The Wrap: States Take Swing at DOGE; Unions Target RIF Campaign; Hill Wants Reorg Plan Votes
Welcome to The Wrap for Friday, February 14!
From the newsroom at MeriTalk, it’s the quickest read in Federal tech news. Here’s what you need to know today:
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States Take Swing at DOGE
State attorneys general – who have had some initial success in Federal courts at stopping the Trump administration’s rapid-fire government tear-down – are taking aim in a new suit filed on Feb. 13 at the sharpest point on the administration’s blade thus far. A total of 14 state AGs accused President Trump, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and its leader Elon Musk of “unlawful exercise of power” in taking recent actions to invade Federal agencies, access their tech systems, and curtail their operations. The suit argues that those actions by DOGE and Musk are unconstitutional because President Trump has granted Musk “virtually unchecked authority” without first obtaining the necessary legal authorization from Congress, and without conducting proper oversight of his activities. The states also point to the Appointments Clause in the Constitution, which they said strengthens the separation of powers by requiring Congress to create an office before the president can appoint someone to head it, and by giving the Senate the right to confirm any nominee to run it. Those safeguards, they argued, have been violated by the power granted to Musk and his DOGE team by President Trump. Please do click through for the full take.
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Unions Target RIF Campaign
At the same time, five government employee unions filed their own suit in Federal court in D.C. on Thursday challenging President Trump’s?Feb. 11 executive order?(EO) calling for “large scale” reductions-in-force (RIF) at civilian agencies, along with the administration’s “deferred resignation” program that has netted 75,000 employee resignations. The unions claim Trump’s “workforce optimization initiative” executive order and “deferred resignation” program are illegal, saying they violate the?Administrative Procedure Act?(APA), separation of powers principles, and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) rules, and amount to “bullying of Federal workers to quit their jobs.” Plaintiffs in the suit include the National Treasury Employees Union; the National Federation of Federal Employees; the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers; and the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Workers of America. In the early days of the second Trump administration, union groups have been somewhat less successful that state AGs in their legal pushback against administration policies. A Federal court judge in Boston earlier this week found that a group of unions lacked standing to challenge the deferred resignation program.
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Hill Wants Reorg Plan Votes
That’s the thinking behind the Reorganizing Government Act of 2025, which was?introduced on Feb. 13 by House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and proposes to ensure “Congress takes an up or down vote” on government reorganization plans that would be offered up by President Trump.?The lawmakers said their bill would restore through 2026 presidential authorities that lapsed in 1984 and that give presidents the authority to reorganize Federal agencies. The bill envisions that Congress – with both chambers now controlled by Republicans – would take majority votes on White House-sponsored agency reorg plans, with no filibusters allowed in the Senate. “This legislation allows the President to use his constitutional authority as Chief Executive to reorganize federal agencies, eliminate weaponization, and right-size the government to better serve the American people,” said Sen. Lee. “Reauthorizing presidential reorganization authority is the most comprehensive tool that the President can use to restore good governance to Washington.”?Rep. Comer added.
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State Dept. CAIO Departs
Matthew Graviss, the 美国国务院 ’s first chief data and artificial intelligence officer, has left the agency. Graviss first?joined?the State Department in January 2020 as its chief data officer (CDO). He later added chief AI officer (CAIO) to his title after the Biden administration?issued?its AI executive order in October 2023 – which tasked agencies with naming CAIOs. “After an incredible journey at the State Department, it’s time for my next adventure. Serving as State’s first chief data and AI officer has been an honor, and I’m immensely proud of the work we’ve done to modernize the department with data and digital tools,” Graviss said in a LinkedIn?post.
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Once again, let’s “call IT a day,” but we'll bring you more next week. Until then please check the MeriTalk breaking news website throughout the day for the latest on government IT people, process, and policy. And finally, please hit the news tip jar [with leads, breaking news, or simply your two cents] at [email protected].