President Trump highlighted over $90 billion in private investment in energy and data centers. As part of its energy policy, the administration aims to streamline approvals for new power plants to meet growing electricity demand critical for powering AI and sustaining U.S. leadership in innovation. For more information, check out coverage from the AP, Reuters, and CBS News.
Thank you for reading! Below, we’ve highlighted additional tech policy news and shared a featured podcast.
This Week in Washington
- Bloomberg: President Trump is set to deliver a major speech on AI policy next week at the Hill and Valley Forum. The remarks, which are expected to focus on economic opportunity and job creation through AI development, will be the President’s first major address on the topic since he began his second term.
- CyberScoop: The House of Representatives passed a bill designating the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) as the lead agency responsible for communications cybersecurity. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it stalled in 2024.
- Nextgov: A draft Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memo will set agency and vendor cybersecurity standards at a “post-quantum cryptographic standard” level to protect against quantum computing threats. The OMB has yet to publicly release the memo or announce an implementation timeline.
- NBC News: The Department of Defense (DOD) found that a prominent Chinese hacking group, Salt Typhoon, had compromised a U.S. state Army National Guard network for 9 months in 2024. The hack did not slow National Guard operations, but it may have exposed sensitive military and law enforcement information.
Article Summary
- WCNC: Nonprofits in Charlotte, North Carolina, are investing in AI to increase efficiency and expand their impact. The integrations allow local service organizations to serve more people on the same small budgets.
- Fox 5 Atlanta: The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Georgia Tech a $20M grant to build one of the most advanced AI supercomputers in the country. The computer, expected to be operational in 2026, will use 10% of its capacity on campus-based research and provide 90% of its capacity to support external innovation.
- Florida Politics: Florida’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program is accepting applications from now through August 5 for more than $970 million in available grants. The grants will support rural broadband expansion throughout the state, with a particular focus on Marion County.
Featured Podcast
- Microsoft Research Podcast
Former UK cybersecurity chief Professor Ciaran Martin discusses private-public cybersecurity opportunities, and AI Security Researcher Tori Westerhoff explains some of the ways Microsoft is integrating AI into Cybersecurity. (AI Testing and Evaluation: Learnings from cybersecurity – July 14, 2025) – 34 minute and 57 second listen