We’re already halfway through December and the buzz on what’s going to happen when the new administration comes to town has only increased. This week we also saw an uptick on Defense-related IT news. Our latest weekly government tech news roundup follows:
Meet the New Boss
Are changes at IRS afoot under the new administration? What should we expect from the forthcoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)? These and other questions were tackled this week by reporters covering government tech:
- Republicans in the House asked President-elect Trump to ditch the IRS Direct File program, which the agency views as a convenient way for citizens to file taxes for free and GOP lawmakers view as “government overreach,” according to an article by Grace Dille in MeriTalk. In her coverage of the story, Natalie Alms noted in Nextgov/FCW that the DOGE is reportedly looking into the program. In a related story, Jory Heckman of Federal News Network reported that cuts to the IRS modernization budget could hinder the agency’s success in recovering billions of dollars in owed taxes. Heckman also filed a piece on House Republicans looking to the DOGE to privatize some U.S. Postal Service functions.
- On a positive note, Dille reported on comments from a former head of the Government Accountability Office that the DOGE could help the government save hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Also, Federal News Network’s Tom Temin interviewed an expert who believes the DOGE can be successful if it focuses on more “manageable ambitions.” And Patrick Tucker of Defense One wrote that Defense officials believe the new administration will maintain DOD’s focus on “cutting edge tech.” Audrey Decker reported in Washington Technology from the Reagan National Defense Forum that Defense-startup executives were “giddy” at the prospect of gaining a comparative advantage through the new administration’s expected attacks on Pentagon bureaucracy.
- Caroline Nihill of FedScoop reported on the Senate’s proposed DOGE Act bills, focused on issues like merit-based pay for federal employees and restricted telework. Cate Burgan also had the story this week for MeriTalk. In addition, Burgan covered a panel discussion in which a group of experts predicted the incoming administration would have a strong focus on innovation, particularly when it comes to AI.
DOD Tech News
We saw a series of interesting pieces of coverage on Defense-related technology across several publications this week, focused on space-based tech and other innovations:
- Reporting this week from the Spacepower Conference, Sandra Erwin of Space News wrote about the U.S. Space Force plans to use a “plug and play” satellite interface to shorten the timeline for launching payloads. Erwin also reported on comments from the leader of the U.S. Space Command at the conference on the military’s increasing reliance on commercial satellite companies.
- Theresa Hitchens of Breaking Defense was also at the Spacepower Conference and reported on new DOD command and control software for quickly maneuvering satellites for “orbital warfare.” Hitchens also covered a conference announcement on a Space Force program to test software to modernize how it processes and disseminates space monitoring data.
- The DOD Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) was in the news this week. The organization announced this week that its program to roll out thousands of inexpensive autonomous systems was well on track, according to an article by Lisbeth Perez in MeriTalk. In DefenseScoop, Jon Harper reported that the program will detect, track and destroy unmanned aerial threats.
- In other news, reported by Jane Edwards at ExecutiveGov, DIU said it launched a new initiative to accelerate the adoption of generative AI across the DOD. This development comes as the DOD retired its Task Force Lima, which has worked since 2023 to advance recommendations for the department’s adoption of AI, according to a story this week by Anastasia Obis for Federal News Network. In Breaking Defense, Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. reported that the department is looking at uses for generative AI for “everything from war planning to cybersecurity.”
- The DIU also just issued a solicitation seeking ideas on how to combat unmanned aircraft (drones), reported by Arthur McMiller in ExecutiveGov. This news comes as we’ve seen recent widespread media coverage of unidentified drones over the U.S., including an article by Brandi Vincent in DefenseScoop and another by Madison Alder in FedScoop.
Gov & Beyond
I’ll close this week with a reminder to those who haven’t already done so to check out the W2 Communications Gov & Beyond podcast with Luca Pagni and Joyson Cherian. Their inaugural interview with Troy Schneider of Billington CyberSecurity explores trends in the cybersecurity and the government market. More episodes are on the way!
That’s all for this week. Please subscribe below to stay on top of the issues that are grabbing the attention of your favorite government tech media outlets. I’ll be back next week with more.