,000 initially estimated.

Read More Here

Schedule P/C Fact Sheet

Produced by Rise Up, AFGE, Civil Service Strong and Partnership for Public Service

June 2026

Read More Here

Virtual Go Bag

American Foreign Service Association

AFSA strongly recommends working now to prepare a file with the following documents that pertain solely to you and emailing them to a personal email account.

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Civic Match

Connecting top public sector talent with essential local government jobs.

Read More Here

FormerGov.com

Former Gov is a platform to connect former government employees and military professionals with those who could benefit from their experience, knowledge, and insight. Search and find the expertise you seek.

Read More Here

FEEA Layoff Loans Program

From the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund

Read More Here

Maryland loan program for laid-off federal workers

Marylanders affected by federal layoffs this year can apply for an interest-free state loan to help them pay the bills in the short term.

Read More Here

Virginia Resources for Impacted Federal Workers

Resources for impacted workers listed here including unemployment insurance, job search options and more.

Read More Here

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