• The Education Department transferred another 64 employees from K-12, special education, higher education and career, technical and adult education programs to other agencies. The American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents Education employees, is denouncing the decision, calling it illegal and part of the administration's effort to dismantle the department. AFGE said Education transferred 10 Native education workers from multiple offices to the Interior Department. AFGE also said two postsecondary education employees are going to the State Department and another 52 workers in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and Office of Postsecondary Education are headed to the Labor Department.
• About 450 employees at over 60 national parks across the Western U.S. and Pacific islands will soon gain union representation. National Park Service workers in the Pacific West Region, which covers sites in Hawaii, California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Nevada, voted overwhelmingly to join the National Treasury Employees Union. The new chapter covers positions including scientists, fee collectors, maintenance workers and park rangers. This marks the fourth NPS chapter to join NTEU.
• Jay Clayton was sworn in as director of national intelligence on Monday. He previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He replaces acting DNI Bill Pulte, who carried out five rounds of layoffs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in a little over one month in charge. Pulte served in the acting role while also continuing his full-time job as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
• Top lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee are pressing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for answers on a recent cyber incident. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee Chairman Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) sent a letter to Altman on July 31. They want to be briefed on how OpenAI’s models escaped a testing environment and autonomously hacked into third-party services. The lawmakers say the incident raises serious questions about how OpenAI secures and monitors its testing environments.
• The Trump administration on Monday said it will create a new commission focused on tackling the enduring issues that affect military spouses. Jennifer Hegseth, the defense secretary's wife, will be the chairwoman of the panel, according to an executive order outlining the plan. Other members include spouses of the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as those of their enlisted counterparts, the service secretaries and the Homeland Security secretary. They'll advise the president on issues that uniquely impact military spouses, from employment challenges to deployment support, housing and more.
• The Pentagon is reportedly considering ending tenure for civilian professors at military service academies and war colleges. CBS News reported July 31 that a draft memo under consideration said tenure has led schools to prioritize their staff's research projects over educating warfighters. The Defense Department would also review the curriculum taught at each school and veto anything that's "ideologically driven." As of March 2025, civilians made up 55% of the faculty at the Naval Academy, 38% at the Air Force Academy and 26% at West Point.
• A senior General Services Administration technology executive is placed on administrative leave. The GSA has suspended Pete Waterman, the director of the cloud security program known as FedRAMP, for comments made on his personal LinkedIn account. Waterman expressed frustration with the requirements around veterans preference in hiring last week. His post has since been taken down. GSA Administrator Ed Forst said in a statement that GSA categorically and completely disagrees with a senior employee’s recent remarks. Forst said GSA has zero tolerance for comments that disparage or disrespect America’s veterans. Under federal regulations, an agency can put someone on administrative leave for no more than 10 work days.
• Constituents have an opportunity to tell the House of Representatives what it could do better. The House Subcommittee on Modernization and Innovation is accepting idea submissions on how to modernize the lower chamber and the legislative branch overall as technology and workplace issues, including artificial intelligence, evolve. The subcommittee is accepting submissions on its website from now until Aug. 31. Chairwoman Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) and Ranking Member Norma Torres (D-Calif.) are seeking actionable items to help the House stay current. The subcommittee emphasized that ideas submitted should be bipartisan or nonpartisan and include detailed strategies for implementation. There will be an update on the submitted ideas this fall.

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