Hacker News with Generative AI: Government

These Are the SpaceX Engineers Working Inside the FAA (wired.com)
Engineers who work for Elon Musk’s SpaceX have been brought on as senior advisers to the acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), sources tell WIRED.

SpaceX, FAA, Aviation, Government, Elon Musk

11 points by rntn 3 hours ago | 3 comments

The Plot Against America (notesfromthecircus.com)
As I write this in early 2025, a quiet revolution is unfolding within the U.S. government. Inside the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), teams of young tech operatives are systematically dismantling democratic institutions and replacing them with proprietary artificial intelligence systems.

Politics, Government, Artificial Intelligence, Technology

11 points by _hao 5 hours ago | 1 comments

Canada pledges billions for high-speed rail linking Quebec City and Toronto (apnews.com)
The Canadian government said Wednesday it is moving ahead with a multibillion-dollar plan to build a high-speed rail network between Quebec City and Toronto.

Canada, High-Speed Rail, Infrastructure, Transportation, Government

22 points by geox 5 hours ago | 5 comments

IRS to fire 6,700 staff (independent.co.uk)
The Internal Revenue Service will lay off more than 6,000 employees Thursday as part of President Donald Trump’s push to slash federal spending, a source familiar with the move told Reuters.

Government, Politics, Economy, Layoffs

14 points by Havoc 5 hours ago | 13 comments

DOGE has 'god mode' access to government data (theatlantic.com)
DOGE has achieved “God mode.” That’s according to an employee in senior leadership at USAID, who told us that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency now has full, unrestricted access to the agency’s digital infrastructure—including total control over systems that Americans working in conflict zones rely on, the ability to see and manipulate financial systems that have historically awarded tens of billions of dollars, and perhaps much more.

Cryptocurrency, Government, Security, Elon Musk

670 points by perihelions 12 hours ago | 1250 comments

Trump administration yanks CDC flu vaccine campaign (npr.org)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is stopping a successful flu vaccination campaign that juxtaposed images of wild animals, such as a lion, with cute counterparts, like a kitten, as an analogy for how immunization can help tame the flu.

Health, Politics, Public Health, Government, CDC

16 points by perihelions 12 hours ago | 0 comments

Doge Teen with Cybercrime Connections Now Inside Cybersecurity Agency CISA (nextgov.com)
A handle dubbed “Rivage” was reportedly tied to Coristine, and used to discuss and solicit hacking activities with a cybercrime syndicate known as The Com.

Cybersecurity, Government, Crime, Artificial Intelligence

86 points by chonkerz 16 hours ago | 55 comments

So, You Want to Get Rid of the Penny. Do You Have a Plan for the Nickel? (nytimes.com)
President Trump recently ordered the U.S. Mint to stop producing pennies, for a simple-sounding reason. Each penny, he said, has “literally cost us more than 2 cents.”

Economy, Currency, Finance, Government

5 points by johnny313 17 hours ago | 1 comments

Journalists launch legal action against Italian government over spyware claims (theguardian.com)
Italy’s national union for journalists has submitted a criminal complaint to prosecutors in Rome after Giorgia Meloni’s government shut down questions in parliament over suspicions it had illegally used spyware technology to hack the phones of critics instead of criminals.

Journalism, Italy, Government, Surveillance, Law

11 points by adrian_mrd 1 day ago | 0 comments

Trump Team Plans Mass Firings at Key Agency for AI and Chips (bgov.com)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology, a lab housed under the Commerce Department, is preparing to fire as many as roughly 500 probationary staffers as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to the federal government.

Politics, Artificial Intelligence, Government, Technology, Employment

24 points by apical_dendrite 1 day ago | 9 comments

National Science Foundation fires roughly 10% of its workforce (npr.org)
The National Science Foundation fired 168 employees on Tuesday. According to an NSF spokesperson, the firings are to ensure compliance with President Trump's executive order aimed at reducing the federal workforce in the name of efficiency.

Government, Employment, Science, Politics

82 points by pseudolus 1 day ago | 131 comments

Trump Enforcers Affirm Lina Khan's Approach to Antitrust (thebignewsletter.com)
Some big news today on the political antitrust front. The most consequential antitrust power struggle you’ve never heard of has been won… by the good guys. The short story is the Trump administration just said they will enforce antitrust law to stop harmful mergers using the guidelines that Lina Khan and Jonathan Kanter helped create in 2023.

Politics, Antitrust, Law, Mergers, Government

7 points by toomuchtodo 1 day ago | 0 comments

A SpaceX team is being brought in to overhaul FAA's air traffic control system (theverge.com)
A team from Elon Musk’s SpaceX is visiting the Air Traffic Control Command Center in Virginia Monday to help overhaul the system in the wake of last month’s deadly air disaster in Washington, DC, US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced.

SpaceX, Aviation, Government, Accidents

105 points by ianrahman 1 day ago | 148 comments

Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies (whitehouse.gov)
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Government, Policy, Accountability, Executive Orders

144 points by Red_Tarsius 1 day ago | 2 comments

"Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies" – Executive Order (whitehouse.gov)
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: 

Government, Policy, Executive Orders

673 points by martialg 2 days ago | 1212 comments

USDA accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is trying to rehire (nbcnews.com)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that, over the weekend, it accidentally fired "several" agency employees who are working on the federal government's response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak.

Government, Bird Flu, Accidents

12 points by throw0101d 2 days ago | 1 comments

Visualized: Presidential Executive Orders (opicdata.com)
I am hearing more about Executive Orders right now than I have in my lifetime. Given, I am only 25 years old, so maybe this happens every time we get a new president. However, on the airwaves I listen to (mainly Reddit, Google, and what my fiance tells me) there is a lot more discourse and hate towards Executive Orders.

Politics, Government, Social Media

13 points by bigshirtjonny 2 days ago | 18 comments

In a last-minute decision, White House decides not to terminate NASA employees (arstechnica.com)
Unlike workers at many other federal agencies this week, probationary employees at NASA were not terminated on Tuesday.

Government, NASA, Politics

65 points by toomuchtodo 2 days ago | 40 comments

Moving on from 18F (ethanmarcotte.com)
Last week, I finished my tenure as a designer at 18F.

Design, Government, Personal

353 points by mkeeter 2 days ago | 190 comments

Who Runs Elon Musk's Doge? Not Musk, the White House Says (nytimes.com)
Who, exactly, runs the so-called Department of Government Efficiency?

Elon Musk, Politics, Government, Cryptocurrency

16 points by _tk_ 2 days ago | 1 comments

Cuts Target Next Generation of Scientists (nytimes.com)
The notices came all weekend, landing in the inboxes of federal scientists, doctors and public health professionals: Your work is no longer needed.

Science, Government, Funding, Public Health

5 points by strangeloops85 2 days ago | 2 comments

Top Social Security Official Leaves After Musk Team Seeks Data Access (nytimes.com)
The top official at the Social Security Administration stepped down this weekend after members of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency sought access to sensitive personal data about millions of Americans held by the agency, according to people familiar with the matter.

Politics, Privacy, Social Security, Elon Musk, Government

35 points by 2OEH8eoCRo0 3 days ago | 26 comments

Trump begins firings of FAA ATC staff just weeks after fatal DC plane crash (apnews.com)
The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

Politics, Aviation, Transportation, Accidents, Government

18 points by throw0101d 3 days ago | 3 comments

Probationary employees fired across Dept of Energy, impacting grid improvement (datacenterdynamics.com)
Probationary employees at the Department of Energy (DOE) are being let go, as the Trump administration makes broad cuts to the federal government.

Government, Energy, Politics, Employment

5 points by nickcotter 3 days ago | 0 comments

Elon Musk's A.I.-Fuelled War on Human Agency (newyorker.com)
Not long ago, the American public could have been forgiven for thinking of Elon Musk’s vaunted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as a version of a familiar Republican cost-cutting, government-shrinking project.

Artificial Intelligence, Elon Musk, Politics, Government

12 points by pseudolus 3 days ago | 1 comments

Musk Team Seeks Access to IRS System with Taxpayers' Records (nytimes.com)
The Internal Revenue Service is preparing to give a team member working with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to sensitive taxpayer data, people familiar with the matter said.

Politics, Government, Privacy, Data Security, Taxes

21 points by 2OEH8eoCRo0 3 days ago | 9 comments

Doge-affiliated employee expected to seek access to IRS system (nbcnews.com)
An IRS employee who is affiliated with the Department of Government Efficiency is expected to seek access to an IRS system that houses sensitive taxpayer information, according to an administration official.

Government, Security, Cryptocurrency, IRS

54 points by doener 3 days ago | 32 comments

Justice Dept asks Supreme Court to decide if ethics watchdog can remain fired (nbcnews.com)
The Trump administration will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that ordered a government ethics watchdog reinstated to his post after the president fired him.

Law, Politics, Government, Ethics

10 points by basementcat 4 days ago | 1 comments

PASS on Firing of Probationary Employees at FAA (passnational.org)
We are troubled and disappointed by the administration’s decision to fire FAA probationary employees PASS represents without cause nor based on performance or conduct.