On December 22, President-elect Donald Trump announced the appointment of Scott Kupor, a managing partner at Andreessen Horowitz, as the director of the Office of Personnel Management, responsible for government recruitment and resources.
Kupor expressed gratitude for the opportunity, noting it allows him to collaborate with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, leaders of the newly formed Government Efficiency Committee (DOGE), focused on reducing government spending and regulations.
Trump has also selected Sriram Krishnan as senior policy advisor on artificial intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Krishnan has experience with major tech firms including Microsoft, Meta, Twitter, Snap, and Yahoo, and previously managed X temporarily after Musk's acquisition for $44 billion in 2022.
Musk, the world's richest person, has emerged as one of Trump's closest advisors. Krishnan is expected to work closely with David Sacks, another prominent tech figure, who was appointed earlier this month as an advisor on cryptocurrency and AI.
On the same day, Trump appointed Ken Howery, co-founder of PayPal, as the U.S. ambassador to Denmark, and Michael Kratsios, CEO of Scale AI, as director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Kratsios previously served as chief technology officer during Trump’s first term.
Additionally, former Uber executive Emil Michael was named deputy secretary for research and engineering. Tech leaders have praised Trump’s selections on social media, with former Meta CEO David Marcus calling them “noteworthy” and Box CEO Aaron Levie describing them as “very strong.”
Since Trump’s victory, several tech companies have shifted to support him, contrasting sharply with his first term when the industry maintained a tense relationship with him. Amazon, Meta, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have each announced $1 million donations to Trump’s inaugural committee. In recent weeks, Silicon Valley leaders have increased visits to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.