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How Healthcare.gov’s botched rollout led to a digital services revolution in government

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What: The rollout of HealthCare.gov
When: The website was launched as part of the Affordable Care Act in 2013.
Why it matters: HealthCare.gov was meant to help users sign up for health insurance plans created under the legislation. The failed launch catalyzed a movement that would redefine how government implements technology and give rise to the creation of the U.S. Digital Service.
To celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2025, we’re spotlighting 25 pivotal moments that reshaped the way the government operates. Visit our anniversary page each week as we look back on these defining moments.

USDS using new strategy to find data scientists

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/podcast/federal-drive-with-terry-gerton-podcast/usds-using-new-strategy-to-find-data-scientists/ 

The crash of HealthCare.gov in October 2013 sparked a nationwide conversation about how the federal government designs and launches online services to the public.

The website was launched as part of the Affordable Care Act, and was meant to help users sign up for health insurance plans created under the legislation. But the site was unable to handle the large volume of web traffic on the first day of its launch.

But the failure of Healthcare.gov didn’t just spark public outrage — it catalyzed a movement that would redefine how government implements technology, and give rise to the creation of the U.S. Digital Service.

Former USDS Administrator Mina Hsiang served on an ad hoc “tech surge” team in the immediate aftermath of the HealthCare.gov crash. 

“What we discovered was there were many people working across different parts of healthcare.gov who knew there was a big problem; who were not really surprised at the outcome.  They would tell us ‘We knew that this was going to happen.’ So then the question is- how do you ensure that people with detailed understanding of what is going on have an appropriate voice and are empowered?  How do we make sure that leaders are asking the right questions and hearing from the right people?  Because that’s clearly not what was happening.  It became clear that incentives are not correctly set up for it, and also there weren’t the people with the right expertise in key leadership positions.  So our team was a key part of the near-term solution for that.” Hsiang said. 

Code for America CEO Amanda Renteria, who was working in the Senate at the time, said the rocky rollout underscored a disconnect between policy and implementation.

The Affordable Care Act, she said, “was this major win for this administration, and then it was hit by this implementation problem that made it very clear that implementation matters.”

“So much of implementation is reliant on how we deliver services, and that is reliant on our infrastructure and technology,” Renteria said.

About a year after the HealthCare.gov crash, the White House launched the U.S. Digital Service, a tech team within the Executive Office of the President.

“In the beginning, the USDS work was a lot like being an EMT. We arrived when something was in crisis and could diagnose and stabilize the situation and take things that were struggling and make them dramatically more successful,” Hsiang said.

But over time, USDS became less reactive and took a more proactive approach to digital services. 

“I, during my tenure, worked to continue to evolve the function of USDS, because ideally, you stop having so many emergency situations. You start saying, ‘OK, what would good look like?’” Hsiang said. “Not just rescue, but how can we actually help agencies and the federal government, writ large, understand what true technology-enabled, user-focused, human-focused execution looks like? And that requires expertise in all of these fields – product management, engineering, design, but also contracting.”

USDS started out as a crisis response team to address service delivery challenges. But over time, USDS helped more than 30 agencies deliver a better digitally-enabled experience to the public.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, USDS launched a vaccine finder tool.USDS recently helped the IRS develop Direct File, a free online tax preparation that was piloted in a dozen states in 2024 and expanded to 25 states in 2025.

“When you’re testing things out in government, the scale is so big, the scrutiny is really high, and so the need to be thoughtful is incredibly important, and it’s lasted. When we were rolling out Direct File, people were like, how can this not be like HealthCare.gov?” Renteria said.

‘You can’t do agile in a waterfall world’

Healthcare.gov’s failure exposed the dangers of waterfall-style development, a method of long planning cycles followed by a single, large-scale release.  The recovery process for Healthcare.gov underscored how agile software development could work in government.

USDS and the General Services Administration’s 18F tech office began institutionalizing modern development practices — iterative testing, user research and accessibility by design.

“It really challenged traditional wisdom at the time,” said Lindsay Young, a former 18F administrator and founding member of the tech office. “It helped redefine what was safe to do. It turned into a success. I think that really gave wind in the sails for the way forward.”

Jen Pahlka, former U.S. chief technology officer and founder of Code for America, who helped found USDS, said the botched HealthCare.gov rollout also revealed deeper structural problems.

“You can’t do agile in a waterfall world,” Pahlka said. “You could spend a lot of political capital passing a huge, important bill, and that might not matter, if you hadn’t thought about and protected the space for implementing that bill. It’s not just the software that has to be agile. Everything around it — funding, management, contracting — needs to change, too.”

Pahlka said USDS succeeded in planting the seeds of a better way of working, even if it wasn’t always visible.

“What used to be something that USDS did for agencies is now just something agencies do,” she said. “It’s happening behind the scenes, in the dogs that don’t bark — the things that work, that don’t make headlines.”

Pahlka said the government’s ability to deliver benefits and services also has a direct impact on public trust in government.

“People are starting to have delightful experiences, doing things like renewing their passports,” she said. “They assume they’re going to stand in line, and then they don’t have to. That changes how people think about government.”

Rise of DOGE

The work of USDS has changed substantially under the Trump administration.  President Donald Trump, soon after taking office in January, signed an executive order creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and renamed USDS as the “U.S. DOGE Service.” USDS lost many of its previous employees with the rise of DOGE.

USDS leaders have always championed a culture of cutting through bureaucracy. But the pace of DOGE’s changes gives some pause.

“When people move fast and things break in government, it doesn’t just have real harm to people, but it has a lasting impact on trust in public institutions,” Renteria said.

Young stressed that those working on digital tools within the federal government “have a responsibility to the security and privacy of the public.”

“It’s just so unnecessary to rush things out the door without testing or basic security,” she said.

Amid all these changes, the ideas seeded by USDS endure.

“A lot of the best work is going to be done at the state and local government level,” said Amy Paris, a former USDS team lead. “Where USDS is going to live on is in organizations that are out there actively trying to provide services for the American people.”

Young said the tools and playbooks developed at 18F and USDS continue to guide digital modernization efforts.

“People that we’ve never even met are able to use templates, are able to use best practices playbooks, and USDS put together a lot of good playbooks as well. That kind of knowledge we have just been working on preserving,” she said.

The post How Healthcare.gov’s botched rollout led to a digital services revolution in government first appeared on Federal News Network.

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GOP Senator John Thune Quietly BLOCKS Trump Recess Appointments with Sneaky Procedural Maneuver — Launches Series of Pro Forma Sessions to Keep Senate in Fake “Session” During August Recess

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7 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R‑SD) has unveiled a procedural scheme to block President Donald Trump from making any critical appointments during the August recess, effectively aiding the Democrats’ obstructionist agenda.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the president can make “recess appointments,” temporary appointments to federal positions, if the Senate is in recess and not conducting business. These appointments don’t require immediate Senate confirmation and can last until the end of the next session of Congress.

But there’s a loophole: if the Senate holds pro forma sessions, very short, symbolic meetings where no actual business is conducted, then technically, the Senate is still in session. That means the president cannot legally make recess appointments during that time.

John Thune has quietly secured unanimous‑consent for a paper‑thin Senate schedule through the Trump appointee confirmation deadline, ensuring only pro forma sessions on five key dates in early August.

Under the agreement, the chamber will adjourn after today’s business and reconvene without conducting any votes or business on:

  • Tue, Aug 5 – 1:00 p.m.
  • Fri, Aug 8 – 1:05 p.m.
  • Tue, Aug 12 – 8:00 a.m.
  • Fri, Aug 15 – 10:15 a.m.
  • Tue, Aug 19 – 10:00 a.m.
  • Fri, Aug 22 – 9:00 a.m.
  • Tue, Aug 26 – 12:00 p.m.
  • Fri, Aug 29 – 7:00 a.m.

WATCH:

Thune’s pro forma blueprint comes amid mounting pressure from Donald Trump, who has demanded the Senate remain open until all 150+ administration nominees are confirmed.

Under the Recess Appointments Clause, a president may only install nominees without Senate approval if both chambers are in formal recess for at least 10 days. By convening the Senate just long enough every few days, Thune blocks the possibility of Trump making unilateral appointees.

The Senate went into its August recess without confirming all of Trump’s pending judicial and district‑level appointments.

By the time lawmakers left town on Saturday evening, no deal had been reached to move dozens of Trump’s nominees, including U.S. district court picks, through final floor votes.

Only a small handful of nominees (such as Jeanine Pirro to be U.S. Attorney in D.C.) had advanced. Otherwise, nominees remained stalled in committees or waiting for cloture roll‑calls on the executive calendar.

Roughly 150–160 executive and judicial nominations, including over a dozen district court judges and U.S. attorney nominations, remained scheduled but unconfirmed.

The post GOP Senator John Thune Quietly BLOCKS Trump Recess Appointments with Sneaky Procedural Maneuver — Launches Series of Pro Forma Sessions to Keep Senate in Fake “Session” During August Recess appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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‘That’s What I Call Results!’: Trump Admin Saves Jobs, Kicks 1500 Non-English-Speaking Truckers Off the Road

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7 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed that there have been about 1,500 truck drivers who do not speak English taken off the roads as part of a push to ensure foreign truck drivers are not causing accidents.

Back in 2016, the Obama administration stopped enforcing English proficiency requirements for truckers, according to a report from The Daily Signal.

But in May, Duffy issued a guidance making clear that truck drivers who cannot demonstrate a proficiency in English cannot drive.

The 1,500 drivers were taken off the roads within the first 3o days of the rules once more being enforced, according to The Daily Signal.

“Since I took action to enforce language proficiency requirements for truckers, our state partners have put roughly 1,500 unqualified drivers out of service. That’s what I call results!” Duffy posted on X.

“If you can’t read or speak our national language — ENGLISH — we won’t let your truck endanger the driving public.”

He added, “America First = Safety First.”

Duffy’s concerns were far from unfounded.

In January, there was a truck driver involved in a fatal crash that had to use a language interpreter for the post-crash investigation, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Another incident from 2019 involved a truck driver who could not proficiently speak English speeding through signs that warned of steep grades and dangerous curves, all at more than 100 miles per hour.

Four people died in that crash, per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

President Donald Trump had likewise insisted with an April executive order that the move centered on public safety.

“They should be able to read and understand traffic signs, communicate with traffic safety, border patrol, agricultural checkpoints, and cargo weight-limit station officers,” the order said of truck drivers.

They also “need to provide feedback to their employers and customers and receive related directions in English,” a position the order called “common sense.”

“It is the policy of my Administration to support America’s truckers and safeguard our roadways by enforcing the commonsense English-language requirement for commercial motor vehicle drivers and removing needless regulatory burdens that undermine the working conditions of America’s truck drivers,” the notice added.

“This order will help ensure a safe, secure, and efficient motor carrier industry.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post ‘That’s What I Call Results!’: Trump Admin Saves Jobs, Kicks 1500 Non-English-Speaking Truckers Off the Road appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Slovenia Imposes Arms Embargo on Israel, Citing Gaza Conflict

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7 hours ago

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August 3, 2025

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via Wikimedia Commons

Slovenia has imposed an arms embargo on Israel, banning the export, import, and transit of weapons to and from the country.

This decision was announced by Prime Minister Robert Golob following a government session on July 31, 2025.

Slovenia claims to be the first European Union member to take such a step, citing the EU’s inability to act due to internal disagreements.

The government stated that no permits for military exports to Israel have been issued since October 2023, when the conflict in Gaza began.

Officials emphasized that the embargo is an independent measure to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Slovenia has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and increased aid deliveries to the region.

In early July 2025, Slovenia declared two Israeli ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, persona non grata, barring them from entry.

This action was based on their public statements regarding the conflict. Earlier, in June 2024, Slovenia recognized Palestinian statehood, joining countries like Ireland, Norway, and Spain in this move.

The conflict in Gaza started after the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israeli territory, which resulted in over 1,200 deaths and the taking of hostages.

Israel responded with a military operation aimed at dismantling Hamas infrastructure. Reports from Gaza’s health ministry indicate significant casualties, with ongoing international efforts to negotiate truces and provide aid.

Several other nations have taken similar diplomatic steps, including France, Britain, and Canada announcing potential recognition of a Palestinian state. Australia has also indicated that recognizing Palestinian statehood is under consideration.

Israel has criticized these declarations, arguing they could reward Hamas for its actions.

Israeli officials dismissed Slovenia’s embargo as insignificant, noting that Israel does not procure any defense materials from Slovenia.

An unnamed official stated that the country buys nothing from Slovenia, not even minor items.

Within the EU, there is growing pressure for measures against Israel, with Sweden and the Netherlands advocating for suspending parts of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

The European Commission has proposed limiting Israel’s participation in the Horizon research program, though Germany opposes such steps.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul expressed concerns about Israel’s potential diplomatic isolation during a visit to Jerusalem.

The United States remains a key ally to Israel, with President Donald Trump warning that recognizing Palestinian statehood might benefit Hamas.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff recently met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to advance Gaza truce talks. These efforts aim to address the humanitarian crisis and secure a ceasefire.

The post Slovenia Imposes Arms Embargo on Israel, Citing Gaza Conflict appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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