• The federal retirement inventory has reached yet another new high. The Office of Personnel Management now has over 50,000 applications still awaiting a finalized annuity. The increase comes after more than 13,000 retirement applications entered OPM’s systems in December. It's taking OPM about 67 days to process a retirement case from start to finish. But OPM's numbers don’t include any retirement cases still pending with agencies. Some retirees report major delays in receiving their payments, months after separating from government.
  (Retirement inventory update - Office of Personnel Management)
• The U.S. DOGE Service is looking for new hires. The White House-based tech shop is looking to fill positions within its core team as well as roles that work directly with other agencies to support their digital services. USDS doesn’t have traditional position descriptions. It’s encouraging candidates who are experts in their fields to apply and that USDS officials will match them to a position that’s the right fit. USDS is looking for candidates with backgrounds in engineering, product design, procurement and more.
  (U.S. DOGE Service is hiring - US DOGE Service )
• The General Services Administration has kicked a Hampton Inn in Lakeville, Minnesota out of its FedRooms program. GSA removed the Hilton property from its lodging and travel systems after the hotel canceled rooms reserved for employees of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Hotels participating in the federal travel program agree to honor government rates and accommodate travelers conducting official business. GSA said the Hampton Inn's decision to deny service based solely on an individual agency affiliation is not aligned with federal standards. In 2025, there are over 11,000 FedRooms properties available in over 3,000 markets around the globe.
  (GSA takes quick action to remove hotel that cancelled ICE agents' reservations - General Services Administration)
• The Secret Service wants to hire thousands of new staff over the next two years. The Secret Service is aiming to hire 4,000 new officers and staff through 2028. That would swell the agency’s ranks to 10,000 total employees, including 6,800 law enforcement officers. The Secret Service has struggled to recruit and retain agents and officers in recent years amid an expanding, high-profile mission. To meet its goals, the agency said it’s streamlining the recruiting process through accelerated hiring events. And it’s also offering many retirement-eligible staff retention incentives to keep them around longer.
  (Secret Service touts hiring goals amid major law enforcement recruiting push - Federal News Network)
• The CIA has a new top lawyer. Josh Simmons has joined the spy agency as general counsel after being confirmed by the Senate late last month. Simmons previously served as principal deputy general counsel at the State Department. He also served stints as senior advisor and attorney advisor in State’s Office of the Legal Adviser. Simmons joined the CIA as the Trump administration faces persistent questions about the legality of its military actions in Venezuela and the Caribbean.
  (DCIA John Ratcliffe welcomes Josh Simmons as CIA general counsel - CIA)
• The Office of Federal Procurement Policy’s requests for new ways to improve federal acquisition regulations is closing soon. There are five days left for industry, agencies and others to comment on the next steps for improving the Federal Acquisition Regulations. OFPP's call for public comments closes on January 12. So far, OFPP has received 86 different ideas for how to continue to modernize and improve federal acquisition processes. These range from ensuring the “rule of two” remains in place for small businesses to expanding oral presentations and streamlined source selection beyond IT acquisitions to limiting the flow down requirements to small business subcontractors. Additionally, OFPP Administrator Kevin Rhodes held a series of roundtables last month with contractors, industry associations and others to gain their perspectives of the FAR overhaul.
  (86 comments so far on ways to further improve the FAR - Office of Federal Procurement Policy)
• Marines, civilians and industry experts will be able to test generative artificial intelligence tools against real-world challenges in early March at a now-rescheduled Marine Corps GenAI workshop. Originally scheduled for November, the service had to move the event due to a lapse in federal funding. The workshop will now take place March 9 through March 12 at Quantico, Virginia. Officials said the event will help the service identify high impact use cases for AI and develop the Marine Corps “North Star” to guide rapid AI integration. Participating commands are being asked to register Marines and civilians with “demonstrated expertise in AI and AI-related fields.”
  (Marine Corps schedules its generative AI workshop for March - MARADMIN message)
• Senators warn the IRS workforce may be stretched too thin in the upcoming tax filing season. The IRS lost about 25% of its workforce last year through voluntary separations and retirements. A recent watchdog report found these staffing cuts will make it more difficult for the IRS to detect fraud, process tax returns and provide tax help over the phone and in-person at its Taxpayer Assistance Centers. Seventeen senators asked top Treasury and IRS officials what steps they’re taking to assist taxpayers during this year’s filing season.
  (A huge test for the IRS.’ Senators warn shrinking workforce may hamper upcoming filing season - Federal News Network)
• The Army has launched a new platform designed to modernize how it manages soldiers’ training data. The Army Training Information System replaced the legacy Digital Training Management System. The platform gives soldiers and commanders real-time visibility into training records, unit metrics and training schedules. The system was built using agile software methodologies and developed with continuous feedback from soldiers at all echelons. Army officials said the platform is designed to reduce time spent on administrative tasks to give soldiers more time for actual training.
  (New Army platform modernizes soldiers’ training data - U.S. Army)

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