Frank Konkel
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Editor-in-Chief, @GovExec
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Articles by Frank Konkel
Amazon Web Services’ Dave Levy departs for Google Original
Skip to Content Featured eBooks Insights & Reports Dave Levy, vice president of AWS Worldwide Public Sector, has left the cloud computing and AI giant for a role with one of its primary competitors: Google. Levy’s last day was Friday, July 31, an AWS spokesperson confirmed to Nextgov/FCW. A Google spokesperson declined to comment on Levy’s hiring.
What history tells us about the potential government shutdown
The Senate is working to pass a bipartisan funding bill before a summer recess that would fund the federal government through Dec. 11, prevent a potential government shutdown during November’s midterm elections and avoid a repeat of last year, when agencies began the fiscal year with a record 43-day shutdown. Senators easily cleared the first in a series of procedural motions Monday by a vote of 89-4, fast-tracking the bill for final vote before the Senate recesses for five weeks.
What history tells us about the potential government shutdown
The Senate is working to pass a bipartisan funding bill before a summer recess that would fund the federal government through Dec. 11, prevent a potential government shutdown during November’s midterm elections and avoid a repeat of last year, when agencies began the fiscal year with a record 43-day shutdown. Senators easily cleared the first in a series of procedural motions Monday by a vote of 89-4, fast-tracking the bill for final vote before the Senate recesses for five weeks.
Leidos saving money, employee time through expanded ServiceNow partnership Original
Leidos this week announced an expansion of the ServiceNow AI Platform across its enterprise, providing autonomous, AI-driven workflows expected to reduce costs and ultimately improve the experience of its 50,000 global employees. The expansion of ServiceNow’s suite of agentic AI capabilities builds on a fruitful, decade-long partnership between the two companies, according to Leidos SVP & Chief Information Officer Alexandra Guenther.
GSA wants other agencies to borrow what's working on tech
As the General Services Administration closes in on achieving its 2026 moonshot goal to save and automate 1 million hours of work for its employees, the agency will showcase and share those internal efforts — and a host of other proven tech efforts — with a governmentwide audience on July 30.
GSA to take its Emerging Tech Showcase governmentwide
As the General Services Administration closes in on achieving its 2026 moonshot goal to save and automate 1 million hours of work for its employees, the agency will showcase and share those internal efforts — and a host of other proven tech efforts — with a governmentwide audience on July 30.
GSA taps White House design team to revamp Login.gov
Login.gov, the government’s identity-proofing platform housed within the General Services Administration, is collaborating with the National Design Studio to enhance the user experience of millions of Americans who regularly use the shared service.
GSA and National Design Studio collaborate to boost Login.gov experience
Login.gov, the government’s identity-proofing platform housed within the General Services Administration, is collaborating with the National Design Studio to enhance the user experience of millions of Americans who regularly use the shared service.
AWS launches Secret Cloud for industry’s classified workloads Original
Amazon Web Services on Tuesday announced a new cloud offering designed to run contractor-owned classified workloads, a first for the defense industrial base and select research institutions that historically have had to build and maintain costly on-premesis infrastructure to support classified programs.
AWS launches Secret Cloud for industry’s classified workloads
Amazon Web Services on Tuesday announced a new cloud offering designed to run contractor-owned classified workloads, a first for the defense industrial base and select research institutions that historically have had to build and maintain costly on-premesis infrastructure to support classified programs.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT to debut on GenAI.mil in ‘early July’
Speaking during the Defense One Tech Summit in Virginia on Tuesday, Mohammed Husain — the Strategic Delivery Lead for Cyber at OpenAI — said the company is poised in early July to unveil its flagship chatbot model ChatGPT to defense civilian and military personnel through GenAI.mil, the Pentagon’s enterprise-wide generative AI platform. Through GenAI.mil, ChatGPT will be available to more than 3 million defense personnel and certified for controlled unclassified information and Impact Level 5.
ChatGPT to debut on Pentagon's GenAI.mil in ‘early July’, OpenAI says
OpenAI will bring ChatGPT to GenAI.mil, the Pentagon’s generative-AI platform, in "early July," a company official said Tuesday. The AI firm is working with the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, Mohammed Husain—the company's strategic delivery lead for cyber—said at the Defense One Tech Summit in Arlington, Virginia. “I think we're going live extremely soon, and excited to make a broader announcement about that in early July,” Husain said.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT to debut on GenAI.mil in ‘early July’
Speaking during the Defense One Tech Summit in Virginia on Tuesday, Mohammed Husain — the Strategic Delivery Lead for Cyber at OpenAI — said the company is poised in early July to unveil its flagship chatbot model ChatGPT to defense civilian and military personnel through GenAI.mil, the Pentagon’s enterprise-wide generative AI platform. Through GenAI.mil, ChatGPT will be available to more than 3 million defense personnel and certified for controlled unclassified information and Impact Level 5.
GSA to publish ‘Elimination, Optimization and Automation’ playbook for government agencies Original
The General Services Administration is set to publish Wednesday a new playbook to provide federal agencies and executives tools, strategies and a modern blueprint to automate repetitive tasks and give employees time back to perform mission-critical work. The Elimination, Optimization and Automation playbook, developed by GSA, builds on lessons learned from federal pilots, mature automation programs and the agency’s own extensive internal enterprise efforts to improve operations.
Missouri Department of Social Services uses ServiceNow to boost citizen experience
By Frank Konkel, Editor-in-Chief Through savvy tech investments and a unified platform provided by ServiceNow, the Missouri Department of Social Services is saving its residents time, its caseworkers thousands of hours monthly and its small-but-mighty IT team a lot of headaches. The state agency is responsible for administering a number of social services each year, including Medicaid, SNAP and TANF benefits; child welfare services; and more to millions of Missourians.
Advanced AI Models Bring Government To ‘Reflection Point,’ CIA Official Says
New technologies may bring risk and opportunity for the federal government, cyber experts explained By Frank Konkel, Editor-in-Chief Advanced AI models with unique hacking capabilities like Anthropic’s Mythos should bring federal agencies that handle some of the government’s most sensitive information to a “reflection point,” according to one of the CIA’s top tech officials.
Virtualitics targets public sector customers with OpenAI partnership
Pasadena-based artificial intelligence solutions firm Virtualitics and frontier AI company OpenAI announced a memorandum of understanding Wednesday to jointly work together to improve mission outcomes for customers with complex, critical workloads — including those within the Defense Department and civilian federal agencies. The collaboration integrates OpenAI’s frontier AI technology with Virtualitics’ agentic AI platform, Iris, which has several customers in defense and among Fortune 500 firms.
Virtualitics targets public sector customers with OpenAI partnership
Pasadena-based artificial intelligence solutions firm Virtualitics and frontier AI company OpenAI announced a memorandum of understanding Wednesday to jointly work together to improve mission outcomes for customers with complex, critical workloads — including those within the Defense Department and civilian federal agencies. The collaboration integrates OpenAI’s frontier AI technology with Virtualitics’ agentic AI platform, Iris, which has several customers in defense and among Fortune 500 firms.
'Your 30 days has become 30 hours’: AI is reshaping federal cyber defense
Advanced AI models with unique hacking capabilities like Anthropic’s Mythos should bring federal agencies that handle some of the government’s most sensitive information to a “reflection point,” according to one of the CIA’s top tech officials. “I think it is a reflection point and I think people need to view it in that fashion,” said Dan Richard, Associate Deputy Director of the CIA’s Digital Innovation Directorate.
Advanced AI models bring government to ‘reflection point,’ CIA official says
Insights & Reports Advanced AI models with unique hacking capabilities like Anthropic’s Mythos should bring federal agencies that handle some of the government’s most sensitive information to a “reflection point,” according to one of the CIA’s top tech officials. “I think it is a reflection point and I think people need to view it in that fashion,” said Dan Richard, Associate Deputy Director of the CIA’s Digital Innovation Directorate.
Advanced AI models bring government to ‘reflection point,’ CIA official says
Advanced AI models with unique hacking capabilities like Anthropic’s Mythos should bring federal agencies that handle some of the government’s most sensitive information to a “reflection point,” according to one of the CIA’s top tech officials. “I think it is a reflection point and I think people need to view it in that fashion,” said Dan Richard, Associate Deputy Director of the CIA’s Digital Innovation Directorate.
Agencies eye agentic AI but readiness questions linger
Agentic AI has entered the chat for federal agencies. According to a March survey of more than 200 technology executives across government, more than half (53%) said their agencies are exploring agentic AI or actively planning pilots of the technology. Another 15% are currently implementing agentic AI systems or have completely done so already, compared to 6% who said they were not yet considering agentic AI.
Survey: More than half of federal agencies now planning agentic AI pilots
Agentic AI has entered the chat for federal agencies. According to a March survey of more than 200 technology executives across government, more than half (53%) said their agencies are exploring agentic AI or actively planning pilots of the technology. Another 15% are currently implementing agentic AI systems or have completely done so already, compared to 6% who said they were not yet considering agentic AI.
FDA to pilot real-time clinical drug trials through cloud and AI Original
Through a new pilot program announced this week, the Food and Drug Administration will use artificial intelligence and cloud computing to monitor clinical trial data in real time, an effort that could ultimately shave years off the approval timelines for new drugs, devices and medications.
Pentagon adds Google’s latest model to GenAI.mil as usage soars Original
Insights & Reports April 27, 2026 11:57 AM ET Pentagon AI & Autonomy LAS VEGAS—Users of the Pentagon’s enterprise-wide generative-AI platform now have access to Google Cloud’s latest and most advanced commercial AI model, Gemini 3.1 Pro, after several weeks of using the software in preview mode. The software is available to defense users through the GenAI.mil platform and will also be available for all Gemini for Government users across the federal government.
GSA No. 2 talks ‘million hours challenge,’ scaling agency AI efforts
Skip to Content Log In Email Address Password Forgot your password? Not a member? Sign up now! The General Services Administration is working to save and automate one million hours of workload across the agency as part of its Eliminate, Optimize and Automate — or EOA — playbook.
GSA No. 2 talks ‘million hours challenge,’ scaling agency AI efforts Original
The General Services Administration is working to save and automate one million hours of workload across the agency as part of its Eliminate, Optimize and Automate — or EOA — playbook. GSA Deputy Administrator Michael Lynch said the effort aims to use artificial intelligence and intelligent automation to handle “repetitive, manual workflows,” allowing its workforce to redirect their time toward serving customer agencies, improving procurement outcomes and pursuing other mission-critical services.
GSA No. 2 talks ‘million hours challenge,’ scaling agency AI efforts
Skip to Content Insights & Reports The General Services Administration is working to save and automate one million hours of workload across the agency as part of its Eliminate, Optimize and Automate — or EOA — playbook.
GSA No. 2 talks ‘million hours challenge,’ scaling agency AI efforts
Skip to Content Insights & Reports The General Services Administration is working to save and automate one million hours of workload across the agency as part of its Eliminate, Optimize and Automate — or EOA — playbook.
VHA, Labor Department tap Salesforce for critical modernization efforts
Two high-impact federal agencies that engage millions of Americans annually are turning to Salesforce-powered agentic technology to modernize and improve customer experience and automate — through AI agents — contact center engagement.
Air Force cybersecurity chief tapped to lead Pentagon's information-security efforts
Insights & Reports The Department of Defense has a new acting leader for its cybersecurity enterprise, with the agency tapping former Air Force Chief Information Security Officer James “Aaron” Bishop to serve as the department-wide CISO and deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity. The move was announced Feb. 27, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to Nextgov/FCW on Thursday.
DOD names James “Aaron” Bishop to serve as CISO Original
The Department of Defense has a new acting leader for its cybersecurity enterprise, with the agency tapping former Air Force Chief Information Security Officer James “Aaron” Bishop to serve as the department-wide CISO and deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity. The move was announced Feb. 27, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to Nextgov/FCW on Thursday. Bishop takes over for David McKeown, who is retiring from the government after more than four decades in federal service.
Agencies begin to shed Anthropic contracts following Trump’s directive
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (Department of the Treasury) By Alexandra Kelley and Frank Konkel • Mar 03, 2026 Several agencies have started making moves to phase out use of Anthropic tools, following President Donald Trump’s call for federal agencies to halt operations with Anthropic products as the friction between the company and federal government escalates.
Agencies begin to shed Anthropic contracts following Trump’s directive Original
Several agencies have started making moves to phase out use of Anthropic tools, following President Donald Trump’s call for federal agencies to halt operations with Anthropic products as the friction between the company and federal government escalates. The Department of Treasury confirmed it will stop using Anthropic technology products, including the company’s large language model, Claude, as did the State and Health and Human Services departments.
Trump directs government to ‘immediately cease’ using Anthropic technology Original
Insights & Reports President Trump on Friday directed all federal agencies—including the Defense Department—to “immediately cease all use” of frontier AI firm Anthropic’s technology, though he also said there would be a six-month "phase out period." Trump’s announcement followed a tense back-and-forth between Anthropic and the Pentagon, which widely uses the San Francisco company’s popular AI platform, Claude, in classified and unclassified networks but took issue with the company’s refusal...
Trump directs government to ‘immediately cease’ using Anthropic technology
President Trump on Friday directed all federal agencies — including the Defense Department — to “immediately cease all use” of frontier AI firm Anthropic’s technology. Trump’s announcement followed a tense back-and-forth between Anthropic and the Pentagon, which widely uses the San Francisco company’s popular AI platform, Claude, in even classified networks but took issue with the company’s refusal to give the Pentagon unrestricted access to its models.
Federal CIO tapped for dual-hatted role at GSA Original
Federal Chief Information Officer Greg Barbaccia added another role to his growing portfolio Thursday, with an appointment to serve as acting director of the Technology Transformation Services within the General Services Administration and as senior advisor to the administrator. Thomas Shedd, who had served as GSA’s TTS director and deputy Federal Acquisition Service commissioner since January 2025, will remain with the agency and serve in a new capacity as senior advisor for fraud prevention.
Shutdown deal struck after failed Senate vote
Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Sponsor Message Insights & Reports Updated at 9:18 p.m. ET Senate Democrats and the White House came to an agreement late Thursday to fund the vast majority of federal agencies through the end of the fiscal year, and a two-week stopgap measure to fund the Homeland Security Department while continued negotiations take place over reforms at DHS. Senate leaders worked into the evening to schedule a vote.
Shutdown deal struck after failed Senate vote
Insights & Reports Updated at 9:18 p.m. ET Senate Democrats and the White House came to an agreement late Thursday to fund the vast majority of federal agencies through the end of the fiscal year, and a two-week stopgap measure to fund the Homeland Security Department while continued negotiations take place over reforms at DHS. Senate leaders worked into the evening to schedule a vote. It is unclear when the House, which is in recess until Monday, will vote on the measure.
GSA’s star mark logo gets a makeover for nation’s 250th Original
Skip to Content Featured eBooks Insights & Reports The General Services Administration’s Star Mark — among the most highly visible branding across the federal government — is getting a special addition for 2026 to honor and celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary. The GSA 250 Star Mark adds an American flag and stars to the star mark as well as red, white and blue colors. It’s the first modification to GSA’s star logo since the year 2000.
Inside the Transportation Department’s technology transformation
(Adarsh Chauhan / Unsplash) By Frank Konkel • Jan 05, 2026 The Transportation Department will soon run on Google Workspace, fulfilling part of the department’s “1DOT IT” strategy to unify and strengthen the sprawling 55,000-employee department and completely modernize its IT infrastructure.
Inside the Transportation Department’s technology transformation
The Transportation Department will soon run on Google Workspace, fulfilling part of the department’s “1DOT IT” strategy to unify and strengthen the sprawling 55,000-employee department and completely modernize its IT infrastructure.
Ed Forst Sworn In As GSA Administrator
The General Services Administration Officially Has A New Administrator By Frank Konkel, Editor-in-Chief On Christmas Eve Wednesday, Edward Forst was sworn into office not in Washington, D.C. as is typical for such appointments, but rather in Indian River Shores, Florida, by Mayor Brian T. Foley while Forst was on jury duty.
Ed Forst sworn in as GSA administrator
The General Services Administration officially has a new administrator. On Christmas Eve Wednesday, Edward Forst was sworn into office not in Washington, D.C. as is typical for such appointments, but rather in Indian River Shores, Florida, by Mayor Brian T. Foley while Forst was on jury duty. “I’m honored that President [Donald] Trump put his trust in me and I thank Mayor Foley for taking the time to swear me in as GSA Administrator on such short notice,” said Forst.
Ed Forst sworn in as GSA administrator
The General Services Administration officially has a new administrator. On Christmas Eve Wednesday, Edward Forst was sworn into office not in Washington, D.C. as is typical for such appointments, but rather in Indian River Shores, Florida, by Mayor Brian T. Foley while Forst was on jury duty. “I’m honored that President [Donald] Trump put his trust in me and I thank Mayor Foley for taking the time to swear me in as GSA Administrator on such short notice,” said Forst.
SAP Offers Major Discount To Government Customers Through OneGov Agreement
Discounted software could generate as much as US$165 million in savings for agencies over the next 18 months, GSA estimates By Frank Konkel, Editor-in-Chief SAP will discount its software for government customers at rates of up to 80 per cent over the next 18 months through the latest OneGov agreement with the General Services Administration.
SAP offers major discount to government customers through OneGov agreement Original
SAP will discount its software for government customers at rates of up to 80% over the next 18 months through the latest OneGov agreement with the General Services Administration. Announced Tuesday by GSA, the discounts apply to SAP’s database, integration, analytics and cloud software and are available to existing SAP customers for renewals, expansions or modernization projects.
Civilian agency spending cratered during shutdown Original
The 20 largest civilian federal agencies collectively spent 63% less money in October 2025 — during the government shutdown — compared to October 2024, according to reported spending data pulled from the Federal Procurement Data System by Deltek in mid-November. Reported spending at some large agencies, including NASA and the departments of State and Energy, declined by 84% or more compared to October 2024.
GSA, Perplexity Ink First Direct-to-government OneGov Deal
By Frank Konkel, Editor-in-Chief Under a new agreement, federal agencies can access Perplexity Enterprise Pro for Government through a direct contract on the General Services Administration’s Multiple-Award Schedule. The General Services Administration on Wednesday announced its first direct OneGov agreement with frontier AI firm Perplexity that will significantly discount its enterprise-grade AI capabilities for federal agencies.
GSA, Perplexity ink first direct-to-government OneGov deal Original
The General Services Administration on Wednesday announced its first direct OneGov agreement with frontier AI firm Perplexity that will significantly discount its enterprise-grade AI capabilities for federal agencies. Through the first-of-its-kind agreement, users across federal agencies can access Perplexity Enterprise Pro for Government for $0.25 per agency over an 18-month term through a direct contracton GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule.
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