Tech priority suggestions for the Trump administration

Details are starting to trickle in about how the Trump administration and its new DOGE will look to use tech modernization as a driver of efficiency in the federal government. But there’s still uncertainty about how the new administration will address some key topics, like AI, cybersecurity, the tech workforce and more. Last month, the Alliance for Digital Innovation issued a set of tech priority recommendations for the Trump White House and sent an open letter to the DOGE, offering guidance on how to best approach the federal tech landscape. Ross Nodurft, the executive director of that coalition and former head of the Office of Management and Budget’s cybersecurity team, joins me to discuss what those suggested priorities are, how Congress could play a role and how the DOGE, regardless of politics, could shine a welcome spotlight on improving the state of federal technology.

Also: Just hours after the Trump administration took office Monday, the president signed a flurry of executive orders, many of which are likely to have significant impact on federal technology operations. Most notably, Donald Trump signed orders to claw back Joe Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence and called for a return to office for federal employees. Trump’s repeal of the AI EO didn’t come with any policy replacing the Biden administration’s, which established a roadmap for the federal government to address the growing technology while managing risks. Meanwhile, Trump’s new order for a return to in-person work called for agency leaders to “take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis.” Trump also issued an order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The order renames the U.S. Digital Service as “the United States DOGE Service” and charges it with “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”

Also in this episode: Cloudera Government Solutions President Rob Carey joins SNG host Wyatt Kash in a sponsored podcast discussion on how best to ensure the trustworthiness — as well as the security and privacy — of the data agencies rely upon to drive AI solutions and, ultimately, mission success. This segment was sponsored by Cloudera.

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