The Trump administration is moving to exert more control over the federal government\u2019s technology, turning the people who oversee that infrastructure into political appointees it can hire and fire at will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, each agency\u2019s chief information officer is a civil servant in a nonpartisan job, known in the Office of Personnel Management as \u201ccareer reserved<\/a>,\u201d which provides some protections against firings. The change, which OPM announced in a memo Tuesday<\/a>, will make the roles \u201cgeneral,\u201d opening them up to a wide variety of appointees. The shift is set to happen no later than Feb. 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Acting OPM Director Charles Ezell said in the memo that the move will better align those employees with the Trump administration\u2019s agenda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo longer the station of impartial and apolitical technocrats, the modern agency CIO role demands policy-making and policy-determining capabilities across a range of controversial political topics,\u201d Ezell wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The White House \u201crightly expects that agency CIOs will be on the front lines of articulating and implementing such policies, both within government and before the general public,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has caused chaos across the federal government<\/a> as it infiltrates various federal agencies and their information technology systems. The Treasury Department confirmed Tuesday that DOGE has access to its payment systems, which control trillions of dollars of federal payments each year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A former senior OPM official, who asked not to be named to protect colleagues still at the agency from retaliation, called the change \u201ca tech coup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPolitical appointees are supposed to be like advisers for policy. They\u2019re competitive jobs, but they\u2019re not competitive merit system jobs,\u201d the former OPM employee said. \u201cThe CIOs have a lot of latitude and a lot of budgetary control, because the largest spend is generally on IT and on cybersecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A representative for OPM declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month, Trump signed an executive order<\/a> aimed at making it easier to fire thousands of civil servants<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Musk, a tech mogul and the world\u2019s wealthiest man, has in recent days gained access to sensitive data<\/a> at federal agencies and directed young assistants to seize power through DOGE. The operation \u2014 which Trump turned into a temporary federal agency through an executive order \u2014 is ostensibly aimed at reducing federal bureaucracy. Musk, who has bypassed some disclosure obligations normally required of government employees, is classified as a \u201cspecial government employee<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As part of that initiative, DOGE representatives have demanded access to government systems and databases and looked for opportunities to cut spending and overhaul practices. The incoming Musk allies have had explosive clashes with federal employees responsible for overseeing federal agencies and data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Saturday, two security employees at the U.S. Agency for International Development were placed on leave<\/a> after they tried to prevent DOGE employees from accessing USAID systems, which included personnel files, security systems and security clearance information for employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Musk has said he wants to overhaul other agencies, including the General Services Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Education Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n