HHS’s CIO Clark Minor is out

The Department of Health and Human Services has a vacancy in its top IT post. Clark Minor is no longer listed as the agency’s chief information officer, per a webpage with the health department’s IT leadership. Instead, David Hong, the principal deputy CIO, is now identified as the department’s acting IT chief. It is unclear when the change to the webpage was made. HHS spokespeople did not immediately respond to FedScoop’s requests for comment on the timing of Minor’s departure as CIO. Per an agency source granted anonymity to speak more candidly, Minor gave notice to the secretary and is staying on as an advisor to help with the transition. Minor began at HHS as its chief technology officer in the early days of the second Trump administration, and was eventually tapped to replace Jennifer Wendel as CIO upon her departure. He has often been affiliated with the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency organization. Before joining the department, Minor was global head of cloud at Palantir Technologies for over a decade, per his financial disclosure published by ProPublica.

The United States and United Arab Emirates are setting up a new bilateral military crew that will hustle to integrate their forces’ artificial intelligence capabilities, and deploy joint assets to monitor and enhance regional security. Task Force Talon Synapse is slated to soon be fully operational, U.S. Central Command announced Tuesday. Approximately 20 American and Emirati personnel with expertise in AI, data, cybersecurity and related technology areas will serve on the Abu Dhabi-based team. Centcom spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins told DefenseScoop: “We’re working to sign the agreement in the weeks ahead.” The UAE shares maritime borders with Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran. It’s considered one of America’s key strategic and geopolitical partners in the Middle East. The two nations’ increasingly close cooperation over recent decades has been largely anchored by combined defense operations, major arms sales and the technological interoperability of their militaries.

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