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Agencies plan to decommission hundreds of .gov websites following GSA review

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3 months ago

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Hundreds of federal agency websites are being targeted for elimination, following a governmentwide review.

In an analysis led by the General Services Administration, the 24 largest departments and agencies inventoried more than 7,200 total websites. Documents obtained by Federal News Network show agencies plan to eliminate 332 of those websites — less than 5% of their total web presence.

According to documents obtained by Federal News Network, Thomas Shedd, commissioner of GSA’s Technology Transformation Services, said the “low-hanging fruit” of websites to cut include standalone sites for agency blogs, photo galleries and forums that would be housed elsewhere.

GSA also directed agencies to eliminate sites for events or initiatives that haven’t been relevant for a number of years, as well as standalone sites for “niche topics or working groups.”

Documents obtained by Federal News Network show that Shedd, in addition to his GSA leadership role, serves as the Labor Department’s chief information officer, and as the primary point of contact for website audits at the Energy Department, Social Security Administration, Army Corps of Engineers and the National Archives and Records Administration.

While this governmentwide review will cut only a small fraction of .gov websites, some agencies are making more drastic cuts to their online presence than others.table visualization

The Small Business Administration, for example, is planning to eliminate more than half of its total websites. SBA is shuttering websites for defunct pandemic aid programs, and is consolidating some small-business certification websites into MySBA Certifications, a one-stop shop for federal contracting certifications.

The Department of Health and Human Services plans to eliminate more than 7% of its websites. Among them, HHS plans to eliminate vaccines.cdc.gov, a website that tracks the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s state-by-state investments “in achieving national immunization goals and sustaining high-vaccination coverage rates to prevent death and disability” from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Documents obtained by Federal News Network state that vaccines.cdc.gov “is no longer maintained.” HHS also plans to cut 18 webpages that are part of cancer.gov, but the main site would remain.

The State Department decommissioned a website for the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs, after shuttering the office in May. The website now redirects to a site for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

A department spokesperson told Federal News Network that Secretary of State Marco Rubio merged the responsibilities of the Office of Palestinian Affairs, including outreach to the Palestinians, into other sections of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem.

The State Department also plans to “consolidate” a website for its inspector general’s office.

The department notes in the obtained documents that the IG’s office “is planning to reduce costs and merge into a shared service for website operations” with the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE),” starting in fiscal 2026.

“The OIG sees significant opportunities for cost reduction by leveraging CIGIE’s Oversight.gov as a centralized platform,” the department wrote.

The department notes in obtained documents that “OIG is required by statute to maintain a website providing relevant reports on Department programs and operations, a hotline form to report fraud/waste/abuse, and whistleblower protection info.”

The State Department plans to decommission an online exhibit of former Secretary of State Madeline Albright’s pin collection. The site states Albright, the first woman to serve as secretary of state, wore more than 200 pins as “gentle implements of statecraft,” and served as artifacts of “cultural diplomacy.” The department expects to decommission the site and consolidate its contents elsewhere by September 30.

FEMA plans to decommission a website for the National Flood Insurance Program. The Agriculture Department is cutting bosque.gov, a Spanish-language version of the Forest Service’s website. The Commerce Department plans to cut a “Frequently Asked Questions” page for the Census Bureau.

The Defense Department, which maintains more than 2,000 websites — more than any other Cabinet-level agency — plans to eliminate a single website used by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). SIGAR has overseen nearly $145 billion in U.S. aid to Afghanistan since 2022.

GSA is eliminating a website for the Federal Recycling Program, which provides agencies with contractors to handle their recycling needs.

Some agencies — including the Treasury Department, Office of Personnel Management, Social Security Administration, Department of Housing and Urban Development, National Science Foundation, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission — haven’t identified any websites they plan to eliminate so far.

NextGov/FCW reported in March that Federal Chief Information Officer Gregory Barbaccia directed agency chief information officers to streamline an “unnecessarily burdensome” sprawl of government websites.

In September 2023, the Office of Management and Budget, as part of guidance on “delivering a digital-first public experience,” directed agencies to remove duplicative or outdated websites as part of regular reviews.

“Content can easily become outdated or abandoned over time without strong internal agency controls to ensure that information is timely and accurate. Duplicative websites and content can also be problematic because they may cause public confusion,” OMB wrote.

OMB issued its guidance as part of the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act. The 2018 law required agencies to modernize their websites, move more public-facing services online and accelerate the use of electronic signatures.

Federal websites receive about 2 billion visits every month, which represents about 80 billion hours of interactions with the public. More than half of those visits happen on mobile devices.

The post Agencies plan to decommission hundreds of .gov websites following GSA review first appeared on Federal News Network.

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Politics

President Trump Taps Dr. Ben Carson for New Role — A HUGE Win for America First Agenda

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2 hours ago

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September 25, 2025

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Dr. Ben Carson is the newest member of the Trump administration.

On Wednesday, former Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, was sworn in as the national adviser for nutrition, health, and housing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins shared that Carson’s role will be to oversee Trump’s new Big Beautiful Bill law, which aims to ensure Americans’ quality of life, from nutrition to stable housing.

After being sworn in, Carson shared, “Today, too many Americans are suffering from the effects of poor nutrition. Through common-sense policymaking, we have an opportunity to give our most vulnerable families the tools they need to flourish.”

Table of Contents

WATCH:

Per USDA:

Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced that Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D., was sworn in as the National Advisor for Nutrition, Health, and Housing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“There is no one more qualified than Dr. Carson to advise on policies that improve Americans’ everyday quality of life, from nutrition to healthcare quality to ensuring families have access to safe and stable housing,” said Secretary Rollins.

“With six in ten Americans living with at least one chronic disease, and rural communities facing unique challenges with respect to adequate housing, Dr. Carson’s insight and experience is critical. Dr. Carson will be crucial to implementing the rural health investment provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill and advise on America First polices related to nutrition, health, and housing.

“As the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the first Trump Administration, Dr. Carson worked to expand opportunity and strengthen communities, and we are honored to welcome him to the second Trump Administration to help lead our efforts here at USDA to Make America Healthy Again and ensure rural America continues to prosper.”

“Today, too many Americans are suffering from the effects of poor nutrition. Through common-sense policymaking, we have an opportunity to give our most vulnerable families the tools they need to flourish,” said Dr. Ben Carson. “I am honored to work with Secretary Rollins on these important initiatives to help fulfill President Trump’s vision for a healthier, stronger America.”

On Sunday, Dr. Carson was one of the many speakers at the memorial service of the late TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk.

During the memorial service, Carson highlighted that Kirk was shot at 12:24 p.m. and then continued to share the Bible verse John 12:24, which reads, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

WATCH:

The post President Trump Taps Dr. Ben Carson for New Role — A HUGE Win for America First Agenda appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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LEAKED MEMO: Deep State Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia Claim There Isn’t Enough Evidence to Convict Comey Amid Reports of Imminent Indictment

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2 hours ago

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September 25, 2025

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On Wednesday evening, disgruntled officials in the Eastern District of Virginia leaked contents of a memo explaining why charges should not be brought against James Comey.

As reported earlier, former FBI Director James Comey is expected to be indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia in the next few days.

Comey will reportedly be charged for lying to Congress in a 2020 testimony about whether he authorized leaks to the media.

Officials in the Eastern District of Virginia are still fighting to stop Comey from being charged after Trump fired US Attorney Erik Siebert.

President Trump last week fired Erik Siebert as the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia because he refused to bring charges against Letitia James, Comey, Schiff and others.

On Saturday evening, President Trump announced that he had appointed Lindsey Halligan – his personal attorney who defended him against the Mar-a-Lago raid – as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Now, with just days to go before the statute of limitations runs out to charge Comey for lying during a September 30, 2020 testimony, Lindsey Halligan is reportedly gearing up to indict Comey.

Prosecutors reportedly gave newly sworn-in Halligan a memo defending James Comey and explaining why charges should not brought against the fired FBI Director.

Per MSNBC’s Ken Dilanian:

Two sources familiar with the matter tell me prosecutors in the EDVA US attorney‘s office presented newly sworn US attorney Lindsey Halligan with a memo explaining why charges should not be brought against James Comey, because there isn’t enough evidence to establish probable cause a crime was committed, let alone enough to convince a jury to convict him.

Justice Department guidelines say a case should not be brought unless prosecutors believe it’s more likely than not that they can win a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.

The post LEAKED MEMO: Deep State Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia Claim There Isn’t Enough Evidence to Convict Comey Amid Reports of Imminent Indictment appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Nearly 8 in 10 Voters Say the United States is in Political Crisis After the Assassination of Charlie Kirk

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September 25, 2025

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Nearly eight in ten voters believe that the United States is in a political crisis in the wake of the assassination of conservative icon Charlie Kirk.

According to a Quinnipiac University national poll of registered voters released on Wednesday, a massive 93 percent of Democrats, 84 percent of independents, and 60 percent of Republicans said the nation is in a political crisis.

“The Kirk assassination lays bare raw, bipartisan concerns about where the country is headed,” Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy said of the poll results.

Quinnipiac reports:

Seventy-one percent of voters think politically motivated violence in the United States today is a very serious problem, 22 percent think it is a somewhat serious problem, 3 percent think it is a not so serious problem, and 1 percent think it is not a problem at all.

This is a jump from Quinnipiac University’s June 26 poll when 54 percent thought politically motivated violence in the United States today was a very serious problem, 37 percent thought it was a somewhat serious problem, 6 percent thought it was a not so serious problem, and 2 percent thought it was not a problem at all.

Nearly 6 in 10 voters (58 percent) think it will not be possible to lower the temperature on political rhetoric and speech in the United States, while 34 percent think it will be possible.

Over half, 54 percent, of voters believe the US will see increased political violence over the next few years. Another 27 percent said they think it will stay “about the same,” while just 14 percent believe it will ease.

A 53 percent majority also said they are “pessimistic about freedom of speech being protected in the United States.”

Surprisingly, a 53 percent majority also believes the current system of democracy is not working.

“From a perceived assault on freedom of speech to the fragility of the democracy, a shudder of concern and pessimism rattles a broad swath of the electorate. Nearly 80 percent of registered voters feel they are witnessing a political crisis, seven in ten say political violence is a very serious problem, and a majority say this discord won’t go away anytime soon,” Malloy added.

The vast majority, 82 percent, said the way that people discuss politics is contributing to the violence.

“When asked if political discourse is contributing to violence, a rare meeting of the minds…Republicans, Democrats, and independents in equal numbers say yes, it is,” Malloy said.

The survey was conducted from September 18 to 21 among 1,276 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percentage points.

The post Nearly 8 in 10 Voters Say the United States is in Political Crisis After the Assassination of Charlie Kirk appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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