Federal Workforce

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Ranking Member of the Committee on Appropriations, Rep. Bobby Scott, Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Senator Richard Blumenthal, Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee Committee on Investigations, introduced the Fast Action for Lawful Compliance with Oversight Needs (FALCON) Act, a bicameral effort to reinforce the independence and authority of Inspectors General (IGs) across the federal government. This comes following efforts by President Trump to fire or demote 21 IGs across 22 offices since the beginning of his second term, agency efforts to interfere in the independence of federal IGs, and the more recent attacks by his Administration to illegally withhold funding from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, stifling oversight across the federal government.

Washington, D.C. — Today, 21 Democratic Ranking Members of House Committees, led by Ranking Member Robert Garcia of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, wrote to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director – and Project 2025 Architect – Russell Vought demanding an immediate end to the Trump Administration’s unlawful reductions in force (RIFs) being carried out during the ongoing government shutdown. The letter follows a recent federal court ruling which temporarily blocked the mass terminations and raised serious legal concerns about their motivation and execution.

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the Committee on the Judiciary, demanded that Office of Management and Budget Director and Project 2025 Architect Russell Vought stop illegally withholding congressionally-approved funding for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), an independent oversight body created by Congress. Vought’s unlawful actions have shut down websites for dozens of Inspectors General (IGs) that publish hotline numbers where whistleblowers can submit complaints of waste, fraud, and abuse and make reports detailing corruption available to the public. The funds at issue are not affected by the lapse in federal funding, yet Trump and Vought are deliberately using the Republican Shutdown as an excuse to cover up waste, fraud, and corruption and silence whistleblowers.

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led all 20 Committee Democrats in launching an investigation into the government’s 24 major federal agencies regarding the Trump Administration’s threats to launch illegal mass firings at federal agencies during the current government shutdown. New reductions in force (RIFs) during the shutdown would violate both the law and federal regulations. Targeted agencies touch every aspect of Americans’ lives, from health care to education to national security, and massive layoffs could permanently cripple federal services. An illegal reduction in force during the ongoing shutdown would also be devastating for thousands of federal workers across the country.

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led all 20 Committee Democrats in sending letters to 24 major federal agencies that touch every aspect of Americans’ lives, from health care to education to national security, after multiple offices of inspectors general reported to Committee staff about agency actions that block them from carrying out their watchdog duties.  Reports to the Committee include general vacancies, staffing shortages, and delayed agency responses to investigation requests.  Without adequate resources and information, inspectors general cannot hold the Trump Administration accountable for corruption or misconduct.  In the letter, Committee Democrats stress the importance of nonpartisan, independent inspectors general, underscoring that obstructing inspectors general from carrying out oversight of their respective agencies is a serious violation of federal law and could lead to fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.

Washington, D.C. (June 13, 2025)— Today, Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, Acting Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released the following statement after Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Republicans released the text of their billionaire-subsidizing reconciliation bill that will escalate the Trump Administration’s political purge of federal workers, and gut the take-home pay and workforce protections of nonpartisan civil servants:

Washington, D.C. (June 6, 2025)—Today, Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, Acting Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, submitted a comment letter urging Charles Ezell, Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), to rescind the agency’s proposed rule to reclassify 50,000 federal employees under a new version of Schedule F.  This reclassification ends the civil service protections that prevent federal employees from being fired for political reasons, allowing the Trump Administration and DOGE to continue their devastating purge of America’s nonpartisan, expert federal workforce that has already upended the delivery of vital services to Americans.

Washington, D.C. (June 4, 2025)— Today, Rep. Stephen F. Lynch,  Acting Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick following reports received by Committee Democrats that illegally fired employees were denied health coverage for which they had already paid and that Commerce did not honor its required commitment to continue employee health coverage for a 31-day period after their termination.