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The United States chief technology officer (US CTO) was a position established in the Obama Administration within the White house Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). ^[1] Following a contracted OSTP during the Trump Administration, ^[2] this role was discontinued in the Biden Administration where the OSTP was re-staffed and expanded with established Deputy Directors, and the OSTP Director was elevated to the Cabinet. ^[3]

Contents

• History
• See also
• Notes
• References

The U.S. CTO role helped the president and their team harness the power of technology and data to benefit all Americans. ^[4] The CTO worked 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. ^{[5] [4]} This included policy work on artificial intelligence, improved government services, upgrading federal agency open data use data science capabilities, increased access to broadband, and increasing technical talent into government. ^{[6] [7]}

History

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Senator Barack Obama made a campaign promise that he would appoint the first federal chief technology officer if elected, which he proceeded to do. ^[8]

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.

For the duration of his presidency, President Biden left the CTO role unfilled, and instead expanded the OSTP with Deputy Directors overseeing large divisions. ^[9]

On March 10, 2025, President Trump nominated Ethan Klein to be U.S. CTO.

No.	Name		Start	End	Ref.	President
1		Aneesh Chopra	May 2009	February 2012	[10] [11] [12] [13]		Barack Obama (2009–2017)
2		Todd Park	March 1, 2012	August 28, 2014	[14] [15]
3		Megan Smith	September 4, 2014	January 20, 2017	[16] [17] [18] [19]
Acting		Michael Kratsios	January 20, 2017	August 2, 2019			Donald Trump (2017–2021)
4			August 2, 2019	January 20, 2021	[20]
		CTO role discontinued in favor of Deputy Directors and an expanded OSTP staff	January 20, 2021	January 15, 2025			Joe Biden (2021–2025)
5		Ethan Klein	January 16, 2026		[21] [22]		Donald Trump (2025–)

See also

• White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
• Science Advisor to the President
• Chief Information Officer of the United States
• Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Health and Human Services

Notes

1. ^ ^ Aneesh Chopra and Michael Kratsios were confirmed by the Senate because the also held roles as OSTP Assistant Director and Director respectively. Todd Park and Megan Smith were not required to be Senate confirmed. Legislation in January 2017 formalized the role of U.S.CTO, which now includes Senate confirmation as standard practice.

References