Trump Signs Executive Order Creating American Technology Council

US President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order establishing a technology council within the White House Executive Office of the President.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The new order establishes the American Technology Council (ATC) which consists of the President, Vice President, the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, and Homeland Security, the Directors of National Intelligence, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, US Digital Service as well as the US Chief Technology Officer and the Commissioner of the Technology Transformation Service, among several other members.

"It is the policy of the United States to promote the secure, efficient, and economical use of information technology to achieve its missions," the order stated. "To effectuate this policy, the Federal Government must transform and modernize its information technology and how it uses and delivers digital services."

White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner will also serve on the council, along with National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert. The council will have its own director, who will also serve as a member of the council.

The function of the council — which will cease to exist on January 20, 2021 — will be to coordinate the vision, strategy, and direction of the federal government’s use of technology, and to coordinate advice to the President regarding policy decisions related to technology, according to the order.