Alt18F

“At this point, there is no meaningful dispute concerning the underlying conduct. The defendants barely defend its legality, relying instead on what has happened since to argue that the case is moot and that prospective relief is unnecessary."

These findings raise questions about whether NDS, like DOGE, is skirting rules and regulations to bring its chosen staff into government and is functioning as an arm of the tech industry as much as a government initiative. Read the full story: www.wired.com/story/myster...

"Find the blockers between us and what we want, Elon told his young followers. Find the blockers and eliminate them."

The US Web Design System is load-bearing infrastructure for thousands of government websites. It makes it easy for small teams with no resources (i.e. most .gov teams) to make usable, accessible websites that work for everyone. Today, it's as close as it's ever been to being replaced with AI slop.

Whistleblowing takes courage. We honor the federal workers taking personal risks to serve the public interest.

"GSA leadership, including administrator Ed Forst, has told employees they should expect to work in the OPM building ... until December 2028."

"They laid out the purge of the civil service and the consolidation of these independent entities within the government under executive power ... ."

*quietly* Out today: USWDS 3.14.0. github.com/uswds/uswds/... The USWDS open source community and scarce part-time staff are _incredible_, just sayin’.

"If you’re a senior adviser to an agency and that agency is giving you contracts or subcontracts, that’s a huge no-no. ... This is literally the reason ethics rules even exist.”

" ... DOGE was a slapdash and deceptive effort that misled the American people while doing real damage to the government’s ability to serve them."

"DOGE did not respond to the Government Accountability Office’s request for information or interviews."

"Even as headlines portray a Social Security Administration struggling to recover from DOGE-era cuts, the administration is filling our inboxes with the claim that things are better than ever. The broader picture is that the legal institutions meant to police political corruption... are failing us."

"The DOGE Temporary Organization cannot escape responsibility for the conduct it undertook while it existed simply by reaching its expiration date."

“We know what to do, but if we don't have personnel, a lot of it can't get done.”

"A 2025 report from minority staff on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations estimated $21.7 billion in waste by DOGE during the first six months of its existence. Vought told Pocan he didn’t know how much was spent on DOGE workers ... ."

"Most of the few dozen websites [National Design Studio] has launched consist of a single page, where visitors can do little more than fill out a sign-up form."

“It will have a chilling effect on federal employees engaging in whistleblowing activity. If they do not want to sign this nondisclosure agreement, not only would they be removed for failure to follow instructions on signing a document, but they’re .. going to be debarred from federal service ... ."

"Digital service practitioners have spent a decade hearing firsthand what people actually want and need from government. That knowledge shouldn’t stop at delivery—it should drive the strategy."

"Schofield said he is speaking publicly for the first time because he believes Americans need to understand how government data can be misused and, in some cases, already has been." Another courageous act from a civil servant choosing to honor their oath.

"It is not a contract between equals. It is a loyalty oath, enforced with the full weight of federal prosecutorial power, demanded of people who already swore a different oath — to the Constitution."

"The app includes videos and messaging that are overtly political or directly related to campaigns, the type of material with which employees are typically discouraged from engaging while on the clock due to the non-partisan nature of their work."

We've been doing a little tidying up at 18f.org—a good opportunity to remind folks that the 18F guides and blog are archived on the site for anyone to use. After all, they belong to you!

"Where USDS and 18F prioritized function, accessibility, and the needs of underserved populations, the studio’s mandate emphasizes beauty, delight, and the visual language of consumer technology. The distinction is not trivial ... "

"'The Government engaged ​in blatant viewpoint discrimination,' U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon said in condemning what ⁠the Trump administration cast as a crackdown on diversity practices."

Until next time, Chicago! #cfasummit was an opportunity for catching up with old friends and kicking around new ideas —we’ve got some good conversations started, and we’re not done yet.

"DOGE sought access to systems across the federal government, and we still don’t know what happened to the personal data they got their hands on."

"'... DOGE ... literally just wanted to shut everything off. I kind of describe them as like children playing in a toy spaceship pressing the buttons.'"

"'And then we put out a call to our workforce to say, ‘Hey, you’re kind of mid-career talent. Would you be interested in doing a second job, in addition to your day job?’ Not a second paid job, but you’ll be part of this programming.'" ............

"[The administration's characterization of Direct File] has it completely backwards. It is a calculation that only makes sense if you do not value the time and money of citizens, but regard the government doing anything to help the public as a burden."

It’s tax season and Direct File is dead. I went on the Killswitch podcast with @dexdigi.bsky.social to talk about what we built, who killed it, and why I’m certain it’ll make a comeback.

I posted a thing on LinkedIn about government procurement. I'm officially a professional adult. www.linkedin.com/posts/randy-...

“Agency relocations do not create more effective or efficient government. ... These relocations do not bring our government closer to the people it serves. In fact, nearly 87% of the federal workforce is already working nationwide outside of Washington, D.C."

“'What I told [the DOGE team] was that these are the procedures in place that we normally follow. ... They said that there was no need to follow the procedures, and if there was litigation, which has since occurred, this would be addressed in the litigation.'”

Videos of the depositions of Michael McDonald, Adam Wolfson, and DOGE staffers Justin Fox and Nathan Cavanaugh are available in our playlist at www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

NEW: Over the past year, we've been collecting thousands of financial disclosure documents from across the Trump administration. Now we're making them searchable. Look up names, assets, former employers across 1,500+ Trump appointees and 3,000+ ethics documents.

“'There’s an animated GIF of Joe Gebbia throwing a punch at the camera. What is that about, in [relation] to governance and serving the American people? I don’t know what that has to do with me as a taxpayer that’s funding this team.'”