Digital Government

SSA phone wait times longer than publicly reported metrics, per OIG report

The agency’s “average speed of answer” metric masks longer call wait times, according to data in a recent OIG report.

Digital Government

Agriculture focuses on SNAP fraud, while experts worry EBT theft will go unabated

“The most damaging form of fraud in SNAP is fraud where the low-income recipients are the victims, not the perpetrators,” a senior analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities argues.

Digital Government

NASA and Microsoft finalize tool to track Earth’s water changes

The space agency will host the Microsoft and OpenAI-powered Earth Copilot to make analyzing hydraulic data easier.

Digital Government

Warren, Sanders push Labor on plans to create a centralized unemployment ‘starting point’

The senators worry that the planned intake of applicant data at the Labor Department will create "grievous economic and privacy risks for millions of Americans.”

Digital Government

Trump signs law requiring the IRS to clean up adjustment notices

Lawmakers hope that clearer notices when the IRS makes simple math or clerical fixes on tax returns should cut down on headaches for taxpayers.

Digital Government

Social Security wants about 15 million fewer visits in its field offices

The new goal to cut the number of field office visits comes as the agency’s frontline locations have lost thousands of employees.

Digital Government

Interior announces digital park passes alongside new, ‘America-first’ fee structure

Congress instructed the government to roll out digital park passes by January 2026 in a law signed by former President Joe Biden just before he left office.

Digital Government

DOGE no longer has ‘centralized leadership’ under White House tech team, personnel head says

The team that was altered to house DOGE — formerly the U.S. Digital Service — is also still doing its own technology work across agencies.

Digital Government

Login.gov director departs for the private sector

Whoever officially leads the government’s identity proofing service next could impact how millions of Americans interact with the government online.

Digital Government

Satisfaction with government services rises, despite recent layoffs and turmoil

The Trump administration has touted some service delivery projects and launched a design initiative, but it has also fired and pushed out thousands of civil servants.

Digital Government

DHS expanding citizenship system for voter verification, despite concerns about potential disenfranchisement

Twenty-six states are in line to use a revamped DHS system to check their voter rolls for non-citizens, although the network has raised concerns about privacy and accuracy — including if it could kick eligible voters off the rolls.

Breaking News Digital Government

Government to reopen after House votes to end longest-ever shutdown

Many furloughed workers, who will receive backpay, were already told Wednesday to report to work the following day for the first time in nearly six weeks.

Digital Government

Nearly 20 Democratic states inadvertently share driver data with ICE, lawmakers say

Nlets, a nonprofit law enforcement info-sharing network, can share state residents’ information with immigration agencies, federal lawmakers said Wednesday.

Breaking News Digital Government

Senate moves shutdown-ending deal that would ensure backpay and unwind some federal layoffs

A bipartisan agreement to end the longest-ever government shutdown, would fund some agencies through fiscal 2026 and the rest through January, and guarantee backpay for furloughed workers.

Digital Government

IRS returns to relying on tax prep companies for free filing options without Direct File

A new report from the tax agency that was requested by congressional Republicans said that dropping Direct File “is in the best interests of American taxpayers and the IRS.”

Exclusive Digital Government

Direct File won’t happen in 2026, IRS tells states

The free service that allowed taxpayers to file online directly with the IRS was used by hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in 2024 and 2025, who gave it high marks — although tax prep companies and Republicans have sought its end.

Digital Government

CBP expands facial recognition for non-citizens at borders

U.S. citizens can opt out of the facial recognition process, which CBP intends to expand to all air, sea and land ports.

Digital Government

SBA probing 8(a) fraud allegations at tribal-owned contractor

ATI Government Solutions and the Susanville Indian Rancheria tribe are suspended from federal business activities pending the probe’s completion and findings.

Digital Government

House Dem demands furloughs end for nuclear security agency

Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., called on the Energy Secretary to end shutdown-related furloughs for roughly 1,400 personnel in the National Nuclear Security Administration that began this week.

Digital Government

Dueling plans to pay feds on-time fail in Senate, though a bipartisan path forward appears

Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., appeared to agree to negotiations Thursday afternoon on a plan to pay federal employees and potentially contractors amid the ongoing government shutdown.