Outside of the I fund, four of the L funds, 2055, 2060, 2070 and 2075, were the next biggest earners, seeing a month over month increase of 3.11%.
February 3, 2026 12:52 pm
< a min read
The I fund in the Thrift Savings Plan continues to outpace every other investment account. In January, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board said the I fund increased by almost 6% as compared to December. No other TSP fund increased by more than 3.11%. Overall, every TSP fund saw a month-over-month increase in January. For the past 12 months, the I fund increased by over 35%, which is 14% more than any other TSP account. Overall, every TSP fund saw a month over month increase in January. Outside of the I fund, four of the L funds, 2055, 2060, 2070 and 2075, were the next biggest earners, seeing a month-over-month increase of 3.11%. The Education Department spent tens of millions of dollars to fire employees it later rehired. The Government Accountability Office found that the department spent up to $38 million on paid administrative leave for employees in its Office of Civil Rights that it tried to fire. A federal judge blocked the Education Department from finalizing the layoffs last summer. The department rescinded those layoffs and brought impacted employees back to work in December. The civil rights officer investigates complaints on discrimination in schools based on a student’s sex, race, national origin or disability. The Office of Personnel Management is looking for details on federal employees’ use of official time. Agencies have until Feb. 23 to tell OPM how many work hours any of their employees have spent on union negotiations, collective bargaining, grievance and arbitration proceedings. The Trump administration has repeatedly criticized official time as a waste of taxpayer dollars. Federal unions, however, say official time is completely legal and is meant to support agency workers.
The guarantee of backpay for furloughed employees is becoming a little less certain. In updated shutdown guidance, the Office of Personnel Management removed references to back pay for furloughed federal employees. OPM’s guidance previously stated that furloughed employees will get paid as soon as possible once any funding lapse ends. But the recent update to the guidance revised several sections referencing back pay for furloughed employees, including how it related to retirement, health insurance and unemployment benefits. Federal employees have always been paid after a shutdown ends, and a 2019 law is meant to ensure back pay for both furloughed and excepted workers.]]>
The Air Force has a new vice chief of staff after a nearly year-long vacancy. The Senate confirmed Gen. John Lamontagne for the role on Jan. 30. Lamontagne succeeds Air Force Gen. James “Jim” Slife, who was removed just one month after taking the job amid a broader shakeup of senior military leadership after President Donald Trump took office. The Senate also confirmed Lt. Gen. Francis Donovan to be the next commander of U.S. Southern Command. Donovan takes over the role after the abrupt retirement of Adm. Alvin Holsey in December. The Army is conducting a service-wide survey of all existing contracts to expand right to repair access. The service began collecting initial feedback from the field last summer following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s memo directing the Army secretary to “identify and propose contract modifications for right to repair provisions where intellectual property constraints limit the Army’s ability to conduct maintenance.” Army officials said the effort initially focused on a narrow set of systems but is now expanding its scope. The review is supposed to identify the extent of the problem and determine next steps, whether it’s renegotiating contracts or “figuring out a way” to qualify a second source. The survey is expected to be completed “very soon.”A new bill in the House would establish federal grants to help states adopt mobile driver’s licenses and other digital credentials. Under the bill, the Treasury Department grants would only fund digital ID infrastructure that aligns with National Institute of Standards and Technology guidelines. The use of digital IDs, like mobile driver’s licenses, is seen by some as critical to combating online identity fraud, including the use of deepfakes. But lawmakers say some states need grant funding to modernize their identity systems and help their residents adopt mobile IDs. NITAAC is writing the final chapter for the ongoing saga of CIO-SP4. Five and a half years after issuing the initial solicitation, NITAAC is pulling the plug on its CIO-SP4 governmentwide acquisition contract. The IT hardware and software GWAC with a $50 billion ceiling has been embroiled in protests for much of the past four years, and now the Justice Department told the Court of Federal Claims on Jan. 30 that it was cancelling the acquisition in its entirety. DOJ said NITAAC will extend the current CIO-SP3 contract for another year. CIO-SP4 has been troubled from the start, with NITAAC issuing 16 amendments, facing dozens of pre-award protests and then suffering from well over 400 post-award protests from unsuccessful bidders. The Trump administration is reviewing thousands of applications from technologists looking to join the federal government. Up until Monday, the Office of Personnel Management accepted applications to join Tech Force, a two-year stint in the federal government. Over 35,000 people expressed interest in the program and over 6,000 applied. Next steps for vetting those candidates include code reviews and panel interviews.
Homeland Security wants one cloud contract to rule them all. In a notice to industry late last month, DHS said it anticipates setting up a department-wide cloud services contract vehicle called “Cumulus.” DHS said the contract will offer increased efficiency and effectiveness, and provide officials with more oversight of cloud services solutions being used across the department. Procurement officials are planning to host an industry engagement event on Feb. 11 to discuss the Cumulus opportunity in more detail.
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