The Bureaucracy War: Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar and Senator Mike Lee (UT) - Hill & Valley Forum 2025

Today on Moment of Zen, we're sharing a conversation about defense innovation bureaucracy reform recorded at this week's Hill & Valley Forum in Washington D.C.

In this session, Palantir, CTO Sha Sankar and Senator Mike Lee dissect America's defense innovation paralysis. They articulate how bureaucratic accretion stifles the necessary competition and "heretical" personalities historically driving breakthroughs. Their prescription: regulatory reset via the REINS Act, competing procurement programs, and empowering maverick leaders—essential counters to China's accelerating AI capabilities.

If you're interested to hear all the talks from the forum, please subscribe to The Hill & Valley Forum Podcast: ⁠YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HillValleyForum⁩⁠ Apple:⁠ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hill-valley-forum-podcast/id1692653857⁠ Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/39s4MCyt1pOTQ8FjOAS4mi⁠

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Follow on X: @SenMikeLee (Senator Mike Lee) @friedberg (Shyam Sankar) @cgarrett_15 (Christian Garrett) @eriktorenberg @turpentinemedia

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KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

Defense innovation has stalled by prioritizing process over people and rigidly following bureaucratic procedures

Competition between services and programs historically drove breakthroughs but has been lost

America needs more "heretical" founder-type leaders within defense

The REINS Act could restore constitutional order by requiring Congress to approve regulations

Bureaucratic reform is essential to compete with China in the AI arms race