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There are many historic firsts for diversity with Biden’s nominations.
after having fewer hearings before Inauguration Day than recent predecessors.
Throughout the transition, the Biden team stressed the need to be ready to govern on day one amid the coronavirus pandemic and economic recession, and then after the deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. There are about 4,000 political appointee positions in the government, about 1,250 of which require Senate confirmation. Biden has named interim leaders to serve while the appointees await confirmation.
Agencies required to produce pandemic plans by end of the week January 26 Agencies will be required to meet certain baseline safety protocols in their plans to protect federal workers and contractors from COVID-19 exposure. (BrianAJackson/Getty Images) The new Biden administration has called on the heads of federal agencies to refocus on their COVID-19 response and safety plans for federal employees as part of executive orders signed Jan. 20. The Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum to agency heads Jan. 24 requiring them to outline pandemic safety plans that met the administration’s minimum requirements by the end of the week.
President Joe Biden has used his first days in office to reset relations with federal workers. Credit: Adam Schultz/Biden for President/Flickr
US President Joe Biden has used his first days in office to reset relations with federal professionals, reversing a number of executive orders issued by his predecessor Donald Trump that were seen by many as an attempt to politicise and undermine the civil service.
In an executive order, released last week under the title “protecting the federal workforce”, Biden revoked ‘Schedule F’ – which would have removed employment protections for all those involved in providing policy advice – and reversed the anti-union thrust of three Trump executive orders from May 2018.
SolarWinds Hack Reveals America’s Cyber Helplessness
Across several administrations, the fumbles and ultimately failed deterrent responses have established a jagged pattern one that may well be repeated in the current circumstance.
Almost a month after the most recent and most devastating Russian cyberattack, we know a bit more about what we know, but still alarmingly little about what we do not know. Having observed and analyzed both hacking intrusions and destructive espionage attacks for the past decade Sony Pictures, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), National Security Agency intrusions, and now the SolarWinds attack as notable examples it is not flippant to say that the most recent incident and US response thus far causes a sense of déjà vu. Across several administrations, the fumbles and ultimately failed deterrent responses have established a jagged pattern one that may well be repeated in the current circumstance.