The Wrap: Funding Freeze Jammed; DISA’s Two-Year Data Strategy; Inviting Elon to Tech Tonic
Welcome to The Wrap for Thursday, March 6!
From the newsroom at MeriTalk, it’s the quickest read in Federal tech news. Here’s what you need to know today:
?
Funding Freeze Jammed
The Trump administration took one on the chin in Federal court in Rhode Island today when Judge John McConnell approved a preliminary injunction that blocks the administration from pursuing a freeze on trillions of dollars of congressionally approved grant and loan funding. The case stretches back to the Office of Management and Budget ’s (OMB) surprise move in late January directing Federal agencies to halt payments from their grant and loan programs, throwing governments and organizations dependent on Federal funding?into a state of chaos. Judge McConnell quickly froze the freeze with a temporary restraining order and has been hearing arguments in the case since then, including claims by the U.S. Department of Justice that it was within President Donald Trump’s authority to freeze most Federal grant and loan programs while reviewing initiatives that didn’t align with his platform.?The gist of the judge’s finding today: “The Executive’s categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,” wrote McConnell in his decision.?“The interaction of the three co-equal branches of government is an intricate, delicate, and sophisticated balance – but it is crucial to our form of constitutional governance. Here, the Executive put itself above Congress,” the judge said. He also barred OMB from trying any similar maneuvers under different names.
?
DISA’s Two-Year Data Strategy
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has unveiled a highly anticipated update to its data strategy that details the agency’s plans to optimize data usage over the next two years. The?Fiscal Years (FY) 2025-2027 Data Strategy, released on March 4, marks a continuation of DISA’s existing data strategy. DISA’s initial?Data Strategy Implementation Plan for FY 2022-2024?sought to unravel the agency’s data architecture and rebuild it into a cohesive system, and the new two-year strategy released this week aims to put that data to its best use. “This strategy represents a pivotal moment in DISA’s data evolution,” DISA Chief Data Officer Caroline Kuharske said in a?statement. “By emphasizing strong governance, advanced analytics and a culture of data-driven decision-making, we are not only strengthening our operational capabilities but also positioning the agency to lead in innovation and efficiency.” Please do click through for all the details.
?
Inviting Elon to Tech Tonic
The clocks change this weekend and the weather looks like mid-spring for next week, so please do?put on a little green?and join us at?Tech Tonic?on March 13 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Morton’s the Steakhouse in Washington, D.C., to?get brand-new intel on Federal AI plans?and take an early swing at?celebrating St. Paddy’s Day.? We’re also doing our darndest to get an invite over to Elon Musk?to join in the Tech Tonic meet-up – and?you can play in the?poll?to nudge him along. And though we suspect he’s a busy guy,?Tech Tonic is firmly kilt-optional, so we’re?hoping the invite has legs. All Blarney aside – what we can say right now is that?he hasn’t said no. The go-button?is here. See you all on March 13.
?
Latest Layoffs – VA and USDA
As many Federal civilian agencies gear up to execute deep workforce cuts via reorganization plans that are due to be delivered to the Office of Management and Budget by March 13, the daily news flow on agency firings is cutting both ways. For instance, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on Wednesday that it plans to cut roughly 72,000 employees from its rolls, or about 15 percent of its workforce. In a Wednesday afternoon?video message, VA Secretary Doug Collins said the goal is to cut agency employment levels to 2019 levels, and to not impact health care services or benefits for veterans and their beneficiaries. “The Federal government does not exist to employ people. It exists to serve people,” Collins said, adding, “We’ll be making major changes, so get used to it.” Meanwhile, the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)?issued an order?on March 5 that blocks – at least for 45 days – actions by the Agriculture Department since mid-February to fire nearly 5,700 of the agency’s probationary employees. According to the MSPB decision, USDA’s firings of probationary employees were based on letters stating that “the [a]gency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the [a]gency would be in the public interest.” The only trouble is that people who got fired included ones with good performance reviews. The remedy during the 45-day review period is to restore the fired USDA employees to their old jobs.?
?
Once again, let’s “call IT a day,” but we'll bring you more tomorrow. Until then please check the MeriTalk breaking news website throughout the day for the latest on government IT people, process, and policy. And finally, please hit the news tip jar [with leads, breaking news, or simply your two cents] at [email protected].