After weeks of gridlock, the Senate has inched closer to ending what has become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. In a show of bipartisanship, eight Democratic centrists joined Republicans to advance a funding bill that would keep the government open through January 30 and fully fund several key agencies for the rest of the fiscal year. The deal, which also promises a future vote on extending health care subsidies, now faces its next major test in the House — where Speaker Mike Johnson must rally his narrow majority while Democratic leaders push back on the compromise.
The shutdown’s ripple effects are increasingly severe, especially in critical sectors like air traffic control, where staffing shortages led to the worst weekend yet since the shutdown began. Other agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, have begun scaling back operations, with states ordered to halt full food stamp benefits following a Supreme Court ruling. As lawmakers scramble to end the impasse, federal workers and travelers alike are feeling the mounting strain of a government at a standstill.
Layoffs: CISA
The Department of Homeland Security is moving forward with layoffs at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) even as a federal court injunction remains in effect halting most government workforce reductions during the shutdown. DHS argues the move complies with the order because the 54 job cuts in CISA’s Stakeholder Engagement Division were planned before the injunction was issued and don’t involve any unionized employees.
The filing underscores how federal agencies are interpreting the limits of the injunction as they navigate the longest shutdown in U.S. history. CISA’s cuts target teams focused on partnerships, international affairs, and academic outreach — a setback for the agency’s collaborative mission as it faces continued scrutiny from the Trump administration. Once seen as a bipartisan cornerstone of U.S. cyber defense, CISA’s future direction now sits at the intersection of politics, law, and the evolving landscape of national cybersecurity.
Hiring: U.S. Marine Corps
The Marine Corps is putting money behind its effort to attract and keep high-tech talent. As part of its shift to an “invest and retain” model, the service is offering enlistment bonuses of up to $15,000 for recruits entering cyber and electronics maintenance roles — positions that include cyber network operators, cryptologic linguists, and electromagnetic warfare analysts. The move underscores the Corps’ growing focus on cyber readiness and advanced technology capabilities as it competes with the private sector for skilled digital talent.
The bonuses don’t stop there — new recruits in dozens of other fields can earn $5,000 or $10,000 shipping bonuses for heading to boot camp on the service’s schedule, while applicants willing to extend their enlistment can pocket up to $15,000 in “targeted investment” bonuses. The incentives are part of a broader push to curb the Marine Corps’ high first-term attrition rate and strengthen retention across both active-duty and reserve components. Still, with the government shutdown and funding delays complicating military pay programs, questions remain about how quickly these bonuses will be distributed.
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Opportunity to Watch
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered one of the most sweeping calls for defense reform in decades, declaring the “defense acquisition system as you know it is dead.” Speaking to industry leaders at the National War College, Hegseth outlined a top-to-bottom overhaul meant to cut bureaucracy, speed delivery of weapons to warfighters, and hold both Pentagon officials and contractors accountable for results. The effort centers on replacing the long-maligned Joint Capabilities and Integration Development System with a faster, warfighting-driven model and renaming the Defense Acquisition System as the “Warfighting Acquisition System.”
The reimagined structure will place more authority — and responsibility — in the hands of new “portfolio acquisition executives,” empowered to make tradeoffs and shift funding to meet real-time operational needs. Hegseth’s message to defense companies was blunt: adapt to the new pace or “fade away.” The Pentagon plans to prioritize competition, expand the industrial base, and give contractors clearer incentives to deliver faster and invest in production capacity. The initiative also extends to reforming foreign military sales, aligning arms exports with industrial revitalization, and ensuring allies get interoperable U.S. systems. Lawmakers from both parties hailed the move as long overdue, calling it a generational shift in how the U.S. develops and fields military capability.
