Trump’s US chief technology officer pick would serve dual-role

President Donald Trump nominated Ethan Klein to be the next U.S. chief technology officer Tuesday.

If confirmed by the Senate, Klein will also serve as an associate director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, an OSTP spokeswoman confirmed with Nextgov/FCW Wednesday.

Klein is a familiar tech face for the new Trump administration, having served as a technology policy adviser for OSTP for nearly the entire duration of Trump’s first term. 

After 2021, he served as a nuclear nonproliferation and international safeguards fellow with funding from the National Nuclear Security Administration and completed a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in nuclear science and engineering, according to his LinkedIn profile.

If confirmed, Klein would occupy a senior tech role within the Trump administration. 

The federal CTO position was first created by President Barack Obama in 2009 — held first by Aneesh Chopra, then Todd Park, Megan Smith and — during Trump’s first administration — Michael Kratsios. President Joe Biden never appointed a U.S. CTO, but previous occupants of the role have typically focused on how technology could add jobs and help federal agencies perform better and more efficiently.

Kratsios is now Trump’s nominee to lead the White House OSTP. On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee advanced Kratsios’ nomination forward by a 24-4 vote, with a full confirmation vote expected within days, according to Bloomberg.

Fedscoop first reported Klein’s appointment as U.S. CTO.