Miranda Nazzaro

I wrapped up my time at
@fedscoop.bsky.social last week, where I learned so much about the world of govt. technology & contracting from an incredible team. I could not recommend their coverage of the gov IT beat more, especially at such a consequential time for the space.

Some news: Today's my first day back at
@thehill.com as their new senior technology reporter. I'm excited to be back covering all things policy/politics for AI, kids safety, data privacy.

You can reach me at mnazzaro@thehill.com or my Signal at miranda.952. Pls say hi!

2026 Neal Awards Finalists - Neals

Pleased to be one of several Scoop News Group journalists named as a finalist for the Jesse Neal Awards this year. My story was part of a package of reporting we did across publications on the Trump administration's AI Action Plan that was nominated for Best News Coverage.

IRS moves operations employees to tax services for filing season amid workforce cuts The shakeup follows warnings from the Treasury’s watchdog about how staffing cuts at the IRS could affect tax filing season.

The shakeup follows warnings from the Treasury’s watchdog about how staffing cuts at the IRS could affect tax filing season. via @mirandanazzaro.bsky.social fedscoop.com/internal-rev...

Education IT, tech employees lose union protections The move against OCIO and FSA CTO staffers follows a March 2025 Trump executive order barring collective bargaining agreements for nearly two-thirds of the federal workforce.

New: Education IT, tech employees lose union protections
fedscoop.com/education-de...

GSA and AI in the federal government YouTube video by FedScoop

FedScoop's @mirandanazzaro.bsky.social joins @billy-mitchell.bsky.social on this week's episode of The Daily Scoop Podcast to discuss some of the GSA's top priorities, from OneGov and the TMF to eliminating woke AI, among others. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_OU... | www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLOz...

News: The Education Department is calling back some of the Office of Civil Rights workers whose job status has been unknown for weeks.

While the RIFs play out in court, ED says staff should be working on OCR's caseload of complaints if they're getting paid. @fedscoop.bsky.social

Sean Plankey nomination to lead CISA appears to be over after Thursday vote Sean Plankey’s nomination to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency looks to be over following his exclusion from a Senate vote Thursday on a panel of Trump administration picks.

Got some details I don't think have been published here on what has happened with Sean Plankey's nomination to lead CISA, especially RE: Sen. Scott. cyberscoop.com/sean-plankey...

Palantir quietly lands in Education Department through foreign funding portal The company is not publicly listed as part of the new portal project in federal spending records.

Scoop: Palantir continues to extend its reach in the federal government, this time at the Education Department.
@fedscoop.bsky.social

fedscoop.com/palantir-edu...

Palantir quietly lands in Education Department through foreign funding portal The company is not publicly listed as part of the new portal project in federal spending records.

The company is not publicly listed as part of the new portal project in federal spending records. via @mirandanazzaro.bsky.social fedscoop.com/palantir-edu...

A week after shutdown’s end, some federal workers’ job status remains in limbo Many Education and State workers are still in the dark, while dozens of SBA employees were told their RIFs were halted only to be told a day later the separations would proceed.

It's been more than a week since the government reopened but some Education & State Department workers are still in the dark over their job status.

Read more on the confusion at some govt. agencies below.

Reporting w/ @madialder.bsky.social @fedscoop.bsky.social
fedscoop.com/federal-work...

RIF’d Education Department civil rights staff looks to shutdown deal for job protection A workers union contends more than 200 ED staff could see their RIFs halted under the broad language of Congress’s funding deal.

ICYMI: Federal worker advocates hope Congress's bill to reopen the government is a lifeline for some RIFed workers, including Education Dept. staffers who were laid off long before the shutdown began.

Read more @fedscoop.bsky.social
fedscoop.com/education-de...

With each cloud outage, calls for government action grow louder Public interest groups want the feds to investigate the systemic risk from market consolidation, while tech and security experts worry about single points of failure.

With each cloud outage, calls for government action grow louder by @derekbjohnson.bsky.social @mirandanazzaro.bsky.social cyberscoop.com/with-each-cl...

Teamed up with my FedScoop colleague @mirandanazzaro.bsky.social on this story about the risks and vulnerabilities of cloud consolidation. Check it out!

CMS signals interest in Palantir for national provider directory project It comes as Palantir faces backlash in the United Kingdom for a similar project involving health care data.

SCOOP: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services are quietly considering Palantir for work on a national provider directory.

Spending records in Sept show a $1 award to the company & sources say it is to build a prototype product for CMS.
@fedscoop.bsky.social

fedscoop.com/palantir-cen...

Russ Vought on X: "The RIFs have begun." / X The RIFs have begun.

Russ Vought says RIFs have begun. OMB spox tells
@madialder.bsky.social the RIFs are "substantial, but didn't provide further details. @fedscoop.bsky.social
x.com/russvought/s...

Trump’s push for more admissions data collides with a hollowed-out Education Department Gutted research offices raise doubts about the agency’s future data integrity, several former ED staffers say.

Gutted research offices raise doubts about the agency’s future data integrity, several former ED staffers say. via @mirandanazzaro.bsky.social fedscoop.com/education-de...

Trump’s push for more admissions data collides with a hollowed-out Education Department Gutted research offices raise doubts about the agency’s future data integrity, several former ED staffers say.

The Trump admin wants the Education Department to collect more college admissions data, even as it slashes the staff that ensures the statistics are credible & accurate.

Read more on uncertainties surrounding the future of education research👇 @fedscoop.bsky.social

fedscoop.com/education-de...

House staffers will have access to Microsoft Copilot this fall Speaker Mike Johnson said the pilot program will be available for up to 6,000 House employees.

House staffers will soon be able to use Microsoft Copilot’s chatbot, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced Wednesday, a move that marks a significant step in the chamber’s push to modernize workflows. via @mirandanazzaro.bsky.social fedscoop.com/microsoft-co...

Charlie Kirk Was Shot and Killed in a Post-Content-Moderation World Videos of the shooting spread across TikTok, Instagram, and X. Researchers say that in some cases the platforms are falling short on enforcing their own content moderation rules.

Charlie Kirk Was Shot and Killed in a Post-Content-Moderation World, a smart piece from @wired.com

Perplexity AI makes its play for government use Another artificial intelligence company is staking its claim in the government marketplace.  Perplexity AI, an AI-powered search engine, is currently

New: Jerry Ma, Perplexity's VP of policy & global affairs, tells @fedscoop.bsky.social the AI-powered search engine is piloting tools in fed agencies.

Starting today, federal staff can access the platform from govt locations or with a .gov/.mil domain.

fedscoop.com/perplexity-a...

DOGE employees uploaded Social Security database to ‘vulnerable’ cloud, agency whistleblower says An SSA spokesperson maintained the agency is “not aware of any compromise” to the cloud environment referenced in the complaint from the agency’s chief data officer.

New: SSA whistleblower says DOGE employees stored a copy of an agency database on a custom cloud server w/ no verified oversight, putting millions of Americans' personal data at risk @fedscoop.bsky.social
fedscoop.com/doge-social-...

Hello! I'm hoping to speak with former/current Education Dept staff about the Trump admin's new request for college admissions race data & how a shrinking stats/data workforce complicates this.

You can reach me securely on Signal @miranda.952 or email miranda.nazzaro@fedscoop.com. Thank you!

GSA to unveil USAi, a new tool for federal agencies to experiment with AI models Models from four major AI firms will be available for immediate testing upon launch. Notably, Elon Musk’s xAI Grok chatbot will not be one of these four.

SCOOP: GSA will launch USAi.gov later today, a new platform for agencies the chance to test out AI models.

Models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google & Meta will be available upon launch, w/ more coming later.

W/ help from @rebheilweil.bsky.social

fedscoop.com/usai-general...

RIF packets from FDA included sensitive data for other workers, sources say Two sources told FedScoop that agency workers have received others’ personal data, including Social Security numbers. The issue comes amid broader concerns about security of the packets.

Two sources told FedScoop that agency workers have received others’ personal data, including Social Security numbers. The issue comes amid broader concerns about security of the packets. via @madialder.bsky.social fedscoop.com/rif-packets-...

Federal agencies can buy ChatGPT for $1 through GSA deal OpenAI said its ChatGPT Enterprise product will be available to the entire federal government workforce at “essentially no cost” for one year.

Update: OpenAI will offer its ChatGPT Enterprise product to federal agencies for $1 a year, per agency.

Comes as part of the firm's long-term efforts to increase use of the gen AI chatbot in the federal government.
@fedscoop.bsky.social

Story: fedscoop.com/openai-chatg...

Anthropic, Google and OpenAI land GSA contract for governmentwide use GSA officials emphasized the contract aligns with the Trump administration’s new focus on preventing “ideological bias” in AI models.

Anthropic, Google and OpenAI land GSA contract for governmentwide use. GSA officials emphasized the contract aligns with the Trump administration’s new focus on preventing “ideological bias” in AI models. via @mirandanazzaro.bsky.social fedscoop.com/gsa-openai-g...

Anthropic, Google and OpenAI land GSA contract for governmentwide use GSA officials emphasized the contract aligns with the Trump administration’s new focus on preventing “ideological bias” in AI models.

News: Civilian fed agencies can now purchase AI products from OpenAI, Google & Anthropic through the GSA's Multiple Award Schedule program.

Officials added it aligns w/ Trump admin's focus on preventing "ideological bias" in govt-used models. @fedscoop.bsky.social

fedscoop.com/gsa-openai-g...

GSA is planning to bring its chatbot to the rest of government Zach Whitman, the agency’s CAIO and CDO, detailed the vision for GSAi across government and weighed in on whether Grok could be used by federal workers.

Zach Whitman, the agency’s CAIO and CDO, detailed the vision for GSAi across government and weighed in on whether Grok could be used by federal workers. via @mirandanazzaro.bsky.social and @rebheilweil.bsky.social fedscoop.com/general-serv...

Trump nominates former private equity executive Edward Forst as GSA administrator The nomination marks the latest sign of change for the GSA, which was a stronghold for DOGE-aligned staffers earlier this year.

Trump nominates former private equity executive Edward Forst as GSA administrator via @mirandanazzaro.bsky.social fedscoop.com/robert-forst...