Leadership
NGA official assumes top AI role at Cyber Command
Ronzelle Green steps into the chief artificial intelligence officer role previously held by Reid Novotny, who worked to expand the combatant command’s embrace of new AI capabilities regardless of their origins.
NSA plans major reorganization with new AI, China and cyber centers
The overhaul would create five mission centers, with implementation expected to begin in October.
Agriculture CIO transitions to role modernizing farmers’ records
USDA CIO Sam Berry will help implement the agency’s One Farmer, One File effort to create streamlined internal records for farmers.
‘We have to throw technology at the cyber problem,’ Pentagon CIO says
Defense Department Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies said the Pentagon has to focus on “leveraging the fantastically skilled people that we have in a much more effective way.”
Trump is staffing up agencies with political appointees. They’re not sticking around, new analysis finds
The Partnership for Public Service previously reported on high turnover among Senate-confirmed political appointees during the president’s second term. In a new report, researchers from the nonprofit find a similar trend with non-Senate-confirmed ones.
TMF will have $200M to spend next year without appropriations, official says
The federal government plans to announce new projects receiving modernization dollars at the end of next month, ahead of a possible expiration for the fund.
GSA to reinstate FedRAMP director, taps Treasury CIO for 3 roles
The General Services Administration is seeing a string of personnel changes leading up to the federal chief information officer’s departure from government at the end of the month.
Senate confirms Adam Cassady to run State Department cyberspace bureau
The confirmation comes as the tech diplomacy shop he would traditionally lead in his new role has seen significant reorganizations in the last year.
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.
