Dive Brief:
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Gerrit Lansing will reportedly become the new White House chief digital officer (CDO), according to NextGov and Politico. Lansing served as the RNC's CDO since 2015.
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The White House chief digital officer role was created during President Barack Obama's administration.
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According to Politico, Lansing’s new role is "broad and powerful" and could include "everything from creating content for the White House and engaging the public to taking the lead on overhauling government technical resources."
Dive Insight:
It’s a good sign that Trump is beginning to focus a bit more on technology, and now he’s made a key appointment to the United States Digital Service (USDS).
The USDS made some significant strides during President Obama’s tenure, including streamlining services for veterans and helping citizens securely access to tax information. The group also helped the Pentagon run its bug bounty program and helped implement HealthCare.gov, according to Backchannel.
Trump apparently has been aware of Lansing and his work in technology for several years. In 2013 Trump tweeted an acknowledgement about Lansing and the work he was doing at the time to help the GOP evolve its technology.
