Key technology policy advisor to the President of the United States
The United States Chief Technology Officer (US CTO) is an official in the
Office of Science and Technology Policy.[1] The U.S. CTO helps the
President and their team harness the power of technology and data to benefit all Americans.[2] The CTO works closely with others both across and outside government on a broad range of work including bringing technology expertise to bear on federal policy and programs, and promoting values-driven technological innovation.[3][4] The CTO and their team have historically focused on leveraging technology and technical expertise to help create jobs, strengthen privacy protections, harness the benefits and mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence, create paths to improve
government services with
lower costs, higher quality and increased transparency and accessibility, help upgrade agencies to use
open data and expand their
data science capabilities, improve quality and reduce the
costs of health care and
criminal justice, increase access to broadband, bring technical talent into government for policy and modern operations input, improve community innovation engagement by agencies working on local challenges, and help keep the nation secure.[5][6]
History
During the 2008 presidential campaign,
Senator Barack Obama stated that he would appoint the first federal chief technology officer if elected to the presidency.[7]Aneesh Chopra was named by
President Obama as the nation's first CTO in April 2009, and confirmed by the Senate on August 7, 2009. Chopra resigned effective February 8, 2012, and was succeeded by
Todd Park, formerly the CTO of the Department of Health and Human Services. On September 4, 2014
Megan Smith was named as the CTO.
President Trump named
Michael Kratsios as U.S. CTO in May 2019, and he was unanimously confirmed by the
United States Senate on August 1, 2019. As of April 5, 2024, President Biden has yet to nominate a U.S. CTO. This is the longest the position has been unfilled since its inception.