It’s been another busy week for the government tech media – so busy that it’s hard to know where to begin. Well, actually, it isn’t that hard. Here’s a roundup of what topics have been trending this week:
That Signal App Chat
The biggest buzz in government tech media outlets this week was the sharing of war plans in a group chat that included a journalist. Like their mainstream media colleagues, government tech reporters were all over it:
- Senate Democrats hammered intelligence leaders for the “sloppy” and “incompetent” episode in a hearing this week, according to coverage by Patrick Tucker in Defense One. Later in the week, Defense One shared a report from German publication Der Spiegel that found private phone numbers, email addresses and passwords for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard freely available online.
- Tim Starks of CyberScoop also covered the Senate hearing, noting that senators “struggled to get specific answers to some of their questions about what happened and how.” Also in the Senate, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Sen. Rogers Wicker, and the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed, called for the Defense Department inspector general to investigate the incident, a development reported by Valerie Insinna in Breaking Defense.
- Members of the House also demanded answers, with Gabbard telling members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that the incident did not amount to an unauthorized release of classified information, according to a piece in Nextgov/FCW by Amber Corrin. John Curran noted in MeriTalk that democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee are investigating the use of the Signal communications app by Trump administration officials, telling those officials to preserve their records. In a related development covered by David DiMolfetta in Nextgov/FCW, a federal judge ordered relevant agencies Thursday to preserve all communications related to the Signal group chat.
- Elsewhere in the House, democrats on the House Armed Services Committee are demanding a hearing on the matter, as reported by Anastasia Obis in Federal News Network.
- Also in Defense One, a former Air Force assistant secretary wrote that the chat was “a stunning violation of national security” and “heads must roll” for this debacle.
- White House and Pentagon leaders denied accusations that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared military secrets and classified information outside of secure channels, as reported by Leo Shane III and Noah Robertson in Military Times.
- Several knowledgeable observers told Brandi Vincent of DefenseScoop that the incident underscores a need for better secure chat options for government and military insiders.
Spotlight on Acquisition
Both the Trump administration and Congress have turned up the volume on efforts to improve the federal government’s acquisition processes. There was a flood of coverage on many of these activities this week:
- Grace Dille reported in MeriTalk that a bipartisan group of House lawmakers reintroduced legislation to streamline software purchasing across the federal government and reduce unnecessary costs. In her article for Nextgov/FCW, Natalie Alms noted that this is the third time lawmakers have attempted to pass the bill.
- In an effort to stop what he considers wasteful spending, Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) Greg Barbaccia ordered all federal CIOs to compile a list of existing software licenses with nine of the largest government software providers, and deliver by April 30 a list of all of their software licenses and contracts, according to an email obtained by MeriTalk’s Curran. Rebecca Heilweil and Billy Mitchell of FedScoop quoted the email as stating the action is being taken because agencies are “neglecting cost savings, making duplicative purchases, and failing to take advantage of economies of scale for software purchases.”
- In Washington Technology, editor Nick Wakeman provides an overview of how the Trump administration plans to streamline Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) to open the market to more competition and “best-in-class” companies.
- Mikayla Easley of DefenseScoop wrote that Troy Meink, the White House nominee to lead the Air Force, said at his confirmation hearing that he would focus on improving acquisition processes for onboarding new capabilities. In a separate hearing covered by Easley’s colleague Jon Harper, Michael Duffey, the nominee for undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told lawmakers that, if confirmed, he would conduct a review of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0 (CMMC 2.0) initiative, a program that has generated concern among contractors.
- In other Defense acquisition news from Capitol Hill, Sandra Erwin of industry publication Space News noted congressional concerns about a possible shift in the Air Force’s space acquisition strategy that could replace planned military satellite purchases from multiple contractors with SpaceX’s Starshield satellites.
- In Defense News, Courtney Albon relayed comments from Defense officials expressing “a mix of optimism and angst” from several observers about a recent Pentagon directive requiring rapid procurement methods and contracting tools for all software acquisition.
- Contractors may soon begin to feel the reverberations of these developments. In Federal News Network, Jason Miller reported that the General Services Administration is targeting as many as 577 schedule holders for removal in the next six months. Miller’s colleague Tom Temin interviewed Stephanie Kostro of the Professional Services Council about how some contractors are not getting paid in a timely manner.
This is just a sample of the diligent work done by members of the government tech press. Check back next week for more. See you then!