#role-of-government

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fromNextgov.com
1 day ago

OMB's examination of Mythos is 'not giving access to anything to agencies,' official says

OMB is not giving access to anything to agencies, according to a spokesperson, despite the administration's interest in the powerful Mythos AI model that identifies digital vulnerabilities.
Washington DC
fromFuturism
23 hours ago

City Council Wrecked in Voter Bloodbath After Allowing New Data Center

I ran because I thought the city was not listening to people. It's really the way the deal was handled that led to this kind of uprising.
US politics
Canada news
fromwww.cbc.ca
1 day ago

Ford government wants to skip public hearings on FOI rule change | CBC News

Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government plans to bypass public hearings for a budget bill that limits access to his cellphone records.
SF politics
fromNextgov.com
1 day ago

Gruenbaum heading for the exit from GSA

Josh Gruenbaum is leaving the GSA after leading procurement reform and contract spending scrutiny since January 2025.
NYC politics
fromwww.amny.com
2 days ago

Mamdani's DOI pick wins Council approval after questions over independence | amNewYork

City Council approved Nadia Shihata as head of the Department of Investigation despite concerns over her independence from Mayor Mamdani.
UK politics
fromwww.bbc.com
1 day ago

Key questions facing government over Mandelson vetting

Lord Mandelson failed security vetting for ambassador role, raising questions about the Prime Minister's knowledge and the Foreign Office's decision-making.
fromwww.npr.org
3 days ago

'Dear America': HUD workers say they're being blocked from doing their jobs

"This administration has ground fair housing enforcement to a halt. Worse, they're picking and choosing which protected classes count."
US news
Non-profit organizations
fromwww.amny.com
2 days ago

NY Inspector General says she's working to bring the public into government integrity as Trump erodes public trust | amNewYork

The New York inspector general's office aims to enhance public trust through transparency and integrity in government operations.
Artificial intelligence
fromTheregister
3 days ago

Make bad moves on AI and face voter backlash, govts warned

The UK government must demonstrate AI benefits to the public to mitigate backlash and concerns over job losses and risks associated with the technology.
Privacy professionals
fromWIRED
3 days ago

Congress Turns Up Pressure on DHS Over Palantir's Role in Immigration Crackdown

Members of Congress demand DHS and ICE disclose details on surveillance tools used in immigration enforcement.
Right-wing politics
fromwww.mediaite.com
3 days ago

GOP Senator Argues His Party Deserves to Lose the Majority: We've Gotten One Bill Passed'

Sen. Tommy Tuberville criticized Republicans for failing to maintain their majority in Congress and highlighted issues affecting rural communities.
Boston
fromBoston.com
3 days ago

City Council requests 5 years' worth of BPD body camera footage

Boston City Council requests five years of body camera footage from police incidents to increase transparency after a fatal shooting.
Left-wing politics
fromAbove the Law
3 days ago

The Trump Administration Has Fired Over 100 Immigration Judges Without Explanation - Above the Law

The Trump administration has fired immigration judges who upheld due process in deportation cases, undermining the Fourteenth Amendment.
Education
fromFortune
4 days ago

I was a government official in the 1990s and watched the economy get turned upside-down. It's happening again | Fortune

Today's economy faces labor market disruption from AI, echoing the challenges of the 1990s with significant job losses and the need for effective worker support.
London politics
fromwww.bbc.com
5 days ago

Reform UK seeks breakthrough in fragmented Havering Council

Havering's political landscape is complex, with no single party in control and ongoing financial challenges.
Healthcare
fromTruthout
1 week ago

Trump Admin Seeks Sweeping Access to Federal Workers' Health Records

The Trump administration seeks access to detailed medical records of federal workers and retirees, raising concerns about privacy and data security.
SF politics
fromSan Jose Spotlight
2 days ago

Op-ed: Public safety and fairness are not expendable budget items - San Jose Spotlight

Budget cuts in Santa Clara County threaten the effectiveness of the District Attorney's and Public Defender's Offices, impacting public safety and legal representation.
NYC politics
fromPOLITICO
3 days ago

Eric Adams' zombie effort to change NYC Charter roars to life with first public hearing

Public input is welcomed as the commission seeks to modernize city government and enhance democratic involvement.
#artificial-intelligence
fromFast Company
5 days ago
Non-profit organizations

What good AI in government actually looks like

Artificial intelligence can be used to eliminate federal grants or to help communities access them effectively.
fromComputerWeekly.com
5 days ago
UK politics

Flood warning: How citizens' AI agents will swamp public services | Computer Weekly

AI has the potential to transform public services by reducing user friction and improving access for citizens.
UK politics
fromComputerWeekly.com
5 days ago

Flood warning: How citizens' AI agents will swamp public services | Computer Weekly

AI has the potential to transform public services by reducing user friction and improving access for citizens.
Right-wing politics
fromWIRED
5 days ago

Government Workers Say They're Getting Inundated With Religion

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins' Easter email sparked controversy over the separation of church and state, prompting internal complaints from employees.
US news
fromwww.npr.org
5 days ago

Virginia joins a national effort to ensure only popular vote winners become president

Virginia joins the National Popular Vote Compact, increasing the total to 18 states and 222 electoral votes, aiming for a nationwide popular vote system.
London politics
fromwww.bbc.com
5 days ago

Lib Dems 'local champions who get things done'

Sir Ed Davey expresses confidence in the Liberal Democrats' chances of gaining more councillors in London elections.
#presidential-records-act
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
1 week ago

The Most Transparent Presidency in History-And the Most Opaque

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel declared the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional, potentially allowing Trump to destroy or take records from his administration.
US politics
fromAxios
2 weeks ago

Exclusive: Trump's DOJ says he's not required to turn over official records

The Presidential Records Act mandates that presidential records belong to the U.S. government, a law Trump has challenged by retaining documents.
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
1 week ago

The Most Transparent Presidency in History-And the Most Opaque

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel declared the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional, potentially allowing Trump to destroy or take records from his administration.
US politics
fromAxios
2 weeks ago

Exclusive: Trump's DOJ says he's not required to turn over official records

The Presidential Records Act mandates that presidential records belong to the U.S. government, a law Trump has challenged by retaining documents.
Non-profit organizations
fromLGBTQ Nation
1 year ago

Gay Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent may have helped create a constitutional crisis - LGBTQ Nation

Elon Musk's team gained unauthorized access to the federal payment system, threatening USAID operations and raising concerns about national security and economic stability.
NYC politics
fromPolitics NY
6 days ago

Inside Government with PoliticsNY: A Q&A with Council Member Carmen De La Rosa

Carmen De La Rosa focuses on housing, technology access, and senior support in her role as a New York City Council Member.
fromAllthingssmitty
2 weeks ago

You probably don't need to lift state - Matt Smith

Keep state as close as possible to where it's actually used. Lift it when multiple components need it or you need to coordinate behavior between components.
React
#higher-education
fromNextgov.com
3 weeks ago

Agency data leads worry about staff capacity to tackle statutory requirements, survey finds

Among the 189 CDO and other data leader respondents to the annual survey conducted by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Data Foundation, about 40% said they had lost six or more employees last year.
EU data protection
New York City
fromwww.amny.com
3 weeks ago

NYC BUDGET: City Hall approves first round of savings after Mamdani told agencies to tighten belts | amNewYork

Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration identified over $1.7 billion in savings to address NYC's budget gap through various efficiency measures.
Right-wing politics
fromTruthout
2 weeks ago

No Kings Must Mean No War: Foreign Policy Is Least Democratic Space in Politics

The majority of Iranian Americans oppose the war on Iran, despite media portrayal of pro-monarchy sentiments.
NYC politics
fromPolitics NY
1 week ago

Inside Government with PoliticsNY: A Q&A with Council Member Gale Brewer

Gale Brewer focuses on affordable housing, public safety, and community services to improve constituents' daily lives in New York City.
Law
fromAbove the Law
3 weeks ago

The Judiciary Is Still Unaccountable, And This Congress Won't Fix It - Above the Law

The Judiciary Accountability Act aims to extend anti-discrimination protections to judiciary employees, promoting transparency and accountability in the judicial system.
Left-wing politics
fromwww.mediaite.com
3 weeks ago

White House Insists It Was Right At the Time' After Being Wrong About Maher Prize

The White House initially denied Bill Maher would receive the Mark Twain Prize, but later confirmed the award after further discussions.
fromSFGATE
2 weeks ago

Former executive director of San Francisco city department arrested

Davis allegedly directed more than $4.5 million to Collective Impact from the Dream Keeper Initiative, a city program that distributes arts and culture grants to the Black community, the DA said.
Non-profit organizations
Canada news
fromwww.cbc.ca
4 weeks ago

A look at the wave of recent proposals by the Ford government ahead of Ontario's legislative return | CBC News

Ontario's government plans to exempt cabinet records from freedom-of-information laws, raising concerns about transparency and accountability.
fromInvestigative Post
2 weeks ago

Investigative Post event on reforming Buffalo and NY government.

John Kaehny has written and successfully lobbied for the passage of state and New York City laws related to government transparency and accountability, including the first open data law in the world in 2012.
NYC politics
US politics
fromSlate Magazine
3 weeks ago

This Democracy Expert is Warning that ICE at the Airports is Absolutely a Dry Run for the Midterms

The United States is experiencing a rapid decline in democratic norms and institutions, with significant threats to upcoming elections.
fromwww.bbc.com
3 weeks ago

Campaigners celebrate after new town plans dropped

Campaigner Aysha Hawcutt stated that residents were 'not anti-homes', but believed the Adlington plan was 'the wrong proposal in the wrong place'. She expressed pride in the community's resilience against the development threats.
London politics
UK politics
fromwww.bbc.com
3 weeks ago

Ministers hope red tape cuts will speed-up decision making

The government aims to expedite decision-making by eliminating outdated regulations and overlapping consultations to reduce red tape.
SF politics
fromMission Local
1 month ago

Months and millions later, maybe few changes to city commissions after all

San Francisco's Commission Streamlining Task Force recommendations to cut or weaken dozens of city commissions face minimal board support and will likely result in only minor, non-controversial changes like eliminating inactive bodies.
Education
fromFortune
1 month ago

'I don't know if we're ready': Governors from each party appalled at 100-year-old federal workforce strategy | Fortune

The United States education and workforce pipeline is critically broken, leaving workers unprepared for automation and economic instability as AI technologies rapidly advance.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
1 month ago

Secrecy, Democracy, Necessity

Executive officials justify secrecy through claims of protecting decision-making integrity and national security, but such necessity arguments alone cannot legitimize secret governance in democracies.
US news
fromThe Washington Post
1 month ago

Did Trump cuts slow access to public records? We found 26 cases that say yes.

Federal workforce reductions have severely impaired agencies' ability to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests, with at least 13 agencies citing staffing cuts as reasons for missing FOIA deadlines in court.
fromNextgov.com
1 month ago

Vought takes aim at GAO in new guidance

Doing so has failed to prioritize agency internal control processes to adequately protect American taxpayer dollars, leading to documented examples of widespread abuse. Prior versions of OMB's guidance have overly deferred to the direction and priorities of external entities whose views are not binding on the Executive Branch, such as the Government Accountability Office.
Washington DC
Law
fromAbove the Law
1 month ago

The Justice Department Is Lowering Its Ethical Guardrails - Above the Law

The Justice Department eliminated a policy classifying senior political appointees as 'further restricted' under the Hatch Act, removing safeguards requiring election law enforcers to maintain strict political neutrality.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
1 month ago

Why We Need a Formal, Mandatory, and Remunerated "Citizen Lobby"

Post-Cold War optimism about democracy and internet freedom has been undermined by geopolitical tensions, neoliberalism, nationalism, and corporate influence that concentrate power among the already wealthy.
US politics
fromemptywheel
1 month ago

Accountability - emptywheel

Accountability for Trump and his administration is essential to prevent him from scapegoating Muslims for failures resulting from his Iran conflict decisions.
Artificial intelligence
fromwww.nytimes.com
1 month ago

Video: Opinion | The Government's A.I. Alignment Problem

AI alignment is fundamentally a political question about instantiating different moral philosophies into systems, and government pressure on AI companies signals potential suppression of diverse values.
UK politics
fromwww.bbc.com
1 month ago

Council leader bullish on no-confidence vote chances

A 19-year-old Reform UK council leader faces a no-confidence vote over allegations of bringing the authority into disrepute, but maintains he is performing well and dismisses the challenge as a political stunt.
NYC politics
fromNBC New York
1 month ago

Mamdani pledged a 'culture of transparency.' But he's not ready to hand over these gov't records.

Mayor Mamdani promised transparency and accountability but delayed releasing AI program records, citing FOIL request backlogs similar to his predecessor's approach.
fromEntrepreneur
2 months ago

How to Win Big With Public-Sector Partners

Understanding the difference in purpose Unlike private businesses, which exist to make a profit, public institutions are designed to create impact - especially social and economic outcomes that benefit everyone, not just paying customers. A public agency doesn't measure its success in revenue or margins, but in how much it improves lives, builds equity and maintains public trust. This doesn't mean budgets and spending don't matter - they absolutely do - but money is not the goal. It's the tool.
World politics
fromFast Company
2 months ago

Our embrace of individuals over institutions isn't serving us well

In the early 20th century, sociologist Max Weber noted that sweeping industrialization would transform how societies worked. As small, informal operations gave way to large, complex organizations with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, leaders would need to rely less on tradition and charisma, and more on organization and rationality. He also foresaw that jobs would need to be broken down into specialized tasks and governed by a system of hierarchy,
History
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

Democracy Dies in Broad Daylight

Last week- after the Wall Street Journal broke more news about the Trump family's dodgy crypto-business dealings and before the President shared a racist video of the Obamas depicted as dancing apes-the Amazon entrepreneur Jeff Bezos decided that one of his smaller properties, the Washington Post, has proved such a drag on his two-hundred-and-thirty-billion-dollar fortune that prudence required that he obliterate much of its newsroom.
Media industry
Law
fromAbove the Law
2 months ago

Accountability In An Age Of Unaccountability - Above the Law

Legal system turmoil: arrests, Epstein file fallout, judicial misconduct, and mounting ethical breaches requiring disbarment of dishonest administration lawyers.
fromBloomberglaw
1 month ago

Punching In: Labor Department Watchdog Pressed on His Future

I'm here on this panel today answering your questions as the inspector general. I hope if you are indeed doing this that you do resign. I am well aware of the Hatch Act. The inspector general is currently heading an investigation into both Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who is accused of committing travel fraud and having an affair with her bodyguard, and the secretary's husband Shawn DeRemer, who allegedly assaulted at least two female department employees.
US politics
Philosophy
fromAeon
2 months ago

Institutions are how we scale up cooperation among millions | Aeon Essays

Institutions enforce cooperation but must also prevent guardians from abusing power, effectively shifting the cooperation problem upward rather than eliminating it.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
2 months ago

What Accountability-Seeking Protest Can Tell Us About Democracy

Different kinds of political protest pursue distinct aims; accountability-seeking protest aims to hold actors responsible and can reinforce democratic community bonds.
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

Purge the Public Servants

In this new season, I'm asking how the Trump White House is rewriting the rules of U.S. politics, and talking to Americans whose lives have been changed as a result. Today's episode examines the destruction of the civil service: the removal of professionals, and their replacement with loyalists. I've seen this kind of transformation before, in other failing democracies. Everyone suffers from the degradation of public services.
US politics
UK politics
fromwww.bbc.com
2 months ago

Can a council do five days' work in four?

South Cambridgeshire District Council adopted a 32-hour, four-day week and reports improved retention, higher applicant numbers, agency savings, and maintained or improved most service metrics.
#federal-workforce
fromAxios
2 months ago
US politics

Trump admin green lights rule making it easier to fire thousands of federal employees

fromAxios
2 months ago
US politics

Trump admin green lights rule making it easier to fire thousands of federal employees

UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Council leader claims local authority bullied' to delay polls for extra funding and powers

Norfolk council leader withdrew from devolution and LGR after government reversed election postponement, accusing ministers of bullying by tying funding and powers to cancelling elections.
US politics
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 months ago

New Trump administration rule makes it easier to fire career civil servants

OPM will reclassify about 50,000 senior career federal employees as at-will, allowing expedited removal for misconduct or intentionally subverting Presidential directives.
UK politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

English councils face unnecessary race against time' to organise elections, leaders say

The government dropped plans to delay 30 council elections, forcing councils to organise ballots within just over 11 weeks, causing significant disruption and uncertainty.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Darren Jones to make it easier to sack senior civil servants under plans to rewire' Whitehall

He said performance indicators for senior officials would be set by ministers and those civil servants not meeting expectations would be shown the door. Instead of the sideways shimmy to another team or department if you fail to perform, I'm afraid you will be sacked, he said, adding that the doers, not the talkers would be in line for promotion.
UK politics
US politics
fromNature
2 months ago

Trump team's new rule could make firing government scientists easier

US OPM finalized a rule creating a 'Policy/Career' class to reclassify and ease firing of roughly 50,000 federal civil servants, including scientists.
US politics
fromTruthout
2 months ago

White House Orders Federal Funding Probe Focused Almost Entirely on Dem States

The OMB is reviewing federal funding in predominantly Democratic-led states to identify alleged fraud and potentially limit federal aid.
US politics
fromThe New Yorker
2 months ago

Is There a Remedy for Presidential Profiteering?

Trump and his family leveraged the presidency for large profit, including a secret Emirati payment and an A.I. chip sale, raising emolument and secrecy concerns.
fromwww.mercurynews.com
2 months ago

Letters: Fight over gate raises questions of government service

The current issue is whether Fremont controls the road that the Alameda County Board of Supervisors ceded to Christopher George, who has now blocked access with a gate. But it is part of a longer battle that has included the board considering George's request for the land after his company donated $10,000 to Supervisor David Haubert's campaign. The board granted his request ostensibly to save maintenance costs, but at the expense of constituents who have used that section of road recreationally for decades.
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

How America Chose Not to Hold the Powerful to Account

Since Richard Nixon was forced to resign, powerful people in both political parties have worked assiduously to ensure that their leaders would escape the consequences of their actions. Trump has evaded punishment for crimes both low (campaign-finance violations, for which he was convicted, though he will serve no time thanks to his 2024 victory) and high (his attempted overthrow of the federal government in the aftermath of his 2020 election loss, for which he was spared by the Supreme Court's decision to grant him a kingly immunity).
US politics
US politics
fromLos Angeles Times
2 months ago

Charter Reform Commission, L.A. City Council look to impose transparency rules

Los Angeles City Council passed an ordinance requiring Charter Reform Commission members to disclose private communications with elected officials and staff to boost transparency.
fromLGBTQ Nation
2 months ago

Political pragmatism is not a moral failing. It may be the only thing that can save us. - LGBTQ Nation

He is not worthy of the presidency. He takes bribes blatantly. And now he's being a racist, blatantly. They were supposed to deport the dangerous criminals. They were not supposed to go after small children, storm schools, bring terror upon, you know, the little kids and the women and children, not just the immigrants in the school. All the children are scared.
US politics
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