Tech leaders are pitching their own people to Musk as they want Silicon Valley’s ideas to emerge in Donald Trump’s new administration.
A former top Uber executive to head the Department of Transportation, former senior adviser Peter Thiel to head the Department of Health and Human Services, and a host of other tech executives to Elon Musk in the Department of Government Efficiency. This is the wish list of Silicon Valley’s elite at the dawn of the Trump administration. Behind closed doors in the past week, a number of tech leaders have put forward their own people in a concerted effort to try to leave a distinctly Silicon Valley imprint on a cabinet lineup that appears open to persuasion.
Much of the persuasion effort is directed at Musk. Although the world’s richest man is not technically a member of Trump’s interim cabinet, he has actually already become an official of the future administration. Vice President-elect JD Vance – who is officially a member of the interim cabinet – also has extensive Silicon Valley ties, having previously worked as a venture capitalist. All of this makes it easier for tech investors and executives — more so than for other industries like finance or oil and gas — to get Trump’s attention, even if the rapprochement ultimately fails.
“This administration will make key decisions about the rules — or lack of rules — that will shape the future of strategic technologies like artificial intelligence and cryptography,” said Adam Sterling, associate dean of the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Law. tech leaders want to influence or be a key part of those decisions.” Some tech leaders have confided that they find the opportunity to join the government so enticing that they are willing to quit their jobs undertake so that they do not have to sell their shares or leave their company.
There is intense interest in roles in the new administration that will not necessarily be permanent or permanent. Some tech executives want to work in Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s government efficiency ministry. It is not clear what the requirements will be to join the group. “We don’t need more part-time idea generators,” wrote the future department’s account on X. “We need government revolutionaries with super high IQs willing to work 80+ hours a week on not-so-exciting cost-cutting. If that’s you, send the your resume to this account. Elon and Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
A similar frenzy has unfolded around a bitcoin and crypto presidential advisory board that Trump has promised to create as a place to develop new regulations for the industry. Crypto leaders are vying to join the council and have invited friends and colleagues with ties to Trump and his allies. Jeremy Allaire, CEO of crypto firm Circle, said in an interview that he is very interested in joining the council. Another leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to say he is running for the council, noted that “I bully everyone I know around Trump.”
A friend of Musk’s, investor and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, traveled to Mar-a-Lago to help Musk with his transition efforts. Lonsdale told the transition team he wasn’t interested in full-time government work, but he and other old tech friends put names and resumes on Musk’s desk. Palmer Luckey, co-founder of defense technology startup Anduril, who Musk encouraged to help the Trump administration, was also seen at Mar-a-Lago.
The technology leaders proposed Emil Michael, who was the number two manager in the first years of the transport organization company Uber, to head the Ministry of Transport. Several Silicon Valley executives close to him have recommended him to Trump officials in recent days. Michael is no stranger to Washington, he was reportedly considered for the position of Secretary of Transportation during Trump’s first presidency in 2016. At Uber, he was chief operating officer of former CEO Travis Kalanick. The two raised billions of dollars and launched the ride-sharing service around the world before they had to leave in 2017 after a series of scandals.
Tech executives and investors tried to convince Trump to pick Jim O’Neill to lead the Department of Health, but Trump ultimately chose Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine denier. O’Neill worked in government during the administration of President George W. Bush and later worked with Thiel, helping to create the Thiel Scholarship in 2010, which encourages young people to drop out of college. This time, Mr. O’Neill’s name came up with both Musk and Vance, with whom he worked briefly at Mithril Capital, the venture firm founded by Thiel. O’Neill’s appointment was discussed in several group discussions with Silicon Valley leaders posted on Signal, and he will travel to Mar-a-Lago in the coming days.
Source: sg.hu
