The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton – Details, episodes & analysis

The Trump administration is calling on agencies to hire federal employees more quickly, and soon it will ask candidates applying for federal jobs how they will adhere to its government efficiency agenda. The Office of Personnel Management rolled out a new governmentwide hiring plan last week, and Federal News Network's Jory Heckman is here with the highlights. 

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Small business advocates are sounding alarm bells over the Small Business Administration's fiscal 2026 budget request, the White House is proposing to eliminate several long standing programs that support the development of small businesses, including the Women's Business Centers, and score for more on the potential impact on small businesses if the Trump administration cuts funding for these programs. Federal News Network's Executive Editor Jason Miller talked to Bridget Weston, the CEO of Score.

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Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

• Using artificial intelligence to reduce DoD's procurement timelines
• New research speeds up quantum computing

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The FedRAMP program at the General Services Administration has enabled agencies to safely use commercial cloud computing for more than a decade. Last month the GSA launched an update called FedRAMP 20-X. It's designed to make it easier and faster for vendors to get the authorization they need to take on federal customers. For how it looks to industry, we turn to the founder and CEO of RegScale, Travis Howerton.

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For his second go around at this president thing, Donald Trump's cabinet confirmation's has outpaced three of the last four administrations. If you've been following his policy measures, you won't be surprised to hear that his nominees are not quite as diverse as previous cabinets. Those are just a couple of the findings from the Brookings Institution, where its Center for Effective Public Management continues to keep a tally of which posts are filled. For more, we welcome back to the program Katie Dunn Tenpas, who is a visiting fellow at Brookings, Ms. Tenpas welcome back.

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The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program seems to transcend generations. The first copy took flight back in 2006. The capable but finicky aircraft continues to have maintenance and manufacturing problems. Now it has a new program manager on the contractor end of the program. Earlier Federal News Network's Tom Temin spoke with Lockheed Martin's Chauncey McIntosh.

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Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

• A status report on the most expensive weapon system ever
• Looking at the Trump administration against its predecessors
• The FedRAMP cloud security program goes cloud native

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The Pentagon's purge of Diversity Equity and Inclusion personnel actually began in 2024 following a provision in the annual defense policy bill that mandated changes to the department's dei workforce while the Trump administration finalized the cuts, Congress laid most of the groundwork well before this administration took office for more Federal News Network's Anastasia Obis spoke to the Government Accountability Office's Managing Director, Cathleen Berrick.

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For one reason or another, many more federal employees have flocked to the second round of the deferred resignation program. Some say the offer coming from their agency rather than OPM, felt more legitimate. Others want to leave on their own terms, rather than being pushed out in a reduction in force. But many are still choosing to stay in their jobs. Here with more on our latest survey results, Federal News Network's Drew Friedman.

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Much has changed for federal contractors over the last three months. The Trump administration has rescinded rules and made rules without comment periods, terminated and then restarted contracts, and slowed reimbursement. Here to help us make sense of all the changes is David Berteau, President and CEO of the Professional Services Council.

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