The tech-broligarch All-In Podcast’s all out – David Sacks super out. What Chamath predicted as an election spritz change turned to be a flush. If you’re rebranding your website around “super intelligence,” don’t bother. The midterms just face slapped Washington – and Silicon Valley reality – reality gets a vote.
While the election changed the political math. It didn’t magically repair the relationship between government and the technology industry. After DOGE, the purges, the public shaming, and the Vichy France optics of corporate leaders lining up to loyalty polygraphs, trust is in short supply. Getting back together is going to be awkward. Bring a therapist – and a procurement lawyer. Pay for play is O-U-T – will the East Wing ever get rebuilt?
WINNERS
Anthropic. In an industry seemingly caught in Trump’s tribute tractor beam, Anthropic was only major AI vendor that publicly refused to bend the knee. The company paid for that independence with a supply-chain-risk designation, lost federal opportunities and a bruising legal fight. Its IPO filing lays out the risks of becoming a political target. Whatever you think of Anthropic’s business, it made a point worth remembering: a government contract should not require a loyalty oath.
The case for reinvention. Scatologically, DOGE made a mess, but it exposed a truth that federal tech insiders have known for years. The emperor is naked — the system is beyond overdue for reinvention. The next Congress has an opportunity to make modernization about results, not slogans. Not committees, not TMF, not FedRAMP, not FITARA — wholesale real change at the speed of tech.
LOSERS
DOGE. Disruption without a credible operating model is not government reinvention. It’s expensive chaos. GAO found serious gaps in agencies’ ability to account for DOGE access to sensitive systems and data. So much for efficiency through accountability.
The old procurement establishment. Please don’t mistake DOGE’s failure for a mandate to restore the status quo. Procurement still takes too long. Too many set-asides are masquerade balls where taxpayers pay too much for too little. Security compliance too often rewards paperwork over actual security. TMF, FedRAMP, and FITARA were important milestones, but their implementation looks like relics.
Everyone who thinks the relationship can just reset. It can’t. Agencies need industry, and industry needs a government that acts like a reliable customer – not a political loyalty test.
PRESCRIPTION?
To the incoming Congress: don’t rebuild the old system or repeat DOGE’s demolition derby. Unleash the power of industry. Demand faster acquisition, real competition, outcome-based contracts, and security measured by results.
To industry: stop chasing political favor. Compete on capability, protect your independence, and remember that administrations come and go. I could name names, but we’ve all seen the donor list.
The hedonism is over, and, All In pod’s shit outta luck…