Lisa Rein

Washington, D.C.

Federal government, arcane civil service provisions, policy, Veterans Affairs.

Education: Wesleyan University, B.A. history

Lisa Rein covers federal agencies and the management of government in the Biden administration. At The Washington Post, she has written about federal workers, state politics and government in Annapolis and Richmond; local government in Fairfax County, Va.; and the redevelopment of Washington and its neighborhoods. She was previously a reporter for the New York Daily News, where she covered former mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and the city’s colorful taxi industry. Before crossing the Hudson River, she chronicled Asian immigration to northern New Jersey for the Record of Hackensack. Rein started h
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Latest from Lisa Rein

Anxious federal workers find few answers on debt ceiling

Federal workers have received little guidance about how their lives would be affected if the White House and House Republicans fail to raise the debt ceiling.

May 26, 2023

Judges rebuke Social Security for errors as disability denials stack up

Federal judges found fault with almost sixty percent of disability cases — the highest rate of rejections in years. But Social Security often rejects their findings.

May 25, 2023

Biden administration tells feds to get more employees back to the office

The White House has instructed federal agencies to return more employees to the office and increase “meaningful” in-person work.

April 14, 2023

Probe widens into federal watchdog over missing Jan. 6 Secret Service texts

A nearly two-year investigation into the Department of Homeland Security’s chief watchdog has expanded to include his role in missing Secret Service texts.

April 6, 2023

Biden to propose 5.2 percent federal pay increase, largest in 43 years

President Biden will propose a 5.2 percent raise for federal employees, the largest increase the White House has put forward since Jimmy Carter was president.

March 8, 2023

Their toddler took a nap in an Airbnb — and fentanyl killed her

The 19-month-old toddler was napping when her family discovered she had died.

March 3, 2023

Biden personnel head under fire after hires with history of sexual misconduct

Lawmakers are pressing the Office of Personnel Management over the hiring of two senior officials found to have a history of sexual misconduct.

March 1, 2023

Emboldened by its majority, House GOP turns up heat on federal workers

The new GOP House majority is eager to ramp up scrutiny of the army of civil servants who run the government’s day-to-day operations.

February 27, 2023

Social Security services to worsen despite budget boost, agency head says

The Social Security Administration’s already debilitated services will further erode this year despite a $785 million boost to its budget, the agency’s acting head has told lawmakers.

February 18, 2023

Despite prior sexual harassment probe, executive hired to senior federal job

The agency that sets personnel and hiring policy across the federal government hired a senior leader last year who was found in a previous job to have sexually harassed two women.

February 3, 2023