• The Department of the Air Force is updating its rules for determining whether civilian applicants are a good fit for federal jobs. New interim guidance said candidates must be deemed initially favorable before receiving a firm job offer and must earn a final decision that they are suitable for employment in order to retain the job. “It is important to ensure individuals hired are loyal, trustworthy and of good character,” the memo said. The memo follows a broader Trump administration directive on the same topic and will be replaced with a permanent rule.
• The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is looking to centralize cybersecurity tool purchases across government. CISA’s Capacity Building Division wants to expand its buying power for key cybersecurity programs like Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation. In a new request for information, CISA is seeking feedback on plans for a new 10-year contract for acquiring cyber tools and services used across federal agencies. CISA said it currently oversees about $600 million in annual spending on federal enterprise cyber solutions. The goal of the new contract is to streamline buying processes for agencies, save money, and build tracking tools to manage and analyze procurements.
• More than 66,000 kids are returning to the Defense Department’s K-12 schools for the 2026-2027 academic year without their phones. The Department of Defense Education Activity, which runs the school system, is now telling students to silence or turn off their personal electronics and put them away during the school day. The school system also said in a release it has overhauled hiring as it tries to find at least one full-time teacher for each classroom.
• The National Institute of Standards and Technology is trying to move cybersecurity beyond the annual awareness training or phishing test. As part of a new concept paper on human-centered cybersecurity, NIST said it wants to put people at the forefront of cybersecurity efforts. While many cyber vulnerabilities can be traced back to the so-called “human element,” most publications and frameworks don’t go beyond recommendations to train employees. NIST said the paper’s guidelines and resources are grounded in input received from hundreds of cyber practitioners and researchers via surveys, interviews, workshops and other conversations.
• The Defense Department is ordering 30 universities to immediately review their research and financial ties to foreign entities. The department said the institutions need to audit all foreign collaborations, assess the exposure of sensitive or export-controlled research and implement strict mitigation plans if they want to maintain eligibility for future federal funding. The universities must report their findings and actions taken by Aug. 31.
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement is pitching a plan to help shield local police officers who make immigration arrests from possible financial consequences if they are accused of on-duty misconduct. A planning document released Friday said the agency is proposing to subsidize liability insurance for state and local officers who are trained and deputized to enforce federal immigration laws. ICE’s partnerships with local departments have soared since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year. They may get an additional boost with liability insurance by removing a hurdle that has made some local police departments reluctant to join.
• The Justice Department's inspector general is reviewing a controversial Drug Enforcement Administration tactic in which agents let fentanyl reach the streets to build cases against traffickers. The review follows an Associated Press investigation that revealed the DEA monitored but did not seize major fentanyl shipments in New Mexico between 2023 and 2025. The strategy has raised public safety concerns. The review will examine policies and wiretap cases where DEA was aware of fentanyl shipments. New Mexico authorities are also investigating whether DEA agents broke state law by allowing fentanyl to flood Albuquerque's streets.
• The Defense Department recently announced three pilots that will seek to cut equal employment opportunity investigation timelines in half, centralize EEO operations across the department and expedite cases involving senior leaders. Anthony Tata, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said that less than 1% of final agency decisions for EEO complaints result in a finding of discrimination, arguing that the program needs to be reformed to prevent its “weaponization.” But legal experts cautioned that the figure Tata cited does not mean that 99% of complaints lack merit. The 1% figure only represents complaints that make it through the entire EEO process, but it does not account for complaints resolved through settlements, withdrawals or successful dispute resolutions.

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