Smarter Gov Tech, Stronger MerITocracy

Lisbeth Perez

MeriTalk

Lisbeth Perez is a MeriTalk Senior Technology Reporter covering the intersection of government and technology.

The House Armed Services Committee advanced its version of the fiscal year (FY) 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a 55–2 vote late Tuesday, moving forward a sweeping defense policy bill that includes key provisions related to space technology, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. […]

CISA

In its fourth attempt to get answers, Democratic lawmakers are once again pressing officials at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for explanations on how the agency is supporting state and local election offices ahead of the 2026 midterm election cycle. […]

DoD Pentagon Military

One thing Democrats and Republicans agree on: the Trump administration’s delayed defense budget has left Congress to draft a massive bill on its own with little clarity on which national security programs need funding or how the Pentagon plans to spend the money. […]

DoD Pentagon Military

Senate and House lawmakers have outlined competing visions for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year (FY) 2026, setting the stage for negotiations over national security policy and military spending priorities and in particular laying out different next steps for the Pentagon on artificial intelligence (AI) approaches. […]

Army

The U.S. Army plans to spend $2.9 billion to improve command and control (C2) across several procurement and research-and-development accounts, according to the service’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request. […]

CIA
Pentagon Military Defense DoD

President Donald Trump has nominated James Caggy to serve as assistant secretary of defense for mission capabilities, as the administration moves to fill key roles in the Pentagon’s research and engineering (R&E) directorate. […]

Lisbeth Perez
MeriTalk