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Policy

Tech bills of the week: Mandatory AI RMF usage; AI for energy generation and storage; and more

New legislative proposals aim to use artificial intelligence to improve energy generation and storage, along with government workflows and women’s health care.

Cybersecurity

Trump says he and Xi discussed cyberattacks and spying between US, China

“They’re talking about the spying. Well, we do it too,” the president said. “We spy like hell on them too.”

Ideas

Why access to AI does not equal federal mission capability

COMMENTARY | Federal agencies need to conduct a hard review of whether their current AI pilots can survive contact with real contracting, oversight and operational demands.

Sponsor Content

Claude Mythos advances autonomous exploit development: What agencies can do to prepare

Claude Mythos is redefining cyber warfare. Discover why federal agencies must accelerate AI-driven patching before exploit-ready models go mainstream.

Defense

ODNI assigns two officials to lead intelligence coordination on election threats

For months, it was unclear if ODNI ever named an election threats executive responsible for leading election security efforts in the 2026 midterm cycle.

Policy

House panel approves slate of DHS intelligence reform bills

The measures aim to modernize terror alerts, expand local threat support and standardize training under the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, which the Trump administration is seeking to restructure.

Artificial Intelligence

NIST aims for summer release of AI cyber guidelines

Draft iterations of cybersecurity guidance for AI-driven threats across different types of emerging systems are in development as the federal government wades into AI model risk assessments.

Modernization

VA security personnel aren’t detecting knives or booze, according to a watchdog report assessing medical facility security

The Government Accountability Office highlighted that there are staffing shortages among VA police, but department officials say they have taken steps to address the issue.

Digital Government

White House withholds $1.3B in Medicaid payments to California amid broader fraud crackdown

Vice President JD Vance said the administration will audit states’ Medicaid Fraud Control Units and threatened to “turn off” federal funding for the watchdogs if their fraud prevention efforts are found to be deficient.

Artificial Intelligence

House Homeland panel gets briefing on Anthropic’s Mythos

The conversation was “productive and focused on a range of AI security and competitiveness issues,” according to one person familiar with the meeting.

Sponsor Content

US Compliance Mandates & Chainguard Alignment

See how Chainguard simplifies federal compliance with secure-by-default software, fewer CVEs, faster ATOs and streamlined RMF and cATO workflows.

Ideas

Five steps to make commercial-first government work

COMMENTARY | Recent federal mandates make clear that the status quo is no longer acceptable.

Emerging Tech

Air Force taps Salesforce’s Army contract for personnel modernization work

The enterprise license agreement is part of a $5.6 billion vehicle and will bring agentic artificial intelligence to workforce and logistics management.

Artificial Intelligence

‘No time to waste’ in prepping governments for AI cyber threats, top Dem lawmaker says

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on the Department of Homeland Security to work closer with states and localities, and bemoaned the end of federal funding to an information-sharing center.

Modernization

Watchdog recommends nearly 100 ways for agencies to save tens of billions

Agencies have implemented a majority of previous Government Accountability Office recommendations regarding duplicative federal programs, generating almost $775 billion in financial benefits.

Ideas

The Pentagon’s cyber rules leave MSPs as an attack vector

COMMENTARY | Who actually holds the keys to military contractor information systems?

Artificial Intelligence

‘It would be insane’ for spy agencies to not have AI model early access, lawmaker says

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said the Commerce Department should also have a role in AI policy.

Artificial Intelligence

Lawmakers propose to establish AI guardrails for VA in FY27 funding

Reps. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., and James Walkinshaw, D-Va., are looking to address concerns about unregulated uses of artificial intelligence in separate amendments offered to the House Fiscal Year 2027 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Bill.

Artificial Intelligence

Anthropic and nonprofit partner to streamline benefits administration with AI

Code for America is working with the AI company to build and pilot solutions that leverage Anthropic’s Claude chatbot to help benefit caseworkers improve service delivery.

Cybersecurity

Canvas breach spotlights cybercriminal appetite for student data

Cyberattacks on widely used third-party services like Canvas can expose sensitive data that hackers can later weaponize. Higher education institutions are often a prime target.

Ideas

Agentic AI just proved it can fix federal procurement — now let’s scale it

COMMENTARY | In today’s budget-constrained environment, where every dollar must stretch further and mission delivery is harder than ever, agentic AI offers a genuine path to doing more with less.