Leadership
National Institutes of Health names Maureen Falvella as permanent CIO
She served as acting CIO for roughly 10 months before moving into the role officially.
Greg Barbaccia to return to Palantir after leaving government
The federal CIO’s departure comes after a turbulent period for the federal technology workforce where thousands of technologists left the government.
Senate confirms Clayton as Trump’s next intelligence director
The former SEC chairman will replace acting intelligence chief Bill Pulte, whose brief tenure oversaw repeated personnel cuts to the nation’s top spy office.
Pulte announces 30% ODNI staff reduction hours before Clayton vote
The acting intelligence chief said a fifth and “near final” round of terminations was underway Tuesday but did not disclose how many employees were affected.
NIST AI safety center lead departs
Chris Fall was appointed to helm the Center for AI Standards and Innovation in April and has been at the Commerce Department since December 2025.
Trump’s intelligence pick pressed on 2020 election, defends handling of New York Times subpoenas
Jay Clayton faced Democratic criticism after repeatedly declining to say Joe Biden won in 2020 and standing by subpoenas issued by his Manhattan prosecutor’s office to four New York Times journalists.
Transportation’s tech chief Pavan Pidugu to depart in September
He is the third federal tech lead confirmed to depart federal service this week.
Exclusive
HUD CIO tapped to lead Interior tech shop, people familiar say
Eric Sidle has a background in the EV industry, having worked with firms like NIO and ChargePoint.
Seizing the digital advantage at DOD
Defense Department CIO Kirsten Davies said her office is shifting away from its traditional role as a backend policy shop to become a forward-leaning strategic unit.
Breaking News
Greg Barbaccia to leave federal CIO role at end of August
“Greg has done an excellent job as Federal CIO and Chief AI Officer,” an OMB spokesperson told Nextgov/FCW. “He will certainly be missed when his time here comes to an end.”
Anthropic taps Teresa Carlson as public sector lead
A veteran of several major tech companies, Carlson will serve as Anthropic’s first Global Head of Public Sector.
Interior CIO Paul McInerny exits position
Paul “Macca” McInerny, a former SpaceX engineer that aligned himself with DOGE’s efficiency push, left the department last week after just over a year in the role, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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Trump says Pulte can declassify ‘whatever’ he wants, sparking fears of exposing intelligence secrets
“If he doesn’t care about blowing up cyber exploits, putting foreign relationships at risk, or getting people killed, he could declassify a lot,” one former official said.
CIA will take ‘smart risks’ and ‘course correct’ as it adopts AI, director says
“We simply can’t afford to wait for a risk-free approach to emerging tech. It doesn’t exist. We have to move fast. We have to be aggressive,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said.
ODNI deputy director pushed out amid Pulte cuts
An estimated 15 to 20 individuals who were assigned to the Mission Integration directorate from other intelligence community components are believed to have returned to their respective agencies.
DOD quantum strategy ‘a first step’ in preparing for the future, CIO says
Pentagon Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies said the department’s new post-quantum cryptography strategy is only one component of ensuring its operations “are robust and ready in an increasingly unpredictable world.”
Sean Gallagher selected as NASA CIO
Having served as acting chief information officer since January, Gallagher’s permanent appointment is “effective immediately,” the agency said.
Lawmakers warn acting DNI against using role for major workforce shakeups
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., cited concerns about reported ODNI staff cuts while Bill Pulte temporarily leads the intelligence community.
Intelligence director hearing cancelled as Trump pushes for controversial voter bill
The development guarantees that Bill Pulte — whose selection to temporarily lead the office derailed a recent FISA vote — would start as acting national intelligence director on Friday.
CISA sees leadership shakeup after infrastructure security chief moves to ONCD
The personnel moves come as CISA prepares to hire hundreds of new employees following a year of layoffs, buyouts and internal restructuring.
