Lawmaker warns of administration’s ‘fetishization’ of Silicon Valley startups

Photo: James Walkinshaw speaking at a forum, attended by other candidates in the primary to replace Gerry Connolly in the U.S. House of Representatives – June 24, 2025. Photo credit: WrenFalcon via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0 (photo was resized to fit). Article by Alexandra Kelley, Ross Wilkers, Edward Graham and David DiMolfetta. Defense One – June 30, 2026.

Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., discussed his plans to scrutinize Trump-era contracting practices, revive federal IT oversight, and push for AI policy.

Rep. James Walkinshaw has big plans for the federal government’s sprawling tech stack, including scrutinizing the contracting practices of the current administration. In an extensive sit-down interview with Nextgov/FCW and other GovExec reporters, the Democratic congressman from Virginia said that he wants to help rebuild the federal government’s capacity after sweeping disruption carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency—from strengthening civil service protections and tech talent pipelines to tightening cybersecurity guardrails on AI and reviving oversight tools like the FITARA scorecard and FedRAMP. […]

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