The Latest Tech-Related Developments from the Trump Administration

As the new administration swiftly implements its agenda, Deltek's Federal Market Analysis team continues to monitor developments. In parts 1 and 2 on technology-related executive actions, we discussed the DOGE, PCAST and artificial intelligence directives. Here, I will examine additional tech changes under the Trump Administration.

Reclassification of Federal CIOs

On February 4th, OPM issued a memo to federal agencies pertaining to the reclassification of federal Chief Information Officers (CIOs). The Guidance Regarding Redesignating SES CIO Positions, provided by the Chief Human Capital Officers Council, recommends that agencies designate CIO roles classified as career reserved to that of “general.” According to OPM, career reserved positions are designated exclusively for career appointees to maintain impartiality within the government. In contrast, general positions can be occupied by any Senior Executive Service (SES) member, irrespective of their career background.

The memo states that the request is due to the evolving role of agency CIOs into policymaking positions. For this reason, “It is a focus of President Trump’s administration to improve the government’s digital policy to make government more responsive, transparent, efficient, and accessible to the public, and to make using and understanding government programs easier,” according to the guidance. In the memo, OPM points out that CIOs are involved in policies related to areas such as cybersecurity, AI, cloud, digital infrastructure, and that CIOs make “policy choices about which of these topics to prioritize and fund — and which should be deemphasized or defunded,” revealing the administration’s intent to ensure its tech agenda and priorities are reflected at the agency level.

The Trump Administration’s intentions are clear – if federal agency CIO positions are designated as general, the administration can then appoint those of its choosing, most likely those from the private tech industry, to help progress technology initiatives, policy and funding. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the guidance is only recommending the reclassification rather than mandating it.  

Should some agencies take this advice and shift CIOs to general positions, the pool of candidates for the role will widen. In fact, this is one argument the memo makes for the request, “The shortage of talent persists to this day, and converting certain CIO SES positions to general will help to alleviate it by dramatically increasing the number of candidates available to fill these important roles.” Federal agency CIOs tend to have shorter tenures than their counterparts in the private sector. Widening the pool of candidates could shorten the “acting” status of CIO positions that often exists. On the other hand, if additional CIO positions become designated for political appointees, this could slow the process of putting a CIO in place pending Senate confirmations as applicable.

NITRD Issues AI RFI

On February 7th, the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) released a Request for Information (RFI) on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The RFI invites input on the development of the Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan. The action plan was first introduced in the  Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence executive order as the new administration’s path forward to AI policy and development.  Specifically, the request is looking for feedback to, “ensure that unnecessarily burdensome requirements do not hamper private sector AI innovation,” according to the RFI.

Additionally, the White House is seeking key priorities to be included in the action plan, particularly those concerning, “hardware and chips, data centers, energy consumption and efficiency, model development, open source development, application and use (either in the private sector or by government), explainability and assurance of AI model outputs, cybersecurity, data privacy and security throughout the lifecycle of AI system development and deployment (to include security against AI model attacks), risks, regulation and governance, technical and safety standards, national security and defense, research and development, education and workforce, innovation and competition, intellectual property, procurement, international collaboration, and export controls.” Responses to the RFI are due no later than March 15, 2025.

The RFI signifies the administration’s continued support and value of private sector input and perspective in moving forward with a new federal AI policy. Based on the related executive order, the AI Action Plan plan is due to the president by the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (APST) in July 2025.

Areas of increased government AI use under the new administration, particularly given the new DOGE agenda for federal efficiency, could be that of predictive and spending analytics to root out waste and fraud, program identification for duplication and inefficiency, and automation to optimize operations.

Uncertain Future for 18F

Last week, the head of the White House’s DOGE, Elon Musk, posted on X that the tech team within GSA called 18F has been “deleted.” As a reminder, the 18F group, named after the address of GSA’s DC HQ, consists of software developers, designers and engineers as well as product strategists and managers to help fix complex federal tech problems and build new products to improve public service. The group worked with a portfolio of agencies on numerous IT projects throughout the last three administrations. Despite a claim of deletion, the 18F website is operational. The fate of 18F remains unclear.

In terms of contractors, a quick search in GovWin’s Federal Spending Analytics tool reveals that contracted work in relation to 18F projects and services in the last three fiscal years only amounted to a little over $1M. Should the group in fact be removed, the new administration and DOGE may rely on additional private sector assistance to fulfill, if only some, of the projects and tech challenges the group may have been involved in.

Be sure to stay informed on the impacts to federal contractors and opportunities from the new Trump Administration through Deltek’s GovWin’s First 100 Days Resource Center.