Where to start this week? Funding freezes? Pauses on acquisition at the General Services Administration (GSA)? Federal worker buyouts? There was a lot going on and the government tech media covered it all and more. Here’s an overview of trending news:
- Funding Freeze Confusion
- Acquisition Pause
- AFCEA West 2025 News
Funding Freeze Confusion
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) stirred things up this week by announcing a funding freeze early in the week before pulling it back. While the news received significant coverage in mainstream outlets like The Washington Post, here’s how the tech media covered it:
- Weslan Hansen wrote in MeriTalk that “the short-lived order created nearly universal confusion” across the government before OMB cancelled it. Near the week’s end, Hansen reported that a federal judge was reviewing the order’s legality. In FedScoop, Madison Alder had the news that a federal judge blocked parts of the OMB order on Tuesday before it was scheduled to take effect.
- The order would have had no effect on Department of Defense contracts, according to an article by Sandra Erwin in Space News. But in an article with a headline that included a deleted expletive, Ashley Roque, Valerie Insinna and Aaron Mehta of Breaking Defense conveyed that the defense industry was in “a state bordering between confusion and panic” following the order.
- In CyberScoop, Tim Starks published a piece stating that the order has left “federal cyber programs in [a] state of confusion,” affecting cybersecurity programs at the Department of Homeland Security, the Labor Department and elsewhere.
- Looking at the issue from a state/local government perspective, Chris Teale of Route 50 shared a report that “chaos and confusion reigned in states and localities this week” over the future of tech grants affecting their jurisdictions. In StateScoop, Keely Quinlan wrote that the freeze would have left many state/local programs “in limbo.”
Acquisition Pause
“Confusion” was also the buzzword in much of the coverage of the administration’s suspension of new contract awards by GSA:
- Jason Miller reported in Federal News Network that the GSA memo halted all awards “until further notice,” adding the Army may be taking similar action.
- The GSA memo said the pause will give leaders a chance to review ongoing acquisition activity and “help direct any needed course corrections,” according to an article by Grace Dille in MeriTalk.
- Nick Wakeman and Ross Wilkers of Washington Technology have been closely covering recent developments and their impact on contractors. Writing about the GSA action, Wakeman noted that it raised questions among contractors about the scope and legality of the action. Wakeman also shared his analysis of potential changes small business contractors can expect from the new administration. Wilkers shared comments from a slate of experts on how contractors can deal with the recent “turbulence” they are experiencing.
- Similarly, John Curran of MeriTalk reported on comments by David Berteau of the Professional Services Council stating that the IT contracting environment remains “cloudy” as a result of the administration’s actions. Carten Cordell of Government Executive wrote that Berteau indicated that these actions have left contractors guessing about government spending programs.
AFCEA West 2025 News
If you were fortunate enough to escape the confusion and cold weather of Washington D.C. and get to San Diego for the AFCEA West conference, you were privy to tech news from military leaders. Here’s what was reported:
- In AFCEA’s own SIGNAL publication, George I. Seffers covered a panel discussion on the Navy’s “aggressive” efforts to adopt AI. SIGNAL’s Evan Lynch reported on comments on a Navy program that brings together tacticians and engineers to improve the way the service gives warfighters access to disruptive technologies.
- Lauren C. Williams reported from the conference for Defense One on a session about the Navy’s need for AI to help sift through intelligence data.
- Mark Pomerleau of DefenseScoop attended the event and wrote about the Navy’s announcement of a new career path for its cybersecurity workforce, and a move to centralize cybersecurity monitoring operations at the Marine Corps. Also at DefenseScoop, Mikayla Easley covered a report released at the conference which found that most contractors do not feel prepared to meet the requirements of the DOD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification initiative.
- Ross Gianfortune from GovCIO Media posted a series of video interviews, including one with Marine Corps Systems Command CTO Gaurang Dävé on efforts to use technology to speed up delivery of warfighting tools to the field, and another with Navy CIO Jane Rathbun on the service’s achievements related to zero trust.
- Lisbeth Perez from MeriTalk was on hand too, reporting that the Navy has nearly completed its strategic plan for AI and that the DOD plans to revise educational requirements for its cyber workforce.
And a final note: Jessie Bur of Nextgov/FCW announced this year’s recipients of the annual Federal 100 Awards. Congratulations to all of the winners!
Thanks for reading. We know the hard-working reporters and editors cited above will continue to keep their eyes on new developments important to the government technology community. And we’ll keep you posted on the trending news they publish. See you next week!