2 CIOs elevated to acting agency heads as Trump takes office
US President Donald Trump (C) leaves the President's Room with from L to R Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, after signing official documents and being sworn as the 47th president of the United States on January 20, 2025 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. MELINA MARA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
The tech leaders at USDA and USAID will head their agencies in an acting capacity until the Senate confirms Trump’s nominees for the permanent roles.
A pair of agency chief information officers have been temporarily elevated to acting directors of their respective agencies until President Donald Trump taps permanent agency chiefs to be confirmed.
CIOs Gary Washington of the Agriculture Department and Jason Gray of the U.S. Agency for International Development were tapped as acting directors, the Trump White House announced on Inauguration Day.
Washington in July 2023 spoke with Nextgov/FCW about myriad IT activities that supported agency objectives including loans for farmers and nutrition assistance programs.
It’s not atypical for new presidents to tap acting officials to help manage their agencies, though choosing two CIOs is particularly unique.
Permanent appointees to lead those and other agencies will have to be confirmed in the Senate. Trump in November said he would tap Brooke Rollins of the America First Policy Institute to lead Agriculture. A permanent USAID chief administrator pick has not yet been announced.