People

SSA tech shop to be led by another DOGE associate

Scott Coulter will replace the agency’s previous CIO, who has been moved to a senior advisor position at SSA.

Former election security official announces run for Congress in New York

Cait Conley is running on a Democrat platform to challenge Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in next year’s midterms. She is a combat veteran and served as CISA’s top election security advisor during the 2024 cycle.

GSA names new deputy administrator

The agency’s second in command had been serving as an advisor to the acting administrator.

NSF CIO Terry Carpenter retires

The National Science Foundation selected veteran and deputy CIO Clyde E. Richards to serve as acting CIO.

CISA's chief AI officer resigned last month

The departure of Lisa Einstein at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency raises questions about the future of artificial intelligence within the agency. 

Air Force CIO announces retirement

Venice Goodwine is stepping down after more than 30 years of federal service.

TTS director tapped to serve as Labor CIO

Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer, will continue to lead the Technology Transformation Services, a General Services Administration spokesperson confirmed.

Trump continues to curtail union rights and career pipelines

Guidance issued by the Office of Personnel Management last week instructs agencies to ignore union contract provisions on reductions in force, and apply its policies.

CISA works to contact probationary employees for reinstatement after court order

Trump officials have vowed to downsize the nation’s leading cybersecurity agency. Ex-officials have said the moves would be harmful to national security.

Breaking News

DHS taps Antoine McCord for top tech post

McCord is a former Marine and is excited about the use of AI in the agency, people familiar say.

Energy appoints Twitter, Google and DOGE alum as new CIO

Ross Graber most recently supported the nascent Department of Government Efficiency’s work at the State Department, a State Department official told Nextgov/FCW.

Trump’s US chief technology officer pick would serve dual-role

Ethan Klein served as a tech policy advisor in the first Trump administration.

VA grants researchers 90-day reprieve from layoffs, but their futures remain uncertain

A department spokesperson said the temporary extensions “will ensure continuity of all research efforts while VA conducts a comprehensive assessment of ongoing research initiatives to evaluate their impact on Veteran health care.”

Trump taps Sean Plankey to head CISA

Plankey served at the Energy Department and National Security Council during Trump’s first term. 

Lawsuit outlines how DOGE pushed for access to Social Security systems and data

Democracy Forward and unions are asking courts to block DOGE’s access to the troves of personal data held at the agency.

Agency guidance on ‘five accomplishments’ email still inconsistent

Bureaus inside DHS are still reviewing past submissions from staff and have instructed their workers to hold off on sending more updates.

Exclusive

Energy CIO departs after short tenure

Ryan Riedel, formerly of SpaceX, served in the role for less than two months.