31st March 2025

Former HUD CAIO Recommends Focus on Literacy, Innovation

Vinay Singh, who is fresh off a two-year stint as the CFO and chief artificial intelligence officer (CAIO) at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), said the agency needs to stay focused on literacy and innovation in its development of AI technologies to benefit operations and mission delivery.
In a recent interview with MeriTalk, Singh talked about the challenges, progress, and potential of AI in the workforce at HUD, and said increasing access to the technology and awarene...

31st March 2025

Federal Judge Blocks DOGE From Accessing SSA Data

A Federal judge in Baltimore temporarily blocked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing millions of Americans’ sensitive data at the Social Security Administration (SSA) on Thursday.

31st March 2025

NVIDIA, MITRE Announce Partnerships for AI-Driven 6G Development

NVIDIA and MITRE announced partnerships on March 18 with several other tech companies to develop systems with artificial intelligence networks that will enable 6G network capabilities.

25th March 2025

House Panel Urges TSA to Develop ‘Adaptive’ Cyber Strategy

The House Homeland Security Committee is urging the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) – a component of the Department of Homeland Security – to develop an “adaptive” cybersecurity posture to combat evolving threats.

25th March 2025

Federal Judge: TRO on OPM Firings Does Not Extend to DoD

A Federal judge on March 6 clarified his decision about a temporary restraining order against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) based on its directives to fire probationary employees across several Federal agencies.

25th March 2025

Former State Dept. AI Chief Lands at Atlassian

Long-time Federal data and artificial intelligence leader Matthew Graviss has landed at Atlassian, a maker of software collaboration tools, after 17 years of Federal government service.

25th March 2025

House Oversight Panel Clashes Over DOGE, Firings, Spending

Members of the House Oversight and Reform Committee clashed on Tuesday over the impacts of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), mounting Federal worker firings, and defense spending levels, with one Republican member predicting that the current turmoil at Federal agencies may be the “tip of the iceberg.”

25th March 2025

DOGE Dump: USDS Employees Resign; 1M Feds Make Five Bullets

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a press conference on Tuesday that “more than one million” of 2.4 million Federal workers total responded to an email asking to name five things they “got done” in the previous week.

25th March 2025

DoD Plans to Build List of ‘Successful Zero Trust Implementations’ This Year

The Department of Defense (DoD) plans to compile a list of successful zero trust implementations this year to deepen its understanding and facilitate the wider adoption of zero trust architecture across its operations, according to a senior Pentagon official.

25th March 2025

Unions, Dems Hail Court Decision Against Probationary Firings

Union leaders and Democratic members of Congress are hailing a Federal court judge’s decision issued late Thursday to uphold a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and its orchestration of Federal agency firings of their probationary employees – and language in the decision that finds OPM’s actions were likely unlawful.

25th March 2025

GAO Tells VA to Improve Requirements, Estimates for Financial IT Overhaul

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is urging the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to update requirements in its Financial Management Business Transformation (FMBT) program to improve its cost estimate and schedule.

25th March 2025

Labor Nominee Promises ‘Deeper Look’ Into DOGE Access, Fed Workforce

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Labor, promised at a Senate nomination hearing on Feb. 19 to take a “deeper look” into how the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is approaching the agency and impacting its workforce.

25th March 2025

Tech Stalwart Ron Ross Leaving NIST

Ron Ross, a computer scientist and fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is retiring from government service, an official from NIST confirmed to MeriTalk.

25th March 2025

Senate Clears Patel to Become FBI Director

The Senate voted on Thursday by a margin of 51 to 49 to confirm President Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel to become the next director of the FBI.
The nomination follows fierce partisan fighting over Patel’s character, qualifications and past comments. The Senate moved forward with the confirmation vote after a filibuster by Senate Democrats to delay the nomination was ended Thursday morning.

25th March 2025

Judge Denies Mass Fed Firings TRO, Unions Push Second Suit

A Federal court judge on Feb. 20 blocked a request from five Federal employee unions for a temporary restraining order (TRO) challenging the Trump administration’s reduction-in-force executive orders and “deferred resignation” program.

25th March 2025

Union Chief Calls FAA Layoffs ‘Dangerous’

The president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) employee union decried employee layoffs at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as “dangerous,” and broke down in an interview with MeriTalk how the job cuts impact technology and safety-related positions.

25th March 2025

ServiceNow Forum: Commerce Using AI to Integrate Across Bureaus

The Department of Commerce is implementing artificial intelligence (AI) processes in use cases across the agency to maximize efficiency and integrate human resources, management, finance, and IT processes across various platforms, according to a department official who spoke at the ServiceNow Federal Forum on Feb. 12.

25th March 2025

Coach K Offers Leadership Advice for Fed AI Implementation

In the final moments of the men’s basketball gold medal game at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Coach Mike Krzyzewski remembers furiously writing up a play to extend Team USA’s lead over Spain. As he wrote the play, he recalled Kobe Bryant’s hand resting upon his hand, reassuring him that the team would get it done.

25th March 2025

GAO Pushes Coast Guard to Beef Up Maritime Cyber Efforts

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended this week that the U.S. Coast Guard update its oversight standards and cybersecurity protections for vessels and facilities within maritime transportation system (MTS) which include waterways, ports, and land connections.

25th March 2025

Fed Unions Sue Over Trump Administration’s Layoff Order

Five Federal employee unions filed a lawsuit on Feb. 12 challenging President Donald Trump’s Feb. 11 executive order (EO) calling for “large scale” reductions-in-force (RIF) and the administration’s “deferred resignation” program.

25th March 2025

GDIT, IonQ Partnering to Boost Federal Quantum Capabilities

General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) and quantum computing equipment maker IonQ are teaming up with a new partnership that aims to boost Federal government agency quantum computing capabilities.

25th March 2025

DOGE Fishing for Fraud Tips at Dozens of Agencies

The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is fishing for tips from the public on Federal agency “waste, fraud, and abuse,” according to a social media post the organization made on Feb. 16.

25th March 2025

NIST Recommends Zero Trust for Digital Twin Tech Uses

The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a new report on Feb. 14 that highlights potential use cases of digital twin technologies and recommends adopting a zero trust cybersecurity model when engaging in digital twin development.

25th March 2025

VA Extends Deadline to Switch to Login.gov, ID.me

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it will extend the deadline to March 4 for veterans and other beneficiaries to switch to Login.gov and ID.me in order to  access their healthcare and other benefits.