Front Burner
The Acquisition Rule (Re)writers Really Want You to Have your Say
NextGov reports that while the Federal Government is not actively responding to industry comments regarding the rewrite of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), acquisition executives are regularly monitoring the feedback.
VA’s $60B T4NG2 Vehicle Enters New Phase as 26 Protests Remain Open
Washington Technology reports that a Federal judge has accepted the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) corrective plan for its T4NG2 IT services contract vehicle, adding three companies to the list of prime contractors. Twenty-six protests remain open at the Court of Federal Claims.
OPM’s ‘Merit’ Hiring Plan Targets STEM, Early Career Talent
MeriTalk reports that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has issued a new governmentwide hiring plan instructing agencies to hire employees in under 80 days, with a focus on recruiting early career, Veteran, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) talent.
SBA Declares Tribal and Alaska Native Programs not Affected by Trump’s DEI Rollback
Washington Technology reports that the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a memo stating that the Executive Order, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” does not apply to SBA programs or activities that serve American Indians or Alaska Natives.
For DOD, the Future of Large Language Models is Smaller
NextGov reports that the U.S. military is working with OpenAI, Scale AI, and the U.S. European Command to develop secure, localized AI tools that mimic the power of large cloud-based models but operate on smaller datasets and local devices.
Congressional Update
House Awaits Package to Codify DOGE Cuts, while Senate Digs into ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
The Hill reports that Senate Republicans begin work this week on the reconciliation bill as the House awaits a package from the White House that will codify the billions of dollars in cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Senators Urge DHS to Reinstate Disbanded Cyber Review Board
NextGov reports that four Democratic Senators have sent a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security emphasizing the need to reinstate the Cyber Safety Review Board which was created to investigate the causes of major cybersecurity incidents.
White House says it will cooperate with top watchdog only when it does not ‘unduly burden’ Trump’s agenda
GovExec reports that in response to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) finding that the Trump Administration violated Federal spending laws, the Administration has denied that it failed to comply with the Impoundment Control Act which “prohibits the executive branch from withholding congressionally appropriated funds for policy reasons.”
Trump Cyber Nominees Expected to Testify Next Week, People Familiar Say
NextGov reports that the President’s nominees for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director and the National Cyber Director will testify before Congress on June 5.