The Senate on Thursday confirmed Jeffrey Kessler, a partner at international law firm WilmerHale, as under secretary of commerce for industry and security in a 54-45 vote. In this capacity, he will lead the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which advances national security, economic objectives and foreign policy by fostering U.S. strategic technology leadership and ensuring an export control and treaty compliance system. Return to Commerce Department Kessler’s Senate confirmation for the under secretary role marks his return to the department. During President Trump’s f ..read more

President Donald Trump has nominated Eric Ueland, who had served as the White House legislative affairs director during the first Trump administration, as deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget. With the Senate yet to confirm the nomination, Ueland’s LinkedIn profile indicates he is now acting OMB chief of staff. Ueland’s Government Service Credentials Ueland is among the 50 nominees that the White House sent to the Senate Tuesday. He had previously served for over four years as the Republican Party’s staff director in the Senate’s budget committee. His work ..read more

The Department of the Air Force has advanced the cloud modernization initiative of the Department of Defense by leading the authorization of Oracle Fusion software-as-a-service on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Gen 2 at Impact Level 4. Cloud Modernization With Enhanced Security The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center said Thursday the Defense Information Systems Agency granted Provisional Authorization for the Oracle Fusion SaaS on Feb. 6. The new DISA PA allows the platform to operate under the latest security framework and provides DOD with more secure cloud options for its operati ..read more

A Council for National Security has been established within the Federal Communications Commission to fully harness FCC’s regulatory, investigative and enforcement powers to counter foreign threats, particularly adversarial Chinese efforts. Brendan Carr, the new FCC chairman under the Trump administration, said in announcing the council’s formation that he had appointed his national security counsel, Adam Chan, as its director. Representatives from eight FCC bureaus and offices will comprise the council for cross-agency collaboration and information-sharing to support the commission’s national ..read more

The Space Development Agency has announced it is revising its procurement strategy for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, SpaceNews reported Wednesday. The agency, which is building a constellation or mesh network of hundreds of military satellites, came upon the decision after the results of the initial deployments and feedback from the Government Accountability Office. Takeaways from Initial Deployment After the agency launched 27 satellites in 2024 as part of Tranche 0, government auditors from GAO criticized the deployment of the first batch without fully testing las ..read more

The Naval Information Warfare Center has introduced the More Situational Awareness for Industrial Control Systems, or MOSAICS, a cybersecurity approach to safeguard the nation’s critical industrial control systems. NIWC said Thursday that adopting MOSAICS across the Department of Defense would give engineers detailed requirements for designing and building cyber systems for ICS.  What MOSAICS Can Do MOSAICS aims to address vulnerabilities in the critical infrastructure sector, which relies on operational technologies that are being targeted by malicious cyber actors who want to disrupt se ..read more

President Donald Trump has nominated Aaron Lukas, a more than two-decade foreign policy and national security official, to serve as principal deputy director of national intelligence. The Senate Select Intelligence Committee received Lukas’ nomination for the position at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Monday. Aaron Lukas’ Career Background Lukas has been serving as a foreign service officer at the State Department for over 21 years. During Trump’s first term, he was deputy senior director for Europe and Russia at the White House National Security Council. Prior to joini ..read more

President Donald Trump has officially nominated Michael Obadal to serve as the next under secretary of the U.S. Army. The White House said Tuesday that it has submitted Obadal’s nomination to the U.S. Senate for confirmation.  Who Is Michael Obadal? Obadal is a retired Army colonel who currently serves as senior director at Anduril Industries, a defense company providing advanced technologies to the U.S. and its allies. In December, Anduril secured a $100 million contract from the Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office to develop a tactical data mesh ..read more

The Defense Innovation Unit will demonstrate in the next few months the military applications of quantum sensors across five critical areas as part of the Transition of Quantum Sensing, or TQS, program. In a statement published Wednesday, Lt. Col. Nicholas Estep, director of the emerging technologies portfolio at DIU, said DIU worked with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Research and Engineering for Quantum and other partners across the services to introduce the TQS program in the summer of 2024. 5 Lines of Effort “In less than six months, we went from strategy, to source selection ..read more

The General Services Administration has completed the move of subaward reporting capabilities to SAM.gov as part of efforts to improve the user experience for individuals who report on subaward information and executive compensation data. GSA said Wednesday that at least 1,750 records have been created in SAM.gov since the launch of the subaward reporting capabilities in the system on March 8. In November, GSA announced plans to retire FSRS.gov and transfer subaward reporting functions to SAM.gov as part of efforts to consolidate disparate systems used to navigate the federal awards cycle into ..read more