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Russell Vought says there are no plans for a DOGE after-action report
The White House isn’t planning to review the so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s performance as the Elon Musk-launched project that eviscerated large swaths of federal agencies winds down, its top budget official said Tuesday. During a House Appropriations hearing, Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee Chairman Dave Joyce noted that DOGE has been “pretty much eliminated” in the proposed fiscal 2027 budget. The Ohio Republican then asked Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought if he planned to present any documentation on “what exactly DOGE accomplished” in terms of “reductions in dollars spent” and “people at agencies.” Vought answered that the administration has “no plans to do … a closing DOGE report,” though it is “happy to give you our assessment of that work” saying he thinks “it made some really important strides.” An executive branch funding proposal for fiscal 2027 released in January called for $8 million to the OMB-housed Information Technology Oversight and Reform bucket to fund DOGE. The 2027 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act (H.R.8495), introduced in April, also appropriated $8 million for ITOR, though DOGE wasn’t mentioned by name in the bill. The White House’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal, also released in April, requested $35 million for DOGE.
The CIA has reorganized several of its key acquisition and tech directorates to better embrace emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing as they reshape “the reality of conflict and asymmetric warfare,” Director John Ratcliffe said Tuesday. During rare public remarks at the AWS DC Summit, Ratcliffe pointed to recent CIA-supported operations in Venezuela and the Middle East, including the rescue of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle pilot in Iran, as examples of the outsized impact of technology on the agency’s intelligence operations. Recognizing there’s no shortage of conflict or crisis around the globe, Ratcliffe said the CIA does not have the luxury of relying on what’s worked in the past. Instead, the agency must position itself as a leader in adopting cutting-edge technologies. With that in mind, the CIA has undertaken a “fundamental reshaping” of its “entire approach to technology,” Ratcliffe said. That includes overhauling its digital innovation office, reconstructing its commercial tech procurement strategy, streamlining communication channels with industry and elevating its offensive cyber capabilities as a core mission function.
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