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The Trump administration has announced its plans to convert the roles of chief information officers (CIOs) across Federal Agencies into political appointee positions.
Announced by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Tuesday, this move has been described as a “tech could” and will affect each Agency’s Chief Information Officer’s role currently considered non partisan and protected from firings.
The move allows the administration to hire and fire CIOs at will, effectively politicizing the leadership of the federal government’s technology infrastructure.
According to a statement issued by Acting OPM Director Charles Ezell, the move is intended to align the roles of CIOs with the Trump administration’s agenda.
No longer the station of impartial and apolitical technocrats, the Morden agency CIO role demands policy-making and policy-determining capabilities across a range of controversial political topics,” wrote Ezel.
The statement also states that modern CIOs must be capable of making and implementing policies on contentious issues, and that the White House expects agency CIOs to articulate and implement policies within government and before the public.
The White House rightly expects that agency CIOs will be on the front lines of articulating and implementing such policies, both within the government and before the general public.” He added.
The shift is set to occur by February 14.
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