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DOE Selects Westinghouse, Radiant for First Microreactor Tests at DOME Facility
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DOE selected Westinghouse and Radiant for the first microreactor tests at the DOME test bed

The Department of Energy has selected Westinghouse and Radiant to conduct the first microreactor tests in the Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments, dubbed DOME.

What Is the Demonstration of Microreactor Experiments Test Bed?

The Energy Department said Tuesday the DOME facility, operated by DOE’s National Reactor Innovation Center, is designed to boost the nation’s capability to meet power demands by accelerating the deployment of microreactor technologies. The facility, currently under construction at the Idaho National Laboratory, will utilize the laboratory’s existing infrastructure to conduct fueled reactor experiments that generate up to 20 megawatts of thermal energy.

Initial DOME Microreactor Tests

The two companies, competitively selected in 2023, will test their microreactor designs in the DOME facility starting in spring 2026. Westinghouse plans to test its eVinci Nuclear Test Reactor, supporting the development of its commercial, transportable microreactor that utilizes advanced heat pipe technology for passive cooling. The eVinci is designed to generate five megawatts of electricity. It is intended for powering remote communities, mining operations, data centers and other areas as small as two acres.

Radiant will conduct experiments on its Kaleidos Development Unit to further develop its commercial 1.2 megawatt electric high-temperature gas reactor design. Kaleidos, intended to replace diesel generators, is engineered to run for five years before needing to refuel. It can potentially serve as a backup power source for hospitals, military installations and other facilities.

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Top 5 Federal Policy Changes Shaping the GovCon Landscape in 2025
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Here are the top 5 federal policy changes that impacted the GovCon industry in the first half of 2025.

The first half of 2025 has brought a wave of federal policy changes reshaping the federal contracting space. With executive orders, acquisition reform, oversight mandates and emerging tech requirements, contractors are navigating significant shifts. Below are the five most consequential policy developments so far this year.

1. FAR Overhaul Under Executive Order 14275

In what many are calling the most ambitious rewrite of federal acquisition policy in decades, Executive Order 14275 directs a comprehensive overhaul of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Signed in April, the order aims to “restore common sense” to procurement by eliminating outdated, duplicative or non-statutory regulatory requirements that have built up over time.

Key mandates include:

  • A “10-for-1” rule requiring agencies to eliminate 10 existing regulations for every new one adopted
  • A presumption that non-statutory clauses will sunset after four years unless explicitly justified
  • A full FAR review by October 2025, led by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the FAR Council

Several agencies—including the State Department, SEC and DOC—have already issued class deviations to bypass certain legacy clauses and implement the streamlined rules. While this transitional period may bring inconsistency across solicitations, the long-term outlook points to faster awards, simplified compliance and greater competition.

For contractors, now is the time to revisit internal processes, update boilerplate responses and stay alert to agency-specific rule changes. These early adopters may influence broader procurement trends across the federal landscape in the second half of the year.

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2. GSA’s GWAC Consolidation and Governmentwide Procurement Reform

In parallel with the FAR overhaul, the General Services Administration is advancing a historic consolidation of governmentwide acquisition contracts, known as GWACs, and IT purchasing vehicles. Under a March mandate from the White House, agencies must designate GSA as the executive agent for most common IT goods and services and submit GWAC streamlining plans by summer.

This reform affects several high-profile contract programs:

  • The next iteration of Alliant will consolidate multiple existing IT service vehicles
  • VETS 2, Polaris and other small business set-aside vehicles are being reevaluated under a unified structure
  • CIO-SP and SEWP are under review for possible integration or deconfliction with GSA-led platforms

GSA’s stated goals are to reduce duplicative contract vehicles, improve access for small and emerging businesses, and increase task order competition by shifting to modular, outcome-based approaches. Contractors should prepare for a more centralized and standardized acquisition environment—potentially offering greater clarity in some areas, but fewer specialized entry points.

In addition, GSA is requiring large consulting and IT vendors to justify contract value through deliverables and performance metrics, signaling a broader shift toward results-driven acquisition models.

For companies active on existing GWACs, this is a pivotal moment. Understanding where legacy vehicles stand, what new structures are emerging and how to align proposal strategies with GSA’s evolving priorities will be critical in the quarters ahead.

3. Efficiency Mandates & Cost‑Cutting Oversight

A government‑wide push to reduce duplication and waste included:

  • A 30‑day “DOGE Initiative” contract review window launched in February, pausing new CO warrants and awards during audits
  • Phase 1 and 2 agency efficiency plans submitted in March/April, followed by monthly compliance reporting
  • GSA following up on consulting contract scrutiny, pushing for outcome‑based delivery.

Contractors in consulting, IT and staffing should be prepared to justify pricing, scope and performance metrics under increasing scrutiny.

4. Civilian Hiring Freeze With Contractor Guardrails

In January, a 90‑day freeze on most civilian hiring (excluding IRS and certain defense roles) went into effect. Significantly, the freeze prohibits agencies from using contractors to fill vacated roles, requiring agencies to redirect backfill plans through OMB‑approved formats. Contractors offering staffing or support services tied to FTEs saw volume reductions during and after the freeze period.

5. Cybersecurity & Emerging Tech Compliance

Cyber and tech procurement policies are advancing alongside acquisition reforms:

  • Minimum cybersecurity standards are now mandated for all federal vendors, alongside a new “cyber trust mark” for compliant tech
  • EO 14179 continues to drive modular contracting and prioritizes artificial intelligence, data transparency and digital modernization

GovCon tech providers should sharpen their cyber hygiene, pursue certification where available and position themselves for accelerated adoption under modern tech initiatives.

How GovCons Should Approach the New Contracting Environment

The federal procurement environment in 2025 is gravitating toward streamlining, consolidation, cost discipline and enhanced tech compliance. Contractors should brace for continued FAR amendments, GSA-led vehicle rationalization, tighter oversight of spending and rising expectations in cybersecurity and AI readiness. Agility and proactive strategy will be critical as agency implementation plays out in the months ahead.

Step 1: sign up for ExecutiveGov’s daily email newsletter of federal contracting headlines. What’s next? Make sure you’re subscribed to all of Executive Mosaic’s GovCon-focused news briefings. GovCon Wire covers large contract awards, mergers and acquisitions deals and industry shake-ups. ExecutiveBiz is razor-focused on the people that make up the GovCon market, and follows their employment patterns, what they’re saying and new offerings they’re showcasing. Tap in and stay informed!

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Leonel Garciga Issues Updated Army Cloud Procurement Guidance
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Army CIO Leonel Garciga released updated guidance on the acquisition of cloud computing services across the service branch

Leonel Garciga, the U.S. Army’s chief information officer and a two-time Wash100 awardee, has signed and issued a memorandum providing updated guidance on the procurement of cloud service offerings, or CSOs, across the military branch.

The June 30 memo was posted on the Army Publishing Directorate’s website on Wednesday.

Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability Vehicle for Cloud Procurements

Effective immediately, the memo mandates the use of the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability, or JWCC, contract vehicle to purchase all new CSOs across Department of the Army headquarters; Army commands; Army service component commands; direct reporting units; and field operating agencies.

Garciga noted that the policy only applies to unclassified and secret-level cloud computing services and capabilities.

In December 2022, the Department of Defense awarded four vendors positions on the potential $9 billion JWCC contract. The procurement vehicle seeks to provide military personnel with enterprisewide cloud offerings spanning all security domains and classification levels.

ECMA to Manage CSO Procurements Through JWCC

The directive designates the Army Enterprise Cloud Management Agency, or ECMA, as the “central authority” to broker and oversee CSO acquisitions through the JWCC contract to ensure compliance with Army reporting, governance and tracking requirements.

The memo directs existing CSO procurements funded through other means to coordinate with ECMA to create transition plans to align with the contract vehicle.

To reflect the new policy, ECMA will work with the deputy assistant secretary of the Army for procurement to update Army guidance and the Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement.

According to the document, the service branch will continue to manage cloud procurements through the Army Military Intelligence Cloud Computing Service Provider to meet the cloud requirements of intelligence community components.

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PTS Hosts Executive Matchmaking Event, Unveils Precision Experts
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PTS held its first Executive Matchmaking Event and unveiled Precision Experts, a flexible consulting and advisory model

Precision Talent Solutions hosted its first executive matchmaking event on June 25, providing GovCon industry executives and transitioning U.S. government officials with an opportunity to engage in strategic conversations and create meaningful connections.

PTS Executive Matchmaking Event Highlights Data, Intention, Alignment

In a blog post published Wednesday, Bisrat Zelalem, business development manager at PTS, wrote that the event reflected the talent acquisition services provider’s focus on data, intention and alignment.

Attendees completed pre-event surveys detailing their mission focus, areas of interest, agency experience and advisory goals. Using artificial intelligence and its industry expertise, PTS created tailored pairings and provided attendees with curated conversation guides to ensure valuable interactions.

PTS Hosts Executive Matchmaking Event, Unveils Precision Experts

PTS is one of the sponsors of the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 GovCon International Summit on Oct. 16. Hear government and industry leaders as they discuss how international partnerships, coalition warfare and innovative technologies are shaping the defense arena. Book your seats now!  

PTS Precision Experts

PTS also introduced Precision Experts, a consulting and advisory service designed to link GovCon organizations to senior-level experts for project-based engagements.

Through PTS Precision Experts, GovCon organizations can gain access to agency-aligned expertise in areas such as capture and proposal strategy; market intelligence and positioning; pre-request for proposals and mission-contextual insight; programmatic troubleshooting; policy navigation; and internal strategic planning.

The new PTS offering seeks to provide former government leaders and senior-level experts with a flexible way to transition and apply their experience without committing to a full-time role.

Zelalem noted that PTS Precision Experts is designed to address a federal workforce challenge by allowing government officials transitioning out of service to stay engaged and make an impact as they explore potential pathways.

PTS Hosts Executive Matchmaking Event, Unveils Precision Experts
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OPM to Host Industry Event on Federal Human Resources IT Modernization
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The OPM, OMB and GSA are seeking industry input on a unified human resources IT system

The Office of Personnel Management, in collaboration with the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration, has begun seeking industry input on a modernized and unified federal human resources system.

According to the notice issued on SAM.gov Tuesday, the OPM will host an industry engagement event on July 9 to 10 to gather information and insights on potential options and benefits of establishing a government-wide human resources IT, or HRIT, suite of capabilities. The event aims to address issues with the current decentralized HR system.

The agencies are particularly interested in offerings focused on position management, personnel action, records processing, workforce analytics, and employee and manager self-service capabilities.

Human Resources Information Technology

HRIT is an HR management system intended to serve approximately three million federal civilian personnel across 438 agencies and sub-agencies, including the 15 cabinet departments. The new system aims to achieve several strategic objectives, including aligning policies to drive accountability, reducing duplicative HR technologies, optimizing processes and eliminating overlapping systems. The system will also focus on modernization for enhanced experience and interoperability for seamless data sharing and integration with payment and government systems. The agencies plan to implement the centrally managed HR system at the end of 2028.

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Ryan Cote Nominated as VA Assistant Secretary, CIO
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Ryan Cote has been nominated by President Donald Trump as the VA's assistant secretary of information and technology and CIO.

President Donald Trump nominated Ryan Cote as the Department of Veterans Affairs’ assistant secretary of information and technology and chief information officer. The White House announced the nomination of Cote on Tuesday, along with the nominations of other officials.

According to NextGov, if Cote is confirmed, he will replace Kurt DelBene, who left the VA in January 2025. He will be in charge of addressing cybersecurity initiatives in the department.

Ryan Cote’s Career Background

Cote previously served as the CIO of the Department of Transportation for two years. He began his career as a U.S. Marine. He is currently the global CIO of a private firm. He was also the CIO executive partner of Gartner and the CIO and vice president of IT at Surge Staffing. He also took on various leadership roles at other technology firms, including Northrop Grumman, HP and IBM.

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DCMA Launches Vertical Lift & Fixed Wing Contract Management Offices
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DCMA stands up two new Contract Management offices, Vertical Lift and Fixed Wing

The Defense Contract Management Agency launched two new Contract Management Offices, Vertical Lift and Fixed Wing, during a ceremony held on June 10 at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth.

Enhancing DCMA’s Operations & Services Through Restructuring

The agency said Thursday the establishment of the new CMO aligns with the DCMA Vision restructuring program. This initiative aims to enhance the agency’s ability to provide more efficient service to military personnel. The restructuring, expected to be completed by October, will see most CMOs operating under either the DCMA Systems Command or the DCMA Geographic & Systems Support Command, led by interim directors Jorge Bennett and Juanita Christensen, respectively. The Vertex Lift and Fixed Wing offices, which resulted from the consolidation of nine existing offices, will operate under the DCMA Systems Command.

The Central, Eastern, and Western Region Commands will be replaced by the DCMA Systems Command and DCMA Geographic & Systems Support Command as part of the initiative.

Vertical Lift & Fixed Wing CMOs

The Vertical Lift CMO seeks to advance safety and operational performance, optimize operational readiness and maintain crucial insight into the defense industrial base’s health. Navy Capt. David Calhoun will lead the CMO and oversee the management of 15,566 active contracts worth $250 billion. The CMO includes DCMA Vertical Lift Mesa, DCMA Vertical Lift Owego, DCMA Vertical Lift Philadelphia, DCMA Vertical Lift Stratford and DCMA Vertical Lift Texas.

Led by Air Force Col. Michael Hansen, the Fixed Wing CMO will serve as a hub for gathering and analyzing data to create factory-level intelligence, enabling acquisition professionals to make informed decisions. The office manages 7,283 active contracts valued at $647.72 billion and contains DCMA Fixed Wing St. Louis, DCMA Fixed Wing Puget Sound, DCMA Fixed Wing Fort Worth and DCMA Fixed Wing Marietta. 

“These two commands are a part of DCMA’s new command structure and will use automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning and strategic collaboration with our customers and each contract management office to increase data sharing and early warning oversight of the supply chain,” said Sonya Ebright, deputy director of the DCMA.

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Army to Lead DOD’s Interagency Task Force for Counter-Drone Capabilities
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Army Gen. James Mingus revealed plans within the Pentagon to establish a counter-drone task force

The Department of Defense is establishing a joint interagency task force dedicated to accelerating the development and fielding of counter-unmanned aerial systems, or c-UAS. 

Gen. James Mingus, vice chief of staff of the Army, said at an event Wednesday that the threat of drones today is similar to the improvised explosive device crisis during the Global War on Terror in the 2000s. Concerns over IEDs led to the creation of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, or JIEDDO. 

Mingus pointed out that JIEDDO delivered the mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, which protected military personnel from various threats in austere environments. JIEDDO can build and deploy new capabilities to the battlefield within three to four months.

“And we need an organization that is joint interagency, has authorities, a colorless pot of money, and the authorities to go after from requirements all the way through acquisition in a rapid way to be able to keep pace with that,” the official shared.

What Is Known About the Planned C-UAS Task Force

According to Mingus, the Army, which has been in charge of the DOD’s c-UAS efforts since 2019, will lead the joint interagency task force. He added that the service will ask Congress for flexible funding for the development of UAS, c-UAS and electronic warfare capabilities. 

The Army already included at least $858 million for c-UAS in its budget request for fiscal 2026.

“If it’s a piece of technology that moves faster than the traditional budgetary cycle, we need to look at how we make agility and agile funding as part of how we do this,” Mingus added.

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VA OIG: IT Procurement Should Prioritize Accessibility for Individuals With Disabilities
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The VA’s Office of Inspector General sees a need to improve the agency's IT procurement process to comply with Section 508.

The Department of Veterans Affairs must improve its procurement process for information and communication technology systems to better comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which mandates accessibility for individuals with disabilities, according to a new audit released by the VA’s Office of Inspector General.

The audit, which follows up on a similar 2024 report, evaluated 30 critical IT and communications systems that the VA procured and found that only four were classified as compliant with Section 508 standards, noting the VA officials’ failure to ensure that the systems they procured would meet the required accessibility standards.

According to the report, VA contracting officers and program officials conducted market research on vendors to meet business requirements; however, they did not verify the accessibility of the systems for individuals with disabilities.

OIG Recommendations to Address Procurement Issues

The OIG recommended that the assistant secretary for information and technology, who also serves as the department’s chief information officer, ensure that staff involved with acquiring information and communication technology are adequately trained on federal and VA requirements for Section 508 standards.

The OIG also recommended that the assistant secretary update VA Handbook 6221 to identify roles and responsibilities related to ensuring Section 508 compliance during procurement.

Furthermore, the assistant secretary should establish a way to ensure that compliance documentation and market research on any information and communication technology being procured are submitted to the VA Office of 508 Compliance for review so that the office can determine whether the technology is the most compliant under Section 508.

Finally, the OIG recommended that the deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and logistics collaborate with the VA Office of 508 Compliance to develop policies and procedures to ensure VA’s information and communication technology procurements comply with Section 508 requirements.

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Jeff Conklin, Casie Antalis Join CISA
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Federal civilian leaders Jeff Conklin and Casie Antalis joined CISA

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has appointed federal civilian leaders Jeff Conklin and Casie Antalis as chief security officer and program director of the Joint Cyber Coordination Group, or JCCG, respectively.

In a LinkedIn post published Tuesday, CISA announced that Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala presided over the swearing-in ceremony of Conklin and Antalis.

Jeff Conklin as CISA Chief Security Officer

As CSO, Conklin will oversee CISA’s internal security and threat management programs and provide executive leadership for the Office of the CSO executive officer and associate chiefs for security programs, personnel security, enterprise security, threat management and internal affairs.

Before CISA, the former Marine Corps officer was the CSO for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He also served as chief information officer for USCIS and deputy CIO at the U.S. Coast Guard.

The U.S. Naval Academy applied science graduate holds a master’s degree in software engineering from National University in San Diego.

Casie Antalis as CISA Joint Cyber Coordination Group Program Chief

In her new role, Antalis will oversee the CISA group, which works across the agency’s Office of Strategy, Policy and Plans and the Integrated Operations Division to centralize the advancement of cybersecurity initiatives and priorities across the Department of Homeland Security.

Before joining CISA, she was the principal deputy assistant secretary for the DHS Office of Counterterrorism, Threat Prevention and Law Enforcement. She also served as deputy assistant secretary for screening and vetting at DHS.

According to her LinkedIn profile, the University of Maryland graduate’s government career included time as chief of staff at the Customs and Border Protection; director of security screening and vetting at the White House National Security Council; and deputy group chief for screening and vetting at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

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