The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is shifting gears again. After cutting tens of thousands of positions during a 2025 restructuring, HHS is now planning to hire roughly 12,000 employees, according to recent Congressional testimony. Some previously separated employees have already been brought back to help stabilize operations.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is shifting gears again. After cutting tens of thousands of positions during a 2025 restructuring, HHS is now planning to hire roughly 12,000 employees, according to recent Congressional testimony. Some previously separated employees have already been brought back to help stabilize operations.

The U.S. Forest Service is moving forward with a major reorganization that includes relocating its headquarters, closing regional offices, and shifting to a new leadership structure. Agency officials say the goal is to streamline operations, but the transition will take time and may require employees to adapt to new roles, reporting lines, and locations.

For many years, federal managers have understood that strong performance management is key to a well-functioning government. Setting expectations, evaluating results, addressing underperformance, and rewarding excellence are not peripheral tasks; indeed, they are core leadership responsibilities. Yet the legal complexity and procedural rigor surrounding federal personnel actions have made these responsibilities some of the most difficult aspects of federal management.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has experienced an unprecedented reduction in its workforce, potentially losing an estimated 40,000 employees in fiscal year 2025, according to a report released by members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Lawmakers warn that the losses – especially in clinical and front-line positions – are already impacting care and benefits delivery for millions of veterans.

More Hires, More Scrutiny: Why CBP’s Incentive Surge Raises Potential Training and Oversight Concern

In March 2025, thousands of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employees were ordered to report back into the office, full time. Across the federal government, many agencies have ordered their workforce back into the office, revoking telework status that was often put in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, FDA’s case was unique in that it had been utilizing teleworking practices for more than a decade before the pandemic.

United States government officials have placed an emphasis in immigration enforcement in the new administration. The manpower needed to achieve these immigration enforcement goals is potentially beyond the current federal law enforcement workforce alone.

In a continuation of a return-to-office order, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a memo ordering managers and supervisors to track the attendance of their employees to ensure optimal utilization of government facilities.

Acting Chief Information Officer of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Kaschit Pandya has called for the agency to "reset and reassess” in response to the more than 2,000 employees the agency has lost from their IT department since the start of 2025.

According to reporting from Federal News Network, recent data from Gallup reveals that federal employees are reporting major workplace disruptions at nearly three times the national average. These disruptions – ranging from increased turnover and hiring challenges to changes in mission priorities and workplace reorganization – are reshaping how agencies function.

On June 21, 2025, the United States carried out airstrikes on nuclear sites in Iran. In retaliation for these airstrikes, Iran fired missiles at a US military base in Qatar. Shortly after the Iranian missile strikes, a ceasefire was instituted between Israel and Iran. In response to these events, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin that highlights heightened risks to the United States from pro-Iranian groups and the Iranian government. The threats highlighted in the bulletin are physical and cyber-attacks, especially ones aimed at hospitals, water dams, and power plants across the US.

A recent report by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that, while a majority of agency employees who responded to a workplace culture survey feel safe, valued, and respected, employee views of FDIC management and leadership in related to harassment and misconduct were less favorable.

Immigration enforcement has become a major focus under the new administration, a change that affects many federal law enforcement officers and their job duties. The responsibility of managing the more than 7.6 million immigrants in the country without legal status currently falls on about 6,000 ICE deportation agents.

According to recent reporting, the federal government has diverted more than 15,000 federal law enforcement officers away from their regular assignments to assist with immigration enforcement duties. This includes officers from agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; U.S. Marshals; and Homeland Security Investigations. Many of these officers lack specialized training in immigration law, yet will now be tasked with detaining, processing, and other immigration enforcement duties.