Acquisition
FAR Council releases changes to 6 sections of acquisition regulation
The White House celebrated the changes as a milestone in its effort to overhaul and simplify the rules surrounding federal buying.
Artificial Intelligence
NVIDIA, NSF join forces with nonprofit to bring AI to scientific research
NVIDIA and the National Science Foundation will work alongside nonprofit artificial intelligence center Ai2 to create bespoke multimodal large language models tailored to scientific research.
Updated
People
Layoffs canceled at federal contractor oversight office, but questions remain about employee reassignments
Employees at the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs received a notice that they will get new job assignments rather than be removed from the civil service.
Artificial Intelligence
GSA introduces USAi.Gov to streamline AI adoption across government
The new platform will be available to all agencies beginning Thursday, allowing government users to explore, experiment with and adopt a variety of AI tools.
Digital Government
Veterans Affairs reduces claims backlog at record rate
The Veterans Affairs Department processed more disability compensation and pension claims in fiscal 2025 than any other previous year.
Digital Government
SSA said it removed strict ID requirements on its phone line, but internal policy says otherwise
The agency said in a recent regulatory filing that the identification pin had been made optional for those wishing to change direct deposit information over the phone. Internal policy says they’re still required.
Acquisition
GSA signs OneGov agreement with Box
Agencies can get discounts upwards of 75% on Box's Enterprise Plus and 65% on Enterprise Advanced under this latest pact between the General Services Administration and a commercial software provider.
Artificial Intelligence
Education and workforce training form core of national AI strategy, Labor innovation head says
The new Talent Strategy’s tactics aim to upskill the U.S. workforce for artificial intelligence-based roles.
Policy
How Trump’s DC takeover could supercharge surveillance
The emergency declaration, combined with new tech, will give government broad new abilities to watch and monitor citizens.
Artificial Intelligence
GSA and Anthropic ink deal for Claude AI across all government branches
Anthropic has followed in OpenAI’s footsteps to offer federal agencies its Claude model versions for $1.
Artificial Intelligence
Teachers union looks to states and industry for AI regulation absent federal action
Having lost faith in the chance of broad federal regulation, teachers unions are betting on state legislators and private sector companies to safeguard AI in schools.
People
Trump federalizes D.C. police, says takeover will enable federal employees to work in peace
Agency officials say federal staff are excited and prepared for new deployments.
Ideas
Integrated data systems start with federated data governance
COMMENTARY | Efforts are at risk of failure without primary focus on the human, organizational, and cultural barriers to success.
Cybersecurity
Researchers detail new ‘gray zone conflict’ in AI-driven Chinese propaganda
Documents from Chinese firm GoLaxy detail influence operations aligned with Beijing that run at unprecedented speed and precision. National security experts at Vanderbilt say these developments may forever redefine information warfare.
Modernization
GSA doubles FedRAMP authorizations compared to last year
GSA overhauled FedRAMP in the spring to streamline the process and introduce more automation.
Cybersecurity
In pitch to hacker community, Trump’s NSC cyber lead says AI key to future of cyberdefense
At DEF CON, Alexei Bulazel said AI-powered tools will give software developers “incredible abilities” to harden networks by adding multilayered checks to the code-scanning process and catching flaws that might otherwise slip through.
Cybersecurity
DARPA unveils winners of AI challenge to boost critical infrastructure cybersecurity
The AI Cyber Challenge aims to accelerate the distribution of open-source AI models to help patch the code that powers major infrastructure like water treatment plans and power grids. Four of the open-source models have already been made available for use.
Digital Government
In partisan letter, Bisignano shifts blame on 1-800 call times, cites dated stats
Current and former Social Security officials said the commissioner at various points blamed his predecessor for problems that did not exist and took credit for Biden-era improvements.
Digital Government
Trump is outpacing his first term in deleting environmental information
The restriction of language and removal of information makes it harder to address climate issues, say the authors of a new report on environmental information under Trump 2.0.
Cybersecurity