Weekly Round Up: July 21-25, 2025

Artificial Intelligence

Permits to Power: White House Plots AI Infrastructure Revolution. The Trump administration pledged to bolster the power grid behind its new AI Action Plan, vowing to ease environmental permitting rules, boost existing supply, and accelerate electrical infrastructure development. Specifically, the administration said it would take steps toward stabilizing the existing power grid, optimizing existing resources, building new generation capacity, and developing a strategic blueprint to guide all energy efforts to achieve long-term power adequacy for artificial intelligence.  

Acquisition and Contracting

OMB memo lays out GSA's plan to consolidate contracts. A new memo from the Office of Management and Budget describes how the General Services Administration will take over much of the government's buying of what it calls “common goods and services.”

That memo sent  by OMB Director Russell Vought provides the implementation plan for President Trump’s March executive order, Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement. According to the memo, only 20% of the nearly $500 billion that GSA calls “common goods and services” flowed through the agency's vehicles. “Many, but not all, common requirements are highly suitable for consolidation,” the memo states.

Leadership

How Leaders Undermine Their Own Authority. Does your organization lack quality leadership? In this episode of HBR’s advice podcast, Dear HBR:, cohosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn answer your questions with the help of Peter Bregman, the CEO of Bregman Partners and author of the book Leading with Emotional Courage. They talk through what to do when your leaders are indecisive, unprofessional, or value the wrong things.

Q&A: Professor Robert Sutton on Communicating Difficult Decisions as a Leader.  In today’s uncertain economy, leaders must navigate the delicate task of delivering bad news, such as layoffs or project cancellations, with empathy and transparency. Robert Sutton’s framework, originally published in a 2009 HBR article, remains relevant, emphasizing predictability, understanding, control, and compassion to minimize trauma and anxiety. Recent examples from leaders like Brian Chesky of Airbnb illustrate how thoughtful communication can maintain morale and trust even in challenging times

Oversight

Watchdog Flags Shortfalls in DHS Intelligence Oversight. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) intelligence arm charged with coordinating intelligence sharing hasn’t fulfilled all its oversight and collaboration requirements since it was founded more than a decade ago noted the Government Accountability Office (GAO). In a recent GAO report details that the office failed to meet several of its strategic oversight activities and only partially addressed key collaboration practices.  In addition to not meeting all four core responsibilities, I&A only addressed six of eight leading collaboration practices, according to GAO.  

Defense

AI Action Plan: Trump Calls for Rapid AI Development Across DoD. Trump’s new action plan on artificial intelligence (AI) calls on the Pentagon to rapidly adopt AI solutions across the Department of Defense (DoD) ecosystem — from warfighting to back-office operations. The White House released its long-anticipated AI Action Plan. To support testing and validation of AI capabilities, the plan calls for the establishment of an AI & Autonomous Systems Virtual Proving Ground within DoD. This initiative will begin with an assessment of the technical, geographic, security, and resource requirements necessary to create a secure and scalable environment for developing and evaluating AI systems.

DoD CIO ‘Formalizes’ DoD Zero Trust Office, Creates New Officer Role. The Defense Department’s (DoD) Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has formally integrated the Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office (ZT PfMO) into the DoD enterprise and established a new leadership role – the chief zero trust officer – according to a July 17 directive issued by Acting DoD CIO Katie Arrington. The ZT PfMO is not a new entity, but DoD officials clarified that it makes up the department’s newest push to reach its 2027 zero trust goal. According to the memorandum, the ZT PfMO coordinates, synchronizes, and drives the department’s shift to a zero trust cybersecurity architecture. The office is responsible for modernizing DoD’s cyber defenses to prevent malicious actors from compromising sensitive data and mission-critical systems.

Arrington: JWCC Next Is Targeting Non-Traditional Companies. As the Department of Defense (DoD) prepares to roll out “JWCC Next” – a follow-on vehicle to the current $9 billion Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract – Katie Arrington said on that the agency is looking to bring in more “non-traditional companies.” JWCC provides the DoD with easy access to four hyperscale providers: Google, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft. However, JWCC Next is looking to provide access to other cloud providers as well.

Homeland Security

CISA Nominee Pledges Mission Focus, Push for Required Resources. Sean Plankey, the nominee to run the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), pledged at his Senate nomination hearing to focus on the agency’s primary security missions and to push for more resources from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Congress if required. During his nomination hearing, Plankey repeatedly pledged to focus tightly on CISA’s primary mission of protecting the security of federal government civilian agency networks, and to help U.S. critical infrastructure sectors protect themselves from cybersecurity and other threats.

Agriculture

USDA to relocate thousands of staff outside Washington, consolidate dozens of offices. The Agriculture Department will soon move thousands of employees out of the Washington area and consolidate dozens of offices.  The department will use layoffs “if needed,” USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a memorandum accompanying the announcement.  Rollins said USDA was not conducting a “large-scale workforce reduction.”  The department is standing up five regional hubs around the country that will house relocated employees, located in Raleigh, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Indianapolis; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Salt Lake City, Utah.  

THIS WEEK @ THE CENTER 

RECENT BLOGS

• Moving America Forward: Steven Bradbury on DOT’s Vision for Safety, Infrastructure, and Innovation by Michael J. Keegan. This essay delves into the core themes and key takeaways from my discussion with Steve Bradbury, offering a compelling perspective on how DOT is navigating its complex mission to enhance safety, rebuild critical infrastructure, and foster innovation for the benefit of all Americans.
• Driving Improved Government Performance Through Open Data and Agile Development by Dan Chenok. A new report from the IBM Center reviews the impact of The Opportunity Project (TOP), which has emerged as a pioneering initiative that leverages open government data and agile development practices to address a broad array of public needs.

ICYMI – Transforming Transportation with a focus on Safety and Innovation: A Conversation with Steve Bradbury, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation. This week Michael Keegan welcomes Steve Bradbury, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation as they explore such questions as: What are the key strategic priorities for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)? How is DOT putting safety and modernization first across all modes of transportation?