Executives from Google, Apple, Intel, Adobe, and other Silicon Valley tech firms met with Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner today, to talk about reducing government waste and improving information technology services.
Trump administration officials in attendance included Mike Pence, Steve Mnuchin andWilbur Ross.
Ivanka Trump participates in an American Technology Council roundtable at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner welcomes technology company leaders to a summit of the American Technology Council at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, U.S. June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Snip from Reuters:
Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, said before the sessions began that the administration wanted to “unleash the creativity of the private sector to provide citizen services in a way that has never happened before.”
He said the administration was scrapping unneeded cyber compliance rules and should be able to consolidate and eliminate the vast majority of the government’s 6,100 data centers and move to a cloud-based storage system.
The meeting with nearly 20 chief executives comes as the White House pushes to shrink government, cut federal employees and eliminate regulations. Many business executives are eager to work with the new administration as they face numerous regulatory and other policy issues.
In May, Trump created an American Technology Council, his latest effort since taking office to modernize the U.S. government. He signed a separate order in March to overhaul the federal government and tapped Kushner to lead a White House Office of American Innovation to leverage business ideas and potentially privatize some government functions.
Others attending include Alphabet Inc Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Chairman John Doerr and the CEOs of Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Qualcomm, Oracle, and Adobe, a White House official said on Sunday. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was invited but could not attend because of a conflict, the company said.
PHOTO, TOP: U.S. President Donald Trump participates in an American Technology Council roundtable, accompanied by Tim Cook, CEO of Apple (L) and Satya Nadella CEO of Microsoft Corporation at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
U.S. President Donald Trump (C) participates in an American Technology Council roundtable at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Apple CEO Tim Cook (L, in doorway) joins fellow tech company leaders at a summit of the American Technology Council at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, U.S. June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt (L) speaks with U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Dina Powell (R) as tech company leaders gather at a summit of the American Technology Council at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, U.S. June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt (R) speaks with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner (L) as tech company leaders gather at a summit of the American Technology Council at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, U.S. June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst