Weekly Roundup: January 19-23, 2026

ACQUISITION & PROCUREMENT

GSA Wants Input From Resellers to Improve Federal IT Procurement.  GSA issued an RFI seeking feedback on how to improve federal IT procurement through value-added resellers (VARs). The agency's initial analysis indicated significant variance in value-added services and markup percentages. GSA wants to confirm that markups applied to OEM pricing result in fair and reasonable pricing, with responses due February 9.

Congress Pushes Back on Parts of DoD's Acquisition Reform Agenda. Congressional appropriators rejected the Army's request to raise reprogramming thresholds from $15M to $50M for procurement and to $25M for R&D. While supporting acquisition reforms, appropriators cautioned that "rapid delivery of ineffective weapon systems at exorbitant cost will not serve the warfighter well."

Market Data Shows Surprising Winners and Losers Among Top Federal Contractors After a Year of Turmoil. Analysis of the 100 largest publicly traded federal vendors shows about two-thirds averaged returns of 23%, significantly higher than the broader market. Companies that benefited most from executive orders removing regulatory barriers—particularly in AI and cyber—saw the strongest investment performance during 2025's procurement changes and budget turmoil.

DEFENSE OPERATIONS

DoD Failed to Provide Congress with Details on $23B Golden Dome. Lawmakers are waiting for the Defense Department to provide details on how it plans to spend $23 billion already approved for the Golden Dome missile defense effort. Congressional appropriators say the Pentagon has not provided key budget information such as deployment schedule, cost, schedule and performance metrics, or finalized system architecture. The White House estimates the project could cost as much as $175 billion over the next three years.

HOMELAND SECURITY & BIOMETRICS

Biometrics to Power Future US Airport and Border Screening. Future US airport and border screening will increasingly rely on biometric technology. The expansion raises questions about accuracy and civil liberties, particularly as NIST research shows facial recognition can have between 10-100 times the false positive rate for Asian and Black communities compared to white communities.

Lawmakers Challenge TSA on Labor Rights as Agency Pushes Tech Overhaul. Lawmakers are questioning TSA's labor practices as the agency pursues technology modernization. The tension highlights the challenge of balancing workforce concerns with technological advancement in homeland security operations.

DHS Spending Bill Bolsters Staffing at CISA, FEMA, Secret Service. The Homeland Security appropriations bill increases staffing levels for CISA, FEMA, and the Secret Service, recognizing critical capacity needs at these agencies despite broader federal workforce reductions.

ICE CIO Unveils Industry Push to Expand Immigrant Detention. ICE launched quarterly "industry days" to expand partnerships focused on big data tools and mobile enforcement technology. The agency is deploying technology to reduce data entry time from 45 minutes to 30 seconds per detainee. ICE is stress-testing Mobile Fortify and two other mobile apps (EAGLE and Mobile Identify) for field operations, while an internal AI named Stella automates lower-level business functions.

AGENCY OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

Forst: GSA is the 'Engine Room' That Runs Government. GSA Administrator Ed Forst characterized the agency as the "engine room" of federal government operations, emphasizing GSA's foundational role in supporting agency missions through acquisition, property management, and shared services.

OPM Details Expectations for the 'Rule of Many' in Federal Hiring. OPM released guidance on implementing the "rule of many" in federal hiring practices, providing agencies with expectations for broadening candidate pools and assessment approaches to improve hiring quality and speed.

Modernizing HR IT: Governance First, Technology Second.  A smart, practitioner-focused piece argues that the most critical factor in HR IT modernization isn’t software selection; it’s governance. The article offers a compelling framework for leadership attention: clear decision rights, disciplined oversight, and shared accountability across stakeholders.  HR modernization is often treated as a backoffice issue, but it directly affects hiring, workforce agility, and operational resilience.

LEADERSHIP

When Strategy and Execution Fall Out of Sync. Misalignment between strategy and execution is common, especially at inflection points when organizations pivot, scale, or rebuild. The symptoms are familiar: rising attrition, missed goals, and a growing disconnect between the people setting direction and the people delivering it. Strategists demand answers while executors push back against unrealistic expectations. To lead their organizations through change, leaders must strengthen the link between vision and delivery by creating systems that support coordination, clarifying expectations, and helping teams carry work forward without losing momentum.

Policies Aren’t Enough to Retain Top Talent. You Need Systems.  Enduring talent retention is driven not by isolated HR policies or industry norms but by the presence of coherent, integrated systems in which hiring, compensation, advancement, and retention practices reinforce one another. True organizational culture and long-term workforce stability emerge from the internal coherence of core practices, not from mission statements or standalone initiatives, as evidenced by the experiences of firms operating in a highly competitive economy.

Succeeding as an Outsider in a Legacy Culture.  Every leader eventually enters a culture they didn’t build, where history and unwritten rules shape influence. Succeeding as an outsider means balancing respect for what exists with the perspective you were hired to bring. Start by observing how decisions are made and where power sits. Build trust through shared purpose rather than shared background. Then use your outsider lens carefully—naming patterns and asking questions instead of prescribing fixes—so credibility grows before change is introduced.

CYBERSECURITY & TECHNOLOGY POLICY

OMB Signals Imminent Cyber Policy Updates, Compliance Relief. OMB is preparing to release new federal cybersecurity and IT policy updates that could significantly reshape how agencies defend networks and comply with security requirements. Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia is working to "move away from the over-prescriptive, compliance-based approach." OMB's Nick Polk cited State Department's "Big Yellow Taxi" program as a leading example of concentrated monitoring on individuals most likely to be targeted by adversaries.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY & QUANTUM

Workforce, Supply Chain Factor into Reauthorizing National Quantum Initiative. House lawmakers are discussing reauthorization of the National Quantum Initiative, eyeing agency prize challenges, workforce issues, and supply chain concerns. Chairman Brian Babin is working with Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren to "reinforce U.S. leadership in quantum science, technology and engineering, address workforce challenges, and accelerate commercialization."

VETERANS HEALTH & SERVICES

VA Officially Lifts Hiring Freeze but Staffing Caps Still in Place for Shrinking Workforce. VA is lifting its healthcare workforce hiring freeze after losing over 40,000 employees in 2025, with 88% working in healthcare. However, facilities still operate under strict staffing caps. New-patient wait times for mental health care in 14 states exceeded 40 days—twice the threshold allowing veterans to seek outside care. The department saw net decreases of 3,000 registered nurses, 1,000 physicians, and 1,550 appointment schedulers.

STATE GOVERNMENT

States Face Tight Budgets—So They’re Doubling Down on Efficiency and Innovation. As fiscal pressures intensify, state and local governments are leaning harder into streamlining operations, digitizing services, and improving productivity, with growing interest in the role of emerging technologies (including AI) in unlocking efficiency. Tight budgets tend to force clarity—leaders must distinguish between modernization as “nice to have” and modernization as mission infrastructure.

THIS WEEK @ THE CENTER 

RECENT BLOGS

Reimagining Government Leadership: Strategic Frameworks for the AI Era by Michael J. Keegan. This essay, based on my recent conversation with Faisal Hoque and Erik Nelson on The Business of Government Hour, explores their new book, Reimagining Government and several critical themes emerge that challenge conventional thinking about technology adoption in government. Their insights reveal that the greatest barriers to AI transformation are not technical but organizational—and that success requires leaders who can bridge technological possibilities with public service values.

ICYMI – This week Michael J. Keegan welcomes Faisal Hoque and Erik Nelson (co-authors with Tom Davenport) of Reimagining Government: Achieving the Promise of AI to explore key themes and frameworks outlined in their book.