What’s behind Trump’s new Tech Force

·25 min·2 clips

Scott Cooper, a former Silicon Valley investor, is launching a U.S. Tech Force to bring a thousand tech workers into the federal government.

The episode begins with host Stephen Overley introducing the topic of tech talent in the Trump administration, focusing on Scott Cooper, a former Andreessen Horowitz investor now leading the Office of Personnel Management. Cooper explains the launch of the U.S. Tech Force, which targets hiring a thousand workers with AI, cyber, and other tech backgrounds into the federal government. He outlines two primary challenges: augmenting skills with modern software development and addressing the low early-career representation in government, which is 7% compared to 22% in the private sector. The program is a two-year cohort-based initiative where participants are matched with agencies like the Energy Department or CMS, working on projects such as supercomputing or Medicare portals. Cooper addresses why tech people avoid government, citing pay disparities and cultural issues, and discusses reforms to eliminate tenure-based promotions. He contrasts the Tech Force with past programs like the U.S. Digital Service, highlighting differences such as cohort building and private sector engagement. The episode covers workforce restructuring, noting that most departures were voluntary, and emphasizes reshaping government through technology consolidation and bespoke AI applications. Cooper shares his view on AI not being a bubble, drawing from his experience in the dot-com era, and explains the government's role in procuring and deploying AI tools rather than investing. The interview concludes with thoughts on the revolving door and building long-term institutional tech knowledge, followed by closing remarks about the podcast's hiatus.

As heard by us

Scott Cooper turns the Tech Force into a clear personnel story about how government modernizes.

Scott Cooper's U.S. Tech Force works best as a personnel story about federal modernization. As OPM director, Cooper lays out a push to bring 1,000 workers with AI, cyber, and other technical backgrounds into government, while also changing how agencies recruit and pay for that…

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You want to know whether Washington can recruit its way toward a more tech-literate government.

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