Trump’s U.S. Tech Force: Big Tech Inside the Halls of Government
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), led by the former managing partner of Andreessen Horowitz, Scott Kuper, is launching what officials call the “Tech Force.” That plan is being framed as a permanent successor to DOGE, which pushed to free national data silos for AI use. The OPM was the first agency to host DOGE teams and remains central to this push.
The “Tech Force” borrows the language of a military draft: young tech recruits will serve for two years at reduced pay before moving into private-sector roles. Members will be distributed across agencies to reinforce the remnants of more than 120 DOGE teams and to drive AI into every corner of government. The first cohort is set at 1,000 inductees the first year, with 1,000 per year thereafter.
A memo sent by Scott Kuper to “Heads of Departments and Agencies” on December 15 gives direct credit to President Trump’s AI Action Plan. The memo reproduces this language exactly:
President Trump’s AI Action Plan calls for the Federal government to “[c]reate a talent exchange program designed to allow rapid details of Federal staff to other agencies in need of specialized AI talent (e.g., data scientists and software engineers).” Additionally, the Merit Hiring Plan directs the Federal government to build pipelines of high-skilled early career and technology talent. It specifically calls for the Federal government to “build fellowship programs and professional/industry exchange programs that connect government employers with top private sector talent” and expand Federal internship programs.
National outlets reported the administration’s announcement that the U.S. Tech Force will pair federal needs with private-sector engineering talent to build out AI infrastructure. The program is billed as a direct partnership between government agencies and large tech firms to accelerate AI deployment across government projects. Officials say recruits will work on agency priorities while companies can later hire program alumni.
Program participants will sign up for two-year terms working on teams that report directly to agency leaders and operate “in collaboration with leading technology companies.” That setup lets private firms nominate employees for temporary government service and consider program alumni for full-time roles. Critics argue the design creates a revolving door tilted toward the largest tech players.
The list of private partners reads like the tech industry’s who’s who: Amazon Web Services, Apple, Google Public Sector, Dell Technologies, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI, Oracle, Palantir, Salesforce and numerous others. These companies are the core infrastructure providers for major AI systems and cloud services used across government. Their inclusion guarantees deep private influence over federal technology choices.
From a Republican perspective, this is a worrying blend of centralized power and corporate dominance. Mixing a federal workforce swap with outsized private partners risks sidelining small businesses and local innovators. It also concentrates data access and decision-making inside a small set of global firms.
Earlier this month the president signed an executive order aimed at establishing a national AI policy and limiting states from setting their own AI rules. That move has been called patently unconstitutional by opponents and will likely face legal challenges from governors across the political spectrum. The timing, coming days before the Tech Force launch, makes the national agenda and private partnerships move in lockstep.
Once Tech Force members complete their two-year terms, they may seek full-time jobs with participating companies that have agreed to consider alumni for employment. Private partners can similarly place employees into government roles for temporary details. That creates career pipelines that bind public service experience to private hiring practices.
U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor put it plainly: “We’re trying to reshape the workforce to make sure we have the right talent on the right problems,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday morning. The official program statement says the engineering corps will be working on “high-impact technology initiatives including AI implementation, application development, data modernization, and digital service delivery across federal agencies.”
The stated aims are efficiency and modernization, but the trade-offs deserve scrutiny. Replacing human judgment with automated systems may speed processes, yet algorithms are not neutral and can entrench errors or bias. Conservatives should insist on transparency, limits on centralized data control, and protections for individual rights as the government hands more tasks to private AI systems.