People
‘I know what I don’t know,’ SecDef pick says at confirmation hearing
Hegseth faced questions about his inexperience and fitness as a leader.
People
OPM promotes deputy CIO to top tech role
He’ll succeed the recently retired Guy Cavallo in the role.
People
Top Oversight Democrat says he’s open to collaborate with the DOGE
The new Department of Government Efficiency — which, despite the “department” referenced in its name, is an advisory effort, not a government department — has aims to trim the federal workforce and hunt efficiencies in tech and fraud reduction efforts.
Exclusive
Artificial Intelligence
AI startup Anthropic to build out public sector team
Thiyagu Ramasamy, formerly of Amazon Web Services, will lead the effort.
Cybersecurity
US has ‘a lot of work to do’ on cyber defenses, departing cyber czar says
Outgoing National Cyber Director Harry Coker thinks his office needs more influence over the federal cyber budget but not necessarily more authority on offensive cyber operations.
People
OPM CIO announces retirement
Guy Cavallo is the agency’s longest serving CIO in the past decade.
Digital Government
Unemployment isn’t recession-ready — but it’s getting better, says acting Labor secretary
Julie Su, the acting Department of Labor secretary, has often been scrutinized for her role in California during the pandemic. She sat down with Nextgov/FCW to talk about unemployment four years later.
People
Trump announces more tech policy team members
President-elect Donald Trump tapped four people — some returning to the White House after serving in his first administration — to serve on his technology policy team.
People
Intelligence CIO moves to helm IT at the National Institutes of Health
Adele Merritt, who served as CIO for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence since January 2022, took over as the NIH CIO on Dec. 16.
People
‘Extraordinarily dangerous’: Intelligence community insiders warn against Trump’s DNI pick
Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has a “history of irresponsibly promoting misinformation,” said one official.
People
USDS looks for new deputy to lead as Trump administration approaches
Mina Hsiang, current administrator of the U.S. Digital Service, is expected to leave before the Trump administration takes the helm.
Digital Government
How the federal CIO is prepping for the presidential transition
Cybersecurity, customer experience and effective transition efforts have been top-of-mind for Clare Matorana in the last days of the Biden administration.
People
CISA Director Jen Easterly to depart on Inauguration Day
Easterly and Deputy Director Nitin Natarajan are set to leave as an administration change casts doubt on the agency’s future.
People
Trump taps Fox host Pete Hegseth to be defense secretary
The combat veteran and “anti-woke” crusader lacks senior military or national-security experience.
People
TTS director Ann Lewis to depart
Lewis focused on modernization and artificial intelligence solutions during her tenure.
People
Employee group urges centralized response to increase in doxxing and threats against federal workers
The Department of Justice Gender Equality Network urged department leadership to create a centralized “triage” team to better tackle instances where members of the public doxx or threaten employees online.
People
DARPA hires Twitter whistleblower to serve as its CIO
Peiter “Mudge” Zatko — the former security head of then-Twitter who alleged that the platform was overlooking critical security flaws — will be returning to DARPA after almost a decade away in the private sector.
Acquisition
ServiceNow parts with president and public sector head after internal probe
The software vendor indicated it violated company policy in the hiring of former Army CIO Raj Iyer on the heels of a large contract award.
People
Former federal CISO DeRusha joins Google Cloud
He started the position helming the company’s public sector compliance last week, after having led several federal governmentwide cybersecurity initiatives.
People