The Data Cartel Is Already Running the System

A handful of tech, cloud, and analytics giants now operate as a unified backbone for federal governance. What began as contracting convenience evolved into a cartel that controls access, identity, and

This didn’t start with policy.

It started with infrastructure.

The government didn’t build the system it needed — it rented it.

And the vendors who supplied it now function as the most powerful unelected network in the country.

This is the file on how they formed, what they run, and what comes next.

The architecture exposed last week didn’t operate alone; it needed operators.