Federal Oversight

From inspectors general to GAO, FBI probes and Justice indictments, independent watchdogs and Congressional oversight committees — learn from others' mistakes with our Federal Oversight coverage.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testifies before a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing on the Postal Service on Capitol Hill, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Washington.
Postmaster General says he’s been cleared in federal probe
The Justice Department declined to comment. But it is standard practice for department officials to reveal to defense lawyers that their investigations have concluded without charges rather than make that announcement themselves.
Jackson heading for likely confirmation despite GOP darts
In her final day of Senate questioning, she declared she would rule “without any agendas” as the high court’s first Black female justice and rejected Republican efforts to paint her as soft on crime in her decade on the federal bench.
Jackson pushes back on GOP critics, defends record
Jackson responded to Republicans who have questioned whether she is too liberal in her judicial philosophy, saying she tries to “understand what the people who created this law intended.” She said she relies on the words of a statute but also looks to history and practice when the meaning may not be clear.
Vaccine mandate for federal employees awaits court ruling
A requirement that federal contractors and subcontractors require employee vaccinations is on hold. A federal judge in Georgia blocked that mandate nationwide and the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit appeals court is to hear arguments in that case April 8.
Report: Feds should create guidelines on less-lethal weapons
The report — released Friday by the Police Executive Research Forum, an organization dedicated to improving the professionalism of policing — examines how police departments handled the thousands of protests and civil unrest in the U.S. in the summer of 2020, after George Floyd was killed at the hands of officers in Minneapolis.
Senate confirms health care watchdog assailed by Trump
No Republicans objected to confirming Christi A. Grimm, a longtime civil servant to be HHS inspector general. Her division includes some 1,600 auditors, law enforcement agents, and management experts, and is known for its annual health care fraud takedowns. The voice vote came Thursday evening.
Demilitarize civilian cyber defense, and you’ll gain deterrence
By constantly flexing the military’s cyber muscles to defend the homeland from inbound criminal cyber activity, the public demand for a broad federal response to illegal cyber activity is satisfied. Still, over time, the potential adversary will understand our military’s offensive cyber operations’ tactics, techniques and procedures.
White House considers expanding limits on ‘no-knock’ warrant
A “no-knock warrant,” as its name implies, is an order from a judge that allows law enforcement officials with a search warrant to enter a home without announcing their presence first. It’s an exemption to usual practice; in most cases, the law requires that officers must knock and announce themselves before entering a private home to execute a warrant.
Watchdog says key federal health agency is failing on crises
The federal Department of Health and Human Services is failing to meet its responsibilities for leading the nation’s response to public health emergencies ranging from the coronavirus pandemic, to extreme weather disasters and even potential bioterror attacks, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog says in a report Thursday.
Biden picks 6 lawyers for US prosecutor posts
The nominees, announced by the White House on Wednesday, would run the federal prosecutors’ offices in Alaska, Connecticut, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Utah.
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