federal employment

The Shutdown Is Over. What Was The Result?

For those that are unaware, the longest shutdown in US history is officially over. To quickly bring you all up to speed, the US federal government must approve an operating budget annually (usually, it is confirmed before October 1st of every year). However, every once and a while, Congress – the people who vote on the budget – will disagree, and if the budget isn’t approved, then the government will shut down due to a lapse in funding. That’s what happened on October 1, 2025, and this shutdown lasted for 44 days (the previous record holder for longest shutdown was 35 days, back in 2018 – 2019).

Originally, this year’s budget disagreement centered on the expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits. These are set to expire on December 31, 2025, and these tax credits are what make it possible for health insurance through the ACA to be affordable. The expiration would mean that insurance costs would skyrocket for those that have insurance through the ACA. These credits are based on household income, and, considering the cost of living for most Americans, the credits are the only thing that have made healthcare insurance affordable and accessible. Many have remarked over how the insurance costs will double for most people that previously qualified for the credits. If the credits aren’t extended, insurance will likely be cost prohibitive for most of the families currently using insurance providers through the ACA Marketplace.

However, this temporary budget was passed without resolving the ACA expiration issue. As a result, the government reopened, and healthcare costs will increase drastically, starting on January 1, 2026. Elected officials who agreed to the temporary budget said that they did so because they were “promised” that the ACA issue will be revisited and resolved at a future date. It appears this whole shutdown was an exercise in futility: a complete disruption of government functions ended on a “promise” that is unlikely to materialize as expected. After getting this temporary solution, we may be facing furloughs again in January, when the current deal expires.

It’s a disappointing situation all the way around: so many people went without their salary, experienced disturbances in their government benefits, and were impacted by government closures, only for the proverbial can to be kicked further down the road. This was an expensive and careless exercise, it it doesn’t seem wise that these officials accepted a “promise” as a fair compromise for the precarious situation millions of Americans experienced this past 44 days. So, while I wish this was the end of the shutdown discussions, I anticipate I will be returning to this topic in a couple of months. Here’s hoping that the next few weeks will be a productive period for Congress, and that they will unite to ensure that Americans can continue to receive affordable healthcare rates.

The Reading List: Making The Most of Government Shutdown 2025

Well, we’re one month into the federal government shutdown, and with no end in sight, I figured I would share one thing that has been keeping me going: BOOKS! I have always loved reading, but I usually don’t have as much time to devote to my books as I prefer. So this break from work has given me plenty of time to catch up on my reading list.

I’m reading and re-reading a few books this month, and trying to take advantage of my significantly freed-up schedule. The books I’ve read so far this month are as follows:

Be Who You Came To Be by Estelle Gillingham, PhD

True Gifts by Jewel Veitch

Chic & Slim Encore by Anne Barone

The Joy of Less by Cary David Richards

As I type this blog post, I’m about halfway done re-reading The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington. I’m kicking off a 12 Week Year session in November, that will last me until the end of January. I want to test a few theories before sharing them on this blog, and I’ll be using the next 12 weeks for testing and perfecting a system that I’ve been tinkering with for the past few months.

I’m looking forward to sharing my progress as I work through my goals over the 12 week period. I figured this is a good time to start something new, since I used the previous few weeks to rest and relax. Now that I’m rested and feeling motivated, diving into a project that excites me is the perfect distraction from the chaos of federal employment.

For all of those affected by the shutdown, I sincerely hope that you’re taking care of yourselves, resting, and doing things you enjoy. And, I hope you all found time to read books that give you ideas on how to create the lives you desire and deserve.

Three Weeks of Government Shutdown 2025 – What’s Happening Now

Well, here we are 21 days into the shutdown, which ties this shutdown with the one that occurred in 1995-1996. Per the latest reports, there is no end in sight, which means that this is quickly becoming a possible contender for the longest shutdown in US history.

On my end, all has been well. I’m happy that my resources have sustained me thus far, and I”m just waiting patiently as things get sorted out with the federal government. Things may become direr for employees who weren’t able to prepare for the shutdown (thinking specifically of those newer employees, or those that have had recent or drastic changes in their financial circumstances). Please keep those folks uplifted in your thoughts: this may be an especially difficult time for them.

I’ve been employing a lot of selective information consumption at this time. However, some of my favorite sources for shutdown and general government information have been:

  • Federal News Network (enough general information on here to keep most people well informed)
  • NPR (great if I prefer to get my news via radio)
  • Heather Cox Richardson (government explained through a historian’s perspective: refreshing and informative)
  • LinkedIn News (though I often find myself conducting quite a bit of fact-checking to confirm the veracity of the statements I’m reading)

As soon as I have more details, I’ll be sure to share with you all. Until then, I’m standing by and waiting, just like the rest of the federal workforce.

In the meantime, I’ve been resting, traveling a little, and reading a lot. In previous furloughs, I learned that the most important thing I can do is occupy my time with things I enjoy and avoid obsessing about the things I cannot control. That has been instrumental in making sure that I don’t feel anxious or stressed, because worrying changes nothing. As a result, I always end up feeling pretty good about the uncertainty surrounding these closures. I use the time wisely and find ways to make the time off as fun as I can, too.

That’s it for this week in the Government Shutdown. Here’s hoping we’ll have some good news soon!

Shutdown Updates – What’s Happening With The IRS

Well, as this federal government shutdown toils on, many people may have questions regarding their tax obligations. After all, October 15th is the deadline for submitting tax returns after requesting an extension of time to file. What will happen to those returns that are submitted while nearly half of IRS’s employees are furloughed? And, what if you have some other tax questions that you need answered?

If you aren’t aware, IRS had a contingency plan that covered five shutdown days, but with the shutdown extended into its second week, nearly half of the workforce has been furloughed. You can expect that any IRS contact you need to make may be impacted by the reduced workforce. (You can read more about some of the general details here: IRS Shutters ‘Most Operations’, Furloughs Employees as Shutdown Continues). Fortunately, IRS published its contingency plan on its website, which spells out which functions will continue to operate, and which will cease. You can view the contingency plan here.

The functions that will continue during the furlough are:

  • Criminal Investigations (CI) (law enforcement operations, ongoing investigations, and protection of officials)
  • Data and property protection (computer systems management and taxpayer remittances)
  • Limited taxpayer services (disaster relief or safety focused only)
  • Filing season preparation (forms design, IT testing and modernization)
  • Contract oversight (for contacts necessary for life/property safety or exemption functions)

The functions that will cease during the furlough are:

  • Routine taxpayer services (call centers, walk-ins)
  • Non-disaster transcript processing
  • Non-automated collections and legal counsel for non-exempt matters
  • Research, planning and training not related to exempt activities
  • Most administrative and HQ functions not tied to safety or property protection

For those that have tax concerns, you may be wondering what should you do while you wait for IRS to go back to fully operational status. I tried the 1-800 number for IRS earlier today and found that indeed they are receiving calls, but you won’t be able to connect to a live person unless its related to disaster relief or some major safety concern. Also, as I mentioned earlier, the October 15th extension deadline is looming, and this furlough is unlikely to be a valid reason for not submitting your tax returns. So you will want to remit your returns anyway, since the data and property protection teams are still operating during this time (they will receive the documents, but processing wont’ resume until the furlough ends). Unfortunately, if you need a transcript and you’re not living in a disaster area, your request will not be processed during this time (keep this in mind if you were completing a process that requires income verification, like asset purchases).

Please know that in cases of shutdown, there are usually no pauses in automated collection actions: the time frames and system-generated documents generally continue as normal. So if you are currently under a payment plan, the shutdown will not stop or prevent you from having to pay on your balance owed. Also, if you were anticipating a refund, there is a good chance that that too will be automatically (systemically) issued if you were anticipating a direct deposit. I am unsure how this will impact paper checks. Additionally, if you are under criminal investigation (hopefully not!) and were hoping that the furlough meant you’d get a break, I hate to be the one to tell it to you, but the CI team is still hard at work and investigations will continue.

These reduced services can be a bit frustrating, but the shutdown is temporary and will be resolved at some point. Right now is a great time to sort through your documents in anticipation of your next year filing, or you can review some of the changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (if you want me to share my notes in a future post, let me know!) Previously, we heard talks of tax collections being reduced or the IRS being eliminated. But with an estimated 80% or so of government funding coming from the IRS, the chances of a completely dissolved Internal Revenue Service are slim. So if you’re hoping that the temporary government shutdown will lead into a permanent shutdown of Internal Revenue Service, I wouldn’t bet on it. But who knows? Anything is possible.

Do you have any tax questions or are you still wondering what’s next for the federal government? Leave your questions below, and I’ll do my best to answer them!

One Week Into The Government Shutdown: What’s Happening Now

It’s Day 8 of the 2025 Government Shutdown, and it looks like the federal government is no closer to an approved budget than it was last week. I’m guessing that this won’t be resolved within the week; in fact, I think it could be almost November before the funding bill is approved.

I’m writing this post as a furloughed federal employee who has prepared for this sort of thing, and I want to assure you all that I’m doing just fine. The unscheduled time off was perfect: I had just finished helping a friend relocate to her new home, and I was walking nearly 22,000 each day during the move. Additionally, I was helping her after I finished work every day, so I was helping with the move between 7 PM and 3 AM each night, for several days. By the time the shutdown was announced, I was sleep deficient and running on absolute fumes, so having a few days to properly rest and take care of myself was perfect.

Foresight has been a savior during this time. I save my money and live sensibly so that I can weather changes in income, and, given the many shutdown threats I’ve lived through over the past 20(!) years of federal employment, I am NOT surprised that this happened. I was working as a federal employee in 2013, which was when I experienced my first shutdown. My daughter was small and that was the perfect time to do some domestic travel and catch up on the sleep I’d been missing as a long-distance daily commuter. So, being wise, keeping a positive outlook, and using the break to my advantage has been good for me.

For those impacted by the shutdown, I’m sorry for any inconveniences you may have experienced. And for those that are just annoyed with all of this, just know that every federal employee understands and agrees with you. I sincerely hope that this gets resolved soon, so that we can get back to serving the public.

Why The Previous IRS Commissioner Was Perfect For The Job

Upon hearing that IRS recognizes that they need more staff but doesn’t seem to be clear how to best accomplish this, I decided to research the current leadership, to see if the organization had the right people to realize their goals. The things I learned about Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Billy Long initially made me raise a brow, but since I believe in nuanced interpretations, I carefully considered what I learned about him and comfortably concluded that he is actually a very good fit for this role. Unfortunately, as I was completing my analysis, Long was removed from the position of Commissioner! That being said, a little background on Long is still worth considering, even if it’s just for the purpose of comparing the qualifications of future appointees.

Commissioner Long is a former congressman from Missouri, and he previously supported initiatives to abolish IRS. Additionally, there have been questions about Long’s ethical background, as he was once employed by a firm that obtained fraudulent Employee Retention Credits (ERC) on behalf of their clients. Long has stated that he did not partake in any wrongdoing, and Senate agreed with him, confirming him as commissioner in June 2025. Long was removed from his role as Commissioner in August 2025, less than 60 days after he started.

Here is why I think Commissioner Long was perfect for the role:

  • He has very little actual experience working in tax administration. This may be unusual for IRS commissioners but not for other public roles: there are a number of elected officials that have ZERO experience that qualifies them to participate in the committees in which they serve. The lack of relevant experience isn’t the disadvantage you would expect: it often serves as a prompt to dive deeper and really do the work of understanding how things work from the inside out. Long was in a perfect position to see IRS through fresh eyes.
  • In this role, he could have reconfigured the IRS in a way that best supported his vision for a fair, efficient revenue generator for the US. As a critic of the current IRS setup, he has a much deeper understanding of the flaws that can be fixed within the system. By focusing on fixing those issues, he could have set in motion the kind of changes that would actually make IRS a much better vehicle for financially supporting its goals and objectives.
  • I believe in the Emperor Sung effect when it comes to putting critics in positions that were initially opposed to (see The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, Law 2, “Observance of the Law” for more context). There’s something transformative that happens when critics inhabit the roles they initially opposed. This gives them the opportunity to see firsthand where processes break down and how they can actually fix the problem. It’s very rare that someone gets into these positions and doesn’t have a shift in their perspective and interpretations. I believe that Commissioner Long was far more invested in cementing his legacy as a brilliant leader that transformed the behemoth that is IRS, than to be the one that dismantled the agency because of previously held viewpoints.

In any case, we won’t get to see Long usher in changes to the IRS. He has been appointed as Ambassador to Iceland (I can’t say whether that’s a promotion or not: I’ll let you be the judge of that) so we’ll just have to keep an eye out for the next commissioner and wait to see what changes will come. Long seems excited about his new role and I’m sure he’ll share many updates as he settles into his ambassadorship.

I’m interested in who will be appointed next. In the meantime, I’ll watch for updates on IRS’s hiring initiatives and implementation of the OBBBA in the weeks and months to come.

Winning the IRS Employment Game: A Strategic Guide

I recently shared a post regarding the Internal Revenue Service’s “hiring” push that is unlikely to result in any material impact on agency goals and objectives. However, at the end of the post, I mentioned how there would be some terminated or laid-off IRS employees that may be considering returning to the Service for the upcoming filing season, and how these employees could maximize the opportunity regardless of how indeterminate their employment time may be. Here are my recommendations for getting maximum benefit as a re-hired IRS employee:

  • Prior to returning to the office, schedule any doctor and specialist appointments so that your reinstated federal health insurance can cover those visits. For instance, if I was a former IRS employee that intends to be rehired before the filing season begins, I’d start scheduling doctor appointments for February and March 2026. I’d be sure to focus on those specialists that have a 6-9 months wait list, as well as any doctors that I have been unable to visit while I’ve been unemployed. I’d put those appointments on President’s Day if possible (this is a federal holiday that is open for many businesses, including a good number of medical offices). If, for some reason, I am not hired or my insurance is not reinstated within a few days of the appointment, I’d call and reschedule. I’ve lost nothing, and the medical office still has time to offer that space to another patient.
  • Leverage your lunch time and after work hours to complete free Skillsoft training to qualify you for a different job. Since it’s been more than a decade since I worked for IRS, I’m unsure how much access employees have within Skillsoft. However, if you are a rehired employee, confirm the Skillsoft access information in your employee handbook or through intranet pages. See if there is an option to download the Skillsoft app to your personal device, where you can use your agency log-in information to complete training when you’re off the clock. If so, explore the training paths that are most beneficial to your goals and use this re-employment period to complete the training. As you complete courses, make sure you retain copies of your completion records, lest they become unavailable to you in the future. Some programs I’d recommend are the project management and business analysis tracks (successfully completing Skillsoft training in either area is accepted by the Project Management Institute and the International Institute of Business Analysis). However, if you’d like to know of additional Skillsoft training that I recommend, let me know, and I’ll do another post.
  • Research the tuition reimbursement and student loan repayment options available to you. It’s uncertain whether these programs are going to be available when rehired employees return, but if I came back to the agency, this would be one of the first things I’d confirm. Generally, you must have at least one year of employment to qualify, but you’ll have to confirm whether there are additional criteria, such as whether the year of employment must be 12 consecutive months, if you must be a permanent employment (as opposed to seasonal) to qualify, if the benefits are available only to certain job series (positions), etc.,.
  • This is a perfect opportunity to utilize Employee Assistance Program (EAP) resources. Whatever you need that is available through EAP, go ahead and use it. I cannot remember the full extent of the resources available through IRS’s EAP, but these programs usually offer counseling and therapy services, financial and legal advice for personal purposes, and expedited referrals to various specialists. It’s a complimentary service so get as much as you can while you’re there.
  • Prioritize completing internal required and supplemental training and save documentation of it. Outside of Skillsoft, IRS used to maintain its own training materials. I advise you to take advantage of these training programs if still available and, should you find yourself laid off again, you’ll be able to prove that you’ve completed tax-relevant and other specialized training programs. These can be great if you enjoy working in finance or tax, and want to distinguish yourself from other applicants for other positions.
  • If at all possible, invest heavily in your Thrift Savings Program account. Socking away some retirement funds is always a good idea, and the effect of compound interest can work to your advantage. The sooner you put funds in, the longer you can benefit from the time advantage. So if you can put in a little (or a lot!), do it. Your future financial security will thank you for whatever you do now.

If you can think of additional strategies for rehired IRS employees, please leave those suggestions in the comments, so that others can benefit. Also, if there are any points that need correction, please let me know and I’ll be sure to update. Let’s help each other to make the best of this situation!

The IRS “Hiring” Fiasco: The Least Surprising Development of 2025

I will apologize in advance for any snark that you detect in this post. I try to keep things elevated and fairly neutral, but this latest chaotic development from the Internal Revenue Service concerns me, and I don’t want to dilute my thoughts as I address the issues that I see when it comes to the latest hiring “push” from the Service.

Last week, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it would be hiring several thousand employees as contact representatives and tax examination technicians, while simultaneously getting rid of direct filing capabilities (taxpayers are once again going to have to figure out how to use commercial tax filing software if they want to submit electronic returns). This hiring “push” comes after months of intentionally reducing a number of the employees that were already doing collection and tax resolution tasks. Many of these employees were not at the top of their pay scales – they were fairly newer hires – and now the Service will be tacking on the cost of re-hiring people at the same levels of the ones that were just terminated earlier this year.

If that isn’t wacky enough, it gets even more chaotic. The job announcement for contact representatives was posted on July 29th, and canceled on July 31st. Yes, you are reading that correctly: within 72 hours of posting the job, it was canceled on the federal government’s hiring platform, USAJobs. Why was it canceled so quickly? It’s possible that IRS had already gotten the maximum number of applications they were seeking. But, it’s far more likely that the post was published hastily, and it likely was missing a number of critical details. Whenever I’ve seen jobs posted and taken down quickly, it’s usually because the HR Department was ill-prepared and put up an inaccurate, incomplete announcement (most likely scenario) or the requested number of applications (let’s say, no more than 200 or 500) was received (this is very unlikely). The whole thing smacks of impulsive decision making and poorly completed, rushed work.

Oh, that quickly removed announcement? It was only eligible for certain categories of IRS employees anyway: specifically, current IRS employees, and IRS career transition employees (those were previously fired or otherwise subjected to reduction-in-force actions [layoffs]). So, they terminated people, only to attempt to hire the same folks back, at the same pay rates that they were using before. In summary, this whole game of layoffs and rehires is an expensive exercise in futility.

I also mentioned that there is an announcement for tax examination technicians. That post is still available, but it’s for that same limited group of IRS employees (current IRS and career transition IRS employees), which, again, makes the vast majority of people ineligible to apply. Additionally, the tax exam tech posting was done so hastily that the hyperlinked video on the job announcement doesn’t work at the time of this posting: the promotional video generally provided to potential employees isn’t even viewable! All of this smacks of rush work and poor execution from IRS. And of course, the tax exam tech job caps at roughly $60,000, with no telework or remote work options, and the expectation of developing into a technical advisor, classroom instructor or on-the-job trainer (with no additional pay: you’d be getting the same compensation as someone that didn’t train fellow employees).

I’ve seen disorganized hiring efforts before, but this one has to be one of the most comical, considering how the IRS wants to hire back the same people that were unceremoniously discarded several months ago. If I was one of those terminated employees, this game of “keep away” that IRS is playing with people’s livelihoods would completely turn me off to working for them again. However, for those that decide that they want to try it again, and find a way to make these games work for them . . . I have some strategies coming for you later this week. Make sure to come back so I can explain exactly how to WIN while working an IRS job. I’ll talk to you all soon!