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Changes to GSA’s Role in the Presidential Transition Process

Online Niel November 7, 2024

The General Services Administration (GSA) is preparing for post-election presidential transition efforts. And this time, the process will look a little different. If a presidential candidate does not concede within five days of the election, the GSA’s transition services will be equally available to both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump until there is an election concession. The changes stem from a 2022 law that cut off the GSA’s “appreciation” process after the GSA delayed support during the 2020 presidential transition.
Federal HR employees have the opportunity to enroll in several upcoming training sessions. Beginning in December, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) will host several training sessions for HR staff working on human capital assessments. The trainings are free for employees and there will be options for both virtual and in-person participation. OPM will hold sessions approximately once a month through September 2025. Feds interested in enrolling must complete an online form and submit it to OPM.
The Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded a $6.5 million contract to develop a prototype open radio access network at Fort Bliss, Texas. The prototype at Fort Bliss will establish a temporary 5G network to test and evaluate Open RAN technology. The prototype will test the ability to quickly switch spectrum to the 5G control node. The network will eventually transition to Hughes Network Systems’ commercial network for both the military and civilian populations. The Army, DoD’s chief information officer and the office of the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering oversee the project.
Scammers used an IRS tax hotline as part of a scheme to file hundreds of millions of dollars in false tax returns. Between August of last year and April of this year, they filed more than 4,800 fraudulent tax returns claiming more than $460 million. The IRS stopped payment for the vast majority of these fraudulent returns. But it still paid more than $47 million for hundreds of false returns. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration says the criminals used a phone line reserved for tax professionals as part of their scheme. Tax professionals often use the hotline to obtain tax return transcripts for their clients.
Schuyler Moore, the first chief technology officer of US Central Command (CENTCOM), is leaving his role to join US Naval Forces Europe-Africa as an intelligence officer. Prior to serving as CENTCOM’s first CTO, Moore served as chief strategy officer for Task Force 59 at Naval Forces Central Command. Since Moore joined CENTCOM, the command has published its data strategy and implementation plan, launched the technology residency program and held a series of hackathons, digital exercises and innovation competitions. . CENTCOM will soon announce the next CTO.
The Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) focuses on risks from hurricanes to cyber attacks. CISA has been in the news for its electoral security work. But the cyber agency this month highlights the risks to all critical infrastructure. CISA’s Security and Resilience Month comes as the agency continues to look into so-called “systemically important entities.” Agencies that oversee critical infrastructure sectors such as water and electricity are also working on new sector risk management plans. These plans will help boost federal efforts to prepare the country for cyber threats and other risks.
Federal agencies have added tens of thousands of tech workers over the past four years and are still hiring. The Office of Personnel Management and more than 20 other federal agencies made their pitch to potential hires at a “Tech to Gov” virtual job fair last week. Over the past year, these virtual job fairs have helped 3,000 technologists find work at more than 64 federal, state and local government agencies. OPM Acting Director Rob Shriver says federal IT employees have a unique opportunity to take on projects that affect millions of Americans.
Members of Congress continue to investigate the recent hacking of US telecommunications networks, allegedly by the China-linked group called Salt Typhoon. Iowa GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley, in a new letter to the Department of Homeland Security, is asking for more information about DHS’s response to cyber attacks. Grassley wants to know whether DHS has notified all victims of the hack and whether the department is taking steps to secure government data. The Salt Typhoon group is said to have targeted US political figures as well as a system used for court-ordered wiretapping.