The Daily Scoop Podcast

A pair of Democratic lawmakers are reviving a push to guarantee federal agencies that use artificial intelligence systems have a civil rights office dedicated to curbing “bias and discrimination” in AI. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., reintroduced the Eliminating Bias in Algorithmic Systems (BIAS) Act on Thursday. If enacted, federal agencies that use, fund, or oversee the development of AI algorithms would be required to establish civil rights offices staffed by experts and technologists. According to the bill text, these experts would focus primarily on bias, discrimination or other harms, including the impact on certain communities, groups or individuals, or bias against certain characteristics related to race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, disability and more. These offices would also be mandated to report their efforts to Congress. The bill comes as federal agencies race to adopt and integrate AI into their workflows. Government watchdogs found the use of generative AI in federal agencies “rapidly” jumped from 2023 and 2024, with that number expected to have increased over the past year. Markey’s office noted federal agencies often lack civil rights offices “whose principal mission is to protect vulnerable communities,” and the ones that exist often are not required to have staff familiar with algorithmic bias. The Department of Homeland Security is finalizing plans for a new body that would replace the functions of the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council (CIPAC) and serve as a communications hub between industry and government to discuss ongoing threats to U.S. critical infrastructure, including from cyber attacks. Under previous administrations, CIPAC served as a nerve center for federal agencies, industry and other stakeholders. While industry widely praised its utility, the council was one of many DHS advisory bodies that were shuttered last year by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem when President Donald Trump returned to office. Now, according to multiple sources, a proposed regulation for a new replacement council is in the final stages of review and approval from Noem’s office. The new body will be called the Alliance of National Councils for Homeland Operational Resilience, or “ANCHOR,” and will also serve as an umbrella organization for other federal sector risk management agencies. Its goal is to restart conversations and planning around infrastructure security that took place under the previous CIPAC, according to a former DHS official. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

After leaving her role performing the duties of the chief information officer for the Department of Defense last month, Katie Arrington has taken a new position as CIO at quantum computing company IonQ. Arrington will step into the role Jan. 19, reporting to the company’s COO and CFO Inder Singh, IonQ announced Wednesday. Kirsten Davies was nominated by President Donald Trump in May 2025 to be the Defense Department CIO, and it took most of the remainder of 2025 for the Senate to confirm her into the role. She was sworn in just before the Christmas holiday, at which point Arrington stepped away from her service to the Pentagon. In joining IonQ, Arrington will serve on the company’s executive team. As CIO, Arrington will continue to support the U.S. military from a different vantage, leading modernization and security of IonQ’s enterprise systems in support of its mission to deliver quantum capabilities to American warfighters. Before rejoining the Pentagon a year ago, then as deputy CIO for cybersecurity, Arrington had a previous stint as CISO in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, where she was largely responsible for the development of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program. Now: President Donald Trump re-nominated Sean Plankey to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Tuesday, after Plankey’s bid for the position ended last year stuck in the Senate. It’s not clear whether or how Plankey’s resubmitted nomination will overcome the hurdles that left many observers convinced his chance of becoming CISA director had likely ended, but it does definitively signal that the Trump administration still wants Plankey to have the job. Plankey’s nomination was included in a batch sent to the Senate announced on Tuesday. CISA spent all of 2025 under Trump without a permanent director. Trump nominated Plankey, who held a couple cybersecurity roles in the first Trump administration, to lead CISA in March. He got a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in July, then won approval from that panel that same month. But Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., had placed a hold on Plankey’s nomination over a Coast Guard contract that the Homeland Security Department had canceled in part. While he awaited confirmation, Plankey had been serving as a senior adviser to the secretary for the Coast Guard. A spokesperson for Scott did not immediately respond to a request for comment. North Carolina’s GOP Senate delegation also had placed holds on DHS nominees related to disaster aid to their state. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said last week that the holds would remain until Secretary Kristi Noem appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee. A White House official had denied reports that Plankey’s nomination was all but over last year. “President Trump has been clear that he wants all of his nominees confirmed as quickly as possible, including Sean Plankey, who will play a key role in ensuring a strong cyber defense infrastructure,” the official told CyberScoop. Asked Wednesday at the Surface Navy Association national symposium about what he was doing to convince senators to lift their holds, Plankey answered, “The administration, the White House has to say that this is a priority of us.” The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared his team’s long-awaited new plans to outpace U.S. adversaries by rapidly advancing the military’s arsenal of AI, drones, hypersonics and other disruptive technologies — and drastically reshaping the Pentagon’s approaches for safely deploying them. Speaking onstage at SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in Texas, during a tour hosted by its billionaire CEO Elon Musk, Hegseth said: “In short, when it comes to our current threat environment, we are playing a dangerous game with potentially fatal consequences. We need innovation to come from anywhere and evolve with speed and purpose.” Hegseth’s speech and three accompanying memorandums released Monday reveal the Trump administration’s latest, fast-moving and multifaceted vision to overhaul the Defense Department’s technology enterprise and dismantle perpetual barriers that have historically slowed the military’s commercial capability adoption. Hegseth said that old era ends today, and that the department is done running what he called a peacetime science fair while our potential adversaries are running a wartime arms race. The revamped structure notably aims to anchor a “unified innovation ecosystem built around six execution organizations” that will now collectively operate under the purview of DOD Chief Technology Officer and Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Emil Michael. Those newer and more legacy entities include: the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO); Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA); Defense Innovation Unit (DIU); Office of Strategic Capital (OSC); Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO); and Test Resource Management Center (TRMC). Senate and House appropriators are eyeing White House work on IT, artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure — and a continued presence for DOGE — as part of their fiscal year 2026 bill to fund Financial Services and General Government. On the executive branch funding released Sunday for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, lawmakers agreed on $124.3 million for salaries and expenses in the White House’s Office of Administration, with up to $12.8 million used for IT modernization. No more than $10 million of that IT pie should be spent for security and continuity of operations improvements. The Information Technology Oversight and Reform (ITOR) bucket, which historically has supported the Office of the Federal CIO and the now-defunct U.S. Digital Service, would receive $8 million under the new budget. House Appropriations Republicans said in their press release that that money would be used to fund the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has replaced USDS as the U.S. DOGE Service. That $8 million figure is a fraction of the Trump administration’s initial ask. In its June 2025 budget proposal, the White House requested $45 million in funding for DOGE, the Elon Musk-created group that led the decimation of the federal workforce in the early days of the Trump administration under the auspices of rooting out waste, fraud and abuse of agencies, but ended up raising government spending. The White House also sought $19 million for the ITOR account. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

The Department of Homeland Security is launching a new office focused on unmanned aircraft systems that will oversee strategic investments in drone and counter-drone technologies. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in the Monday press release: “We are entering a new era to defend our air superiority to protect our borders and the interior of the United States. This will help us continue to secure the border and cripple the cartels, protect our infrastructure, and keep Americans safe as they attend festivities and events during a historic year of America’s 250th birthday and FIFA 2026.” The creation of the dedicated office builds on preceding efforts to beef up drone and counter-drone technologies. In December, FEMA awarded $250 million in grants for counter-drone capabilities to the 11 states hosting FIFA World Cup 2026 matches and Washington, D.C. DHS also expanded authorization the same month to allow state and local law enforcement to combat drone threats, according to the announcement. The department is also fielding proposals from industry partners for a $1.5 billion contract that will facilitate the procurement of these technologies for Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The new Program Executive Office has “already begun its work,” according to DHS. The drone-focused entity is finalizing a $115 million investment in counter technologies that will support the two upcoming celebrations. The funding and focus come amid heightened risks regarding threat actors’ use of unmanned aircraft systems. DHS said Monday that the agency has conducted 1,500-plus missions to address illicit drone activities since 2018. Unauthorized drones have impeded sporting events, disrupted public gatherings and sparked concern among residents. Calls on Congress to put money into the Technology Modernization Fund may have been answered — albeit at much lower levels than what the General Services Administration-run funding vehicle for agency IT projects has been accustomed to. Senate and House Appropriations Committee lawmakers released a package of conferenced bills Sunday to fund several federal agencies through the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, including GSA. Tucked into the 488-page agreement was a note that $5 million would be provided to the TMF, “to remain available until expended.” The appropriations bills must still be passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president before the funding can take effect. The potential funding comes as the TMF expired last month for the first time since it was created in 2017, freezing nearly $200 million in funding for agency technology projects. The program has enjoyed bipartisan support since its launch nearly a decade ago: former Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., was a staunch advocate for the program until his death from cancer last year, while Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., has led a sustained push for TMF’s reauthorization. The fund has similarly strong backing from civic technologists and industry groups, and a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee told FedScoop last month that its reauthorization was a “high priority” that the Office of Management and Budget also supported. Nevertheless, efforts to get TMF reauthorization through the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act didn’t pan out, leaving the program out in the cold. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

The Small Business Administration is enlisting Palantir’s help in its nationwide probe of suspected loan fraud, as yearslong fraud allegations in Minnesota draw national attention. According to federal spending records, the SBA signed a $300,000 contract with the data analytics and software giant last week. The contract’s description read “SBA Fraud Prevention Pilot and Bootcamp,” and has a projected end date of April 4. The contract, signed through the General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedule, was made public just days after SBA Secretary Kelly Loeffler announced that the agency had suspended 6,900 Minnesota borrowers for alleged fraud following its review of thousands of pandemic-era loans administered to the state. Loeffler said the borrowers were approved for 7,900 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster (EIDL) loans totaling about $400 million. When asked about the Palantir contract, SBA spokesperson Maggie Clemmons pointed to the agency’s Minnesota probe, writing: “We’re now expanding our investigations nationwide as part of a broader zero-tolerance policy on fraud.” Clemmons added: “The agency has multiple audits underway, from pandemic-era programs to federal contracting, and will work with law enforcement to hold fraudsters accountable and put the criminals who have cheated American taxpayers behind bars.” The Office of Personnel Management launched a new workforce data website last week, replacing an antiquated interface and aiming to bring more transparency to federal employment figures. OPM officially announced the new Federal Workforce Data site last Thursday, with data up to November for most categories. That site includes accessible statistics of interest — such as a reduction of 220,000 workers under President Donald Trump — as well as multiple interactive charts that users can filter by agency, timeframe, or other factors. In a written statement, OPM Director Scott Kupor called the website “a major step forward for accountability and data-driven decision-making across government.” While federal workforce data has long been made publicly available online, the old interface, FedScope, was cumbersome and offered data updates on a quarterly basis that lagged by months. In addition to a more modern interface, the new website adds datasets for payroll and recruitment, and promises updates on a faster monthly interval. Per a note on the website, FedScope will no longer be available as of Jan. 28. Despite controversy over the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the workforce, publication of the website was immediately well received by federal data users and advocates. In comments to FedScoop, several sources both applauded the new website and noted that interest in improving the publication of federal workforce data began before the current administration. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

The Trump administration is withdrawing the United States from a handful of international organizations that work to strengthen cybersecurity. As part of a broader pullback from 66 international organizations, the administration is leaving the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, the Online Freedom Coalition and the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats. Trump’s decision is in line with a president who has expressed hostility toward the existing international order, an approach critics fear creates a leadership power vacuum for U.S. adversaries to fill. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Thursday: “The Trump Administration has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms, and general prosperity.” Rubio criticized the international organizations over “DEI mandates,” “‘gender equity’ campaigns” and activities that “constrain American sovereignty.” The National Quantum Initiative has another chance at reauthorization under the latest iteration of bipartisan legislation introduced Thursday. Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Todd Young, R-Ind., are again sponsoring a bill that would authorize new funding to support quantum research and development at federal science agencies after aspects of the program lapsed in September 2023. The National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act would provide support for five more years of the coordinated efforts at agencies, including $85 million per year for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and $25 million per year for NASA. The National Science Foundation and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy would also play key roles. Introduction of the new legislation comes after past attempts at reauthorization failed to pass Congress. The previous Senate reauthorization introduced in 2024 didn’t advance out of committee and a House bill from 2023 was unanimously approved by a committee but later stalled. Quantum continues to be a promising and globally competitive area for R&D as researchers work toward advancements in quantum computing. Once fully realized, quantum computing poses potential for both major advancements and challenges for cybersecurity. The initial establishment of the National Quantum Initiative in 2018 was bipartisan recognition that the U.S. needed its own cross-government strategy to coordinate R&D efforts in the public and private sector. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

The Department of Homeland Security’s plans for counter-drone efforts are coming into focus with the agency’s announcement last week of $250 million in funding allocations for 11 states and Washington, D.C. The push comes ahead of the district and states hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026 and America 250 national events. The two occasions are expected to bring unprecedented levels of spectators, and, in turn, bad actors, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Karen Evans, acting administrator at FEMA, said in a statement“We knew we needed to act quickly to keep the World Cup safe from the rising threat of unmanned aircraft systems and that’s exactly what we did. This is the fastest non-disaster grant program ever executed by FEMA with funds being awarded just 25 days after the application deadline.” California is set to receive the lion’s share of the funding, at just under $34.6 million. Texas and Washington, D.C., rounded out the top three highest allocations, surpassing $30 million and $28 million, respectively. The awarded investments will go toward boosting drone-tracking infrastructure and detection technologies, in response to hostile actors that have “intensified” their use of the technology, the agency said. There have been several drone-related incidents in past years that have given cause for pause. In 2023, an NFL matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals was delayed due to a drone flying over the stadium. The 2024 AFC Championship was interrupted as well after a drone was identified in restricted airspace. Other sports events and gatherings, such as the Boston Marathon, have also been the target of unauthorized drones. Congressional appropriators mostly ignored the Trump administration’s requests to slash budgets at several science and data agencies in a package of fiscal year 2026 bills released this week. House and Senate lawmakers revealed a package of three bipartisan appropriations bills on Monday, including legislation to fund the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, and science agencies — such as the National Science Foundation and NASA — as well as bills that cover the Department of Energy and Department of Interior. While the Trump administration sought deep cuts for Commerce and many science agencies in its budget for FY 2026, the final bill doesn’t adopt those requests. It instead opts for small decreases or increases at some agencies and maintains relatively similar funding to previous years at others. The three-bill “minibus” — a term used to describe a subset of appropriations bills that would make up an omnibus appropriations package for the entire government — signals important agreement as the government again nears a possible shutdown. However, lawmakers still have several more negotiated appropriations bills to release and must pass that legislation before the continuing resolution currently keeping the government open expires Jan. 30. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

The Pentagon is looking to launch a new Enterprise Command and Control Program Office in a move that would consolidate and refresh its long-standing efforts to provide common operating panes and user-specific AI tools to track and target enemies in real time. This envisioned hub would combine and expand the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office’s Maven Smart System (MSS) and Edge Data Mesh capabilities into the “Enterprise C2 Suite” — a new platform and program of record for Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control and Al-enabled warfighting options, according to sources familiar with the plan who requested anonymity to discuss it ahead of a forthcoming, official announcement. Internal guidance regarding a new EC2 Program Office suggests that its establishment would ensure that the Defense Department has the “authority, resources, and accountability to deliver capability at the speed of relevance.” DOD’s undersecretariats for Intelligence and Security (I&S) and Research and Engineering (R&E) would be directed to deliver a plan for “the expedient transition of MSS authorities, infrastructure, support activities, and responsibilities” from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to the EC2 Program Office. This new program office would essentially fuse multiple Pentagon elements that have come to fruition since the late 2010s, and are associated with digitizing command-and-control processes and deploying AI across the joint force. The Defense Department is soliciting ideas for how artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities can assist in the zero-trust assessment process as the deadline to reach target-level compliance approaches. According to a request for information posted Tuesday, the DOD’s Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office is interested in leveraging “automation, AI and ML to accelerate and scale [zero trust] assessments” across the entire department — specifically for “purple team assessments.” The technologies will help the Pentagon mitigate its limited capacity to validate initial compliance and conduct continuous assessments, the RFI noted. Zero trust is a cybersecurity concept that assumes IT networks and systems are constantly under attack by adversaries, requiring the Pentagon to continuously monitor and authenticate users and their devices as they move through the network. The department’s Zero Trust Strategy mandates all DOD components to achieve “target levels” of zero trust by the end of fiscal 2027. Validating compliance requires a combination of internal and third-party assessments. A key part of the Pentagon’s independent evaluation process is a method called purple teaming, which analyzes and tests both how “red team” adversaries and “blue force” cyber defenders move and interact in an IT network. However, officials have previously noted that conducting comprehensive purple teaming can be a time-consuming process that can take warfighters away from other important missions. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.

Justin Fanelli, Chief Technology Officer for the Department of the Navy, discusses revolutionary reforms in defense acquisition aimed at accelerating technology delivery. He emphasizes the importance of agility within existing structures and introduces the Innovation Adoption Kit to enhance experimentation. Paul Tatum, Executive Vice President at Salesforce, joins to articulate the role of agentic AI in streamlining workflows and improving readiness. Together, they explore cutting-edge initiatives like Mission Force to enhance national security and operational efficiency.

The Marine Corps is gearing up to expand its first-person view drone capabilities in the New Year by purchasing 10,000 new platforms and increasing the number of troops who are trained on them, according to government contracting documents and service officials. Earlier this week, the Corps announced a standardized training program for small-sized unmanned aerial systems, which include several courses for attack drone operators, payload specialists and instructors. Several units, from III Marine Expeditionary Force in the Pacific to Marine Forces Special Operations Command are now authorized to immediately start these courses. Meanwhile, the service is also asking industry to make thousands of UAS for under $4,000 per unit, according to a request for information posted in December. The intent is for Marines to be able to modify these drones with “simple” third-party munitions and repair them on their own. The RFI also inquired about autonomy and machine learning integration for these systems. Over the next several months, the service will aim to certify hundreds of Marines to use FPV drones, according to the Pentagon, with the goal of having every infantry, reconnaissance and littoral combat team across the fleet equipped with these platforms by May. Officials said that these courses were shaped by recent certifications and the Drone Training Symposium in November, an event intended to solidify and scale training across the fleet. DefenseScoop also reported last week that the Marine Corps had certified forward-deployed Marines on FPV drones for the first time in November. More than two dozen troops with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit deployed to the Caribbean trained for more than a month-and-a-half to qualify on various FPV drone capabilities, a significant milestone for the force after a year of navigating untrodden ground. The Army recently established an artificial intelligence career field that select officers can transfer into starting next month, DefenseScoop has learned. It is also considering the potential for warrant officers to join the new role. The service created the 49B “area of concentration” for AI and Machine Learning on Oct. 31, according to Maj. Travis Shaw, a spokesperson for the Army. Between Jan. 5 and Feb. 6, 2026. Army officers who already have a few years of service or more can apply for the role through the Voluntary Transfer Incentive Program (VTIP), which is meant to support the Army’s manning needs. It was unclear how many officers the Army hopes to transfer into the job, but those selected will reclassify by Oct. 1, 2026, Shaw said. The service expects those personnel to have completed their transition into the AI field by the following year. The effort comes as the Department of Defense continues to boost the use of large language model AI systems for military purposes. Earlier this month, the Pentagon launched GenAI.mil, a hub for commercial AI tools — one that DefenseScoop reported military personnel were meeting with mixed reviews and a bevy of questions about how to use it in their daily operations. The Army has also been embracing LLMs and AI, including through its Army Artificial Integration Center (AI2C), which was established in 2018 to integrate those systems into the service. The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.