Federal Politics

Trump to invoke Schedule F to make it easier to fire some federal workers

President Donald Trump is preparing to make one of the controversial personnel changes laid out in the conservative Project 2025 blueprint for his second term. He plans to reclassify 50,000 federal employees under what's known as Schedule F, which means they'll have less civil service protection. The proposal follows an executive order signed at the beginning of his term, and it's expected to be published in the Federal Register on Friday afternoon. Trump announced the move on social media before the rule was published Friday. If these government workers refuse to advance the policy interests of the President, or are engaging in corrupt behavior, they should no longer have a job, he wrote on his Truth Social platform. This is common sense, and will allow the federal government to finally be run like a business.' Administration officials argue that it's necessary to increase accountability in the workforce. The change is expected to make it easier to replace career employees who hav

Details emerge about suspect booked in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO

The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare's CEO likely was motivated by his anger with what he called parasitic health insurance companies and a disdain for corporate greed, a law enforcement bulletin obtained by The Associated Press said. Luigi Nicholas Mangione wrote that the US has the most expensive health care system in the world and that profits of major corporations continue to rise while our life expectancy does not, according to the bulletin, based on a review of his hand-written notes and social media posts. Prosecutors on Tuesday were beginning to take steps to bring the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family back to New York to face a murder charge while new details emerged about his life and how he was captured. Mangione struggled with officers as he arrived at the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday and shouted something partly unintelligible that referred to an insult to the intelligence of the American people. Local defence

Kamala Harris condemns Trump's new VP, J D Vance over abortion stance

This criticism comes in the wake of Vance's recent statements where he has publicly aligned himself with Trump's viewpoint that abortion should be governed by state laws rather than federal mandates.

2022 federal elections in US not tainted by foreign interference: Report

Foreign hackers did not change vote totals or otherwise compromise the integrity of federal elections last year in the United States, according to a declassified US government report made public on Monday. The report does identify multiple instances in which hackers linked to Iran, China and Russia connected to election infrastructure, scanned state government websites and copied voter information. But it says there is no evidence that any of the cyber activity had any impact on the election or on the vote totals. We have no evidence that any detected activity prevented voting, changed votes, or disrupted the ability to tally votes or to transmit election results in a timely manner; altered any technical aspect of the voting process; or otherwise compromised the integrity of voter registration information or any ballots cast during 2022 federal elections, the report says. The report, a joint document prepared by the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, ...

Expect status quo on rate and no change in stance

As the festival season approaches, followed by elections, state and national, there will be pressure on liquidity since cash with the public will rise

Federal govt headed into a shutdown; what does it mean and what's next?

The federal government is heading toward a shutdown that will disrupt many services, squeeze workers and roil politics as Republicans in the House, fuelled by hard-right demands for deep cuts, force a confrontation over federal spending. While some government entities will be exempt Social Security checks, for example, will still go out other functions will be severely curtailed. Federal agencies will stop all actions deemed non-essential, and millions of federal employees, including members of the military, won't receive paychecks. Here's a look at what's ahead if the government shuts down on October 1. WHAT IS A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN? A shutdown happens when Congress fails to pass some type of funding legislation that is signed into law by the president. Lawmakers are supposed to pass 12 different spending bills to fund agencies across the government, but the process is time-consuming. They often resort to passing a temporary extension, called a continuing resolution or CR, to a

'One nation, one election': Govt move fuels savings vs anti-federal debate

Debroy and Desai argued that the cost to the government for conducting Lok Sabha elections "has seen a significant jump"

Letter and spirit

SC judgments will strengthen federalism

'Orange skies': Biden administration raising federal pay to fight wildfires

The Biden administration said on Wednesday it is hiring more federal firefighters and immediately raising their pay

Removal of US troops from Afghanistan will be orderly: Biden administration

The removal of any US troops from Afghanistan would be orderly and in consultation with its allies and partners, the Biden Administration said on Tuesday

Centre misusing disaster laws to step on states' rights, say experts

The imposition of Section 188 in the Indian Penal Code for "disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant" during the pandemic, was also seen by many as an overreach by the Central govt

Mamata reaches out to Stalin, party says unity move 'on track'

Banerjee has taken a lead in defeating the BJP by talking to 'federal' parties