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Writing

August 20, 2026
The replacement gap: Inside the chaos of the Deferred Resignation Program↗ourpublicservice.org

During the second week of the Trump Administration, the Office of Personnel Management offered most federal employees months of paid leave if they agreed to resign. Later that spring, some agencies offered employees a second opportunity to resign with severance. These opportunities, collectively known as the Deferred Resignation Program, or DRP, were described by OPM Director Scott Kupor as a “step towards a smarter, leaner, more effective government.” My analysis examines how the DRP weakened federal agencies' capacity and eroded institutional knowledge across government.

August 13, 2026
Undermining independence and eroding transparency: Examining Schedule Policy/Career reclassifications↗ourpublicservice.org

In June, the Trump administration announced it was stripping civil service protections from about 8,000 civil servants employed in more than 4,800 distinct positions, to provide further accountability for employees in “confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, and policy-advocating” roles. My analysis of recent federal job postings finds that these reclassifications appear to include:

  • Positions that go well-beyond policy, finance and human resources, including transportation security officers, electronics engineers and a rehab counselor for veterans
  • Civil servants who support and advise administrative law judges—officials traditionally insulated from presidential interference
  • Employees with oversight roles related to Freedom of Information Act requests and conducting audits
July 7, 2026
From Cameron Crazie to Cyber Devil: Reflections on Cyber 9/12↗sanford.duke.edu

The Cyber Devils – Duke’s student team of Adrian Schmeichler T’28, Eli Coustan T’29, Phineas Quigley T’29 and Marilyn Zhao T’29 – won first place in the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative 2026 Cyber 9/12 Strategy Challenge. Held March 7-8 in Washington, D.C., the competition challenged students to respond to a realistic, evolving scenario of international cyber crisis by analyzing the threat it posed to national, international and private-sector interests, and presenting recommendations on the best course of action to mitigate the crisis. In this piece, I share some reflections on the experience.