Transportation Security Administration employees are seeing their first paychecks in more than a month. TSA agents are being paid this week despite lawmakers failing to come to an agreement on a Department of Homeland Security spending bill. That means thousands more DHS staff are continuing to work with out pay. For more, Federal News Network’s Justin Doubleday joins me. 

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As Army civilians who have been identified as “surplus” begin receiving automated notices giving them a few days to decide whether to accept a reassignment, retire early or opt in for a buyout, many are making these life-altering decisions with limited information. Here with an update to her story from Monday is Federal News Network’s Anastasia Obis.

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Coming up today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

• Shutdowns don’t just disrupt agencies, they disrupt household finances, and the data shows it almost immediately
• A large TSP balance is a success story until Required Minimum Distributions turn it into a tax problem
• A military family’s decades‑long journey with autism is now helping other families navigate a system that often feels impossible to manage

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Federal employees may eventually be made whole after a shutdown, but the timing matters. After the most recent missed paycheck, data from USAA shows requests for financial relief spiking among federal workers, highlighting short‑term cash‑flow pressures even when back pay is expected. We’ll walk through what those patterns reveal about how workers navigate fixed bills and uncertainty with Daniel Diaz, spokesperson for USAA Bank.

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Federal employees often retire with two advantages many Americans don’t have: a steady pension and a sizable TSP. But when Required Minimum Distributions kick in, those income streams can collide, triggering higher taxes and unexpected ripple effects. We’ll look at how that happens and why planning years ahead can change the outcome with Thiago Glieger of RMG Advisors.

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April is World Autism Month, and for military families, navigating autism care often means navigating multiple systems at once. Jaime and Tracy Parent have spent more than thirty years raising an autistic child while moving through diagnoses, deployments, school changes and the maze of military and civilian support programs. Their new book, "The Mission at Home," turns that lived experience into practical guidance for families facing the same transitions and gaps in care. We’ll hear from Jaime and Tracy about what they’ve learned and what still needs to change.

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Federal contractors have been required to comply with the Trump administration’s mandate to remove anything that is considered diversity, equity and inclusion for the past 15 months. But under President Donald Trump’s new executive order, signed last week, vendors face harsher penalties that could include False Claims Act lawsuits as well as possible suspension and debarment. For more on why this new order goes further than previous efforts, Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller joins me to discuss.

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More shakeup at the Treasury Department. The department is preparing for targeted layoffs at an office focused on monitoring the stability of the U.S. financial system. And over at the IRS, its IT shop is back in hiring mode. This comes after it permanently reassigned more than 1,200 IT employees to other parts of the agency. Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman has more. 

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The National Institutes of Health funding touches far more than major research institutions. A new analysis maps how those dollars support jobs and businesses nationwide. United for Medical Research’s latest report breaks down the geographic reach of that impact and why timing matters as budgets tighten. Joining us to walk through the findings is Caitlin Leach, President of United for Medical Research.

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U.S. Strategic Command has awarded a $500 million IDIQ contract to the University of Nebraska’s National Strategic Research Institute to support warfighter‑ready solutions. The award is structured to emphasize speed, flexibility, and direct operational relevance rather than one‑off research projects. Joining me to talk through how these funds will advance STRATCOM's mission is the Director of NSRI, Rick Evans.

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Today on the Federal Drive with Terry Gerton

• As uncertainty clouds federal research budgets, a new analysis shows how NIH funding ripples through state and local economies nationwide
• U.S. Strategic Command has awarded a $500 million IDIQ contract to accelerate delivery of warfighter‑ready solutions as defense needs evolve
• During COVID, SBA moved fast to deliver disaster loans, but GAO says limited access to IRS tax data made oversight harder and increased program risk

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