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  1. OPM Office of Personnel Management
    OPM Proposal Would Tie Federal Layoffs to Performance Ratings
    The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a new rule that would make federal employee performance – not seniority – the key factor in determining who stays or goes during future layoffs. 
  1. Senate Passes Bill to Reauthorize SBIR, STTR Programs
  2. NASA, OPM Kick Off Drive for Top Technologists
  3. Hegseth: DOD Working on Release of UAP Files
  4. Idaho National Lab Cyber Breach Accelerates Shift to Zero Trust
  5. DOE Offers $352M to Advance Next-Gen Energy Technologies
  6. From Shadow AI to Sanctioned AI: Enabling Federal AI Innovation With Visibility and Guardrails

People

  1. Gottumukkala Moves to New DHS Role, Andersen Named Acting CISA Director
    Madhu Gottumukkala is departing as the interim leader of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), with current agency executive director for cybersecurity Nick Andersen stepping in as the agency’s acting director.
  1. DOJ Elevates Nikki Collier to CIO Role
  2. James Adams Takes Helm of DIA
  3. GSA Names Greg Barbaccia Acting Director of TTS
  4. SBA IG William Kirk Named PRAC Chair
  1. OMB Is Looking for a Deputy CIO
  2. Sen. Wyden Pledges Further Efforts to Block CISA Nominee
  3. VA Elevates Zack Schwartz to OIT’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
  4. Pentagon Names Six Tech Area Leaders

Progress

  1. CMS
    CMS Turns to Zero Trust, Partners With Zscaler to Modernize Network Security
    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is accelerating its transition to a zero trust architecture, replacing what one agency official described as a “flat” network environment that posed a “huge security vulnerability.”
  1. Cybersecurity Leaders Brace for Iran-Linked Cyber Threats
  2. Army Eyes Summer for Initial Capital Deals
  3. Tech Workers Urge DOD to Reverse Anthropic’s Supply Chain Risk Designation
  4. Bob Costello Exiting CISA Amid More CISA Leadership Shakeups
  1. Scale AI’s Dan Tadross on Elastic Workflows, Human Judgment, and AI ROI
  2. Army Seeks Industry Partners for Modernization Push
  3. USDA Moves to Consolidate Farmer Record Systems by 2028
  4. Hassan–led Report Estimates Over $20B in Recent Losses From Data Broker Breaches

Policy

  1. Bipartisan Senators Revive Bill to Codify Federal AI Standards Center
    A bipartisan group of senators is reigniting efforts to codify the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Center for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Standards and Innovation (CAISI) and create new standards and testbeds for the national laboratories to accelerate AI innovation. 
  1. Lee, Durbin Move to Tighten Surveillance Law Ahead of Deadline
  2. OPM Moves to Tighten Federal Employee Performance Ratings, Limit Appeals
  3. Senate-Passed ROTOR Act Fails in House After Pentagon Pulls Support
  4. Army’s PIT Program Accelerating Technology Innovation
  1. Bipartisan Proposal Would Give Companies a Tax Break to Train Workers in AI
  2. FAR Council Proposes Ban on Adversary-Linked Chips in Federal Contracts
  3. Trahan Calls for Overhaul of Privacy Act Amid Federal Data-Sharing Scrutiny
  4. DISA Unveils New Cloud Environment