WEEK OF JUNE 2. 2025
Elon Is Out of the DOGE House
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State of Play:
The House and Senate are in session this week.
President Trump released his full budget proposalon Friday, calling for an over 22 percent reduction in non-defense spending.
Driving the News:
The House passed the Budget Reconciliation bill, so it now moves to the Senate for consideration where it is likely to face several major hurdles. The Senate plans to alter the package, but it remains to be seen how extensive those changes will be. The goal is still to have the legislation to President Trump before the Fourth of July recess.
Elon Musk officially announced his departure from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last week, but the Administration has signaled that the Department will continue its efforts.
Three Things to Watch in Tech:
1. Congress Kicks Off Summer AI Hearings: AI will be the hot topic of the Congressional summer session, and House Members will kick off the season with two hearings this week.
The House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee will be taking a close look Wednesday at how AI is used in communications networks and how AI is both enhancing security while also increasing threat actors. The hearing will also look at how AI is being used for content moderation practices, per the hearing memo.
In the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Members will look at how the federal government is using AI. Witnesses are expected to weigh in on the efficiencies, and inefficiencies, of AI applications for federal government efficiency and expound on current use cases.
2. Congress Moves on Crypto, Stablecoins: The Senate is positioned to pass landmark legislation by the end of this week to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins.
Senators have been in negotiations with primarily Democratic holdouts who want to include an anti-money laundering provision as well as bolster other consumer protections. There remains the point of contention, however, over if negotiators will include Senator Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) Credit Card Competition Act, which he filed as an amendment to the bill.
In the House, the Financial Services and Agriculture Committees will host a joint hearing on the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act, to establish a regulatory market structure framework for digital assets.
The Committees previously tried to hold a joint hearing on a discussion draft of the legislation earlier in May, but Financial Services Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) objected to the joint hearing, leading to a roundtable discussion instead.
It is unclear if Waters plans to object to Wednesday’s hearing again, but regardless, the bill is expected to receive Democratic pushback given President Trump’s recent crypto ventures.
3. CISA’s Cyber Changes: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hold its long-awaited
Thursday for
Sean Plankey
, President Trump’s nominee to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), alongside
Sean Cairncross
, nominated for National Cyber Director.
Plankey, a former Energy Department official and current DHS adviser, is likely to advance despite the recent turmoil at CISA and staffing shortages in federal cybersecurity roles.
Plankey’s nomination was temporarily on hold, however, given Senator Ron Wyden’s (D-OR) objections to move the nomination prior to receiving CISA’s 2022 report on the Salt Typhoon attack. We will be watching Senator Wyden’s reaction to the hearing for a path forward to confirmation.
CISA also faces mounting budgetary challenges given rollbacks in President Trump's budget proposal, calling for a nearly $1 billion reduction to the agency.
What's Happening This WeekTech Hearings
The House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees will hold a joint hearing on "American Innovation and the Future of Digital Assets: From Blueprint to a Functional Framework” - Wednesday, June 4 at 10:00 AM EST
The House Oversight and Government Relations Government Operations Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Safeguarding Procurement: Examining Fraud Risk Management in the Department of Defense” - Wednesday, June 4 at 10:00 AM EST
The House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee holds a hearing on "Stopping Illegal Robocalls and Robotexts: Progress, Challenges, and Next Steps” - Wednesday, June 4 at 10:15 AM EST
The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on pending nominations - Wednesday, June 4 at 10:15 AM EST
The House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee holds a hearing on "AI in the Everyday: Current Applications and Future Frontiers in Communications and Technology" - Wednesday, June 4 at 10:30 AM EST
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee holds a hearing to examine pending nominations, including Hearings to examine the nominations of Sean Cairncross to be National Cyber Director and Sean Plankey to be Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - Thursday, June 5 at 9:00 AM EST
The House Financial Services Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Framework for the Future: Reviewing Data Privacy in Today's Financial System” - Thursday, June 5 at 10:00 AM EST
The House Judiciary Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Foreign Influence on American’s Data Through the CLOUD Act” - Thursday, June 5 at 10:00 AM EST
The House Oversight and Government Relations Committee holds a hearing on “The Federal Government in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” - Thursday, June 5 at 10:00 AM EST
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hold a markup including S.1397, to require the Secretary of State to establish a quantum cooperation program to enhance international cooperation in quantum information science - Thursday, June 5 at 10:30 AM EST
Tech Events
The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center - Film Screening of "Can't Look Away: The Case Against Social Media" - Tuesday, June 3 at 6:30 PM EST
Commerce Department; Bureau of Industry and Security - Meeting of the Materials and Equipment Technical Advisory Committee - Thursday, June 5 at 10:00 AM EST
The Center for Strategic and International Studies - Virtual Discussion on “Emerging Technologies and Strategic Competition" - Thursday, June 5 at 2:30 PM EST
