Tracking CIOs in Trump’s Second Term

President Donald Trump is redefining government’s approach to tech development and modernization, and incoming CIOs and CISOs will spearhead the new administrations priorities. We’re tracking the latest developments.

Historically, most CIOs are career federal employees, with some Senate-confirmed exceptions like the Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security CIOs. However, according to recent reports, Trump’s administration is trying to convert the rest of agency CIO positions to political positions.

Office of Management and Budget Federal CIO: Gregory Barbaccia

Barbaccia became federal CIO at OMB in January 2025, soon after Trump’s inauguration. He replaced Clare Martorana, who stepped down during the transition. Barbaccia, according to LinkedIn, is a former Army intelligence sergeant with years of experience in the private sector, including at Palantir and Elementus.

Office of Management and Budget Deputy Federal CIO: Drew Myklegard

Myklegard began his role as permanent deputy federal CIO in October 2022 after serving as in an acting capacity. He previously worked in various roles at the Department of Veterans Affairs for eight years.

Office of Management and Budget Acting Federal CISO: Michael Duffy

Duffy stepped into the acting federal CISO role in 2024 after Chris DeRusha left the position after three years. Duffy previously served as a director in Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s cybersecurity division for years before he moved to OMB.

General Services Administration CIO: David Shive

Shive joined the GSA’s OCIO in 2012 and became CIO of the agency in 2015. He also serves as the vice chair of the U.S. CIOs Council.

Defense Department Acting CIO: Katie Arrington

Katie Arrington, previously announced as the Pentagon’s CISO, was named acting CIO on March 3, according to a DOD OCIO post on LinkedIn. Arrington, one of the architects of the Pentagon’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, replaces Leslie Beavers, who returns to the principal deputy CIO role.

Department of Agriculture CIO: Gary Washington

Washington has served as the USDA CIO since February 2018. He was previously CIO for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Department of Commerce CIO: Brian Epley

Epley was named as Commerce CIO in June 2024 after serving at Department of Energy as the principal deputy CIO. Before his time at Energy, he spent years in the public and private sectors, including a six-year stint at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Department of Health and Human Services CIO: Jennifer Wendel

Wendel was appointed HHS CIO in November 2024, after having served in an acting position in the role for nearly a year. She previously worked at the FBI for decades before moving to HHS.

Department of Homeland Security CIO: Vacant

DHS currently has no CIO. Eric Hysen, a political appointee, stepped down from the position during the transition, and Trump has not named a replacement.

Department of Housing and Urban Development CIO: Sairah Ijaz

Ijaz became permanent HUD CIO in November 2024 after serving in the acting role for six months. She previously worked as deputy CIO at HUD and in other roles at the office for nine years. In an interview with GovCIO Media & Research, Ijaz said that AI and zero trust implementation are two of her key focuses in her new role.

“We’re looking at ways to build internal capacity, not just within our technology staff, but in our program offices, because they understand what the true problems are that they’re trying to solve,” said Ijaz.

Department of Energy Acting CIO: Dawn Zimmer

SpaceX’s Ryan Riedel was named Energy CIO in the beginning of February and has since left the position. Dawn Zimmer, who was appointed as principal deputy CIO at the agency in November, has been tapped to serve as acting CIO. Former CIO Ann Dunkin left the position during the administration change in January.

Department of Justice CIO: Melinda Rogers

Rogers serves as Justice’s deputy assistant attorney general for Information Resource Management and CIO. She started the position in 2020 after serving for seven years as Justice CISO.

Department of Labor Acting CIO: Louis Charlier

Charlier became Labor’s acting CIO in August 2024 after Gundeep Ahluwalia left the position for the private sector. Charlier also serves as chief AI officer for the agency.

Department of State CIO: Kelly Fletcher

Fletcher has been the CIO of State since 2022. She came to the diplomacy agency after two years in the Pentagon’s CIO office and positions in the Department of the Navy and DHS, according to LinkedIn.

Department of Transportation Acting CIO: Pavan Pidugu

Pavan Pidugu was sworn in as the new Transportation CIO on Feb. 18. He previously served as the CTO for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), an agency within DOT, where he developed an outcome-oriented digital strategy and roadmap for FMCSA to serve carriers, commercial vehicle drivers and law enforcement agencies to enforce transportation safety.

Previously, Pidigu led transformation efforts for Walmart’s digital customer and omnichannel experience as well as launched an offshore IT development center in India that grew from 5 to 500 employees in two years at Target.

Pidigu succeeded Jack Albright, who was elevated to Transportation’s acting CIO after Cordell Schachter left the post during the presidential transition in January. Albright served as a deputy CIO for years and was briefly acting CIO in 2021.

Department of Veterans Affairs CIO: Vacant

The VA CIO position is vacant after political appointee Kurt DelBene left the job in January 2025. Trump has not yet named a replacement for DelBene.

Department of the Air Force CIO: Venice Goodwine

Goodwine has served as CIO of the Department of the Air Force since 2023. She replaced Lauren Knausenberger in shepherding the department’s $17 billion IT portfolio.

Department of the Army CIO: Leonel Garciga

Garciga was appointed Army CIO in July 2023. Prior to the appointment, Garciga served as the director of Army Intelligence Community Information Management within the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence.

Department of the Interior CIO: Darren Ash

Ash was named as Interior CIO in 2022 after previously serving in the position for the USDA’s Farm Service Agency and the Nuclear Regulator Commission.

Department of the Navy CIO: Jane Rathbun

Rathbun became the permanent DON CIO in October 2023. She served as acting CIO for nine months before that after Aaron Weis left in March 2023.

Department of the Treasury CIO: Tony Arcadi

Arcadi has served as Treasury CIO since 2021. He has filled various roles in the agency since 2009 and worked for the U.S. Marshals Service before that.

Environmental Protection Agency CIO: Vaughn Noga

Noga serves in a dual-hatted role at EPA CIO and as deputy assistant administrator for Environmental Information within the Office of Mission Support. An Air Force veteran, he has been EPA CIO since 2018.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation CIO: Sylvia Burns

Burns has served as CIO, chief product officer and IT director of the FDIC since 2020. She previously served as deputy CIO of FDIC, according to LinkedIn.

NASA CIO: Jeff Seaton

Seaton was named NASA CIO in 2021. Prior to his appointment, he served as acting CIO since for six months after serving as deputy CIO of the space agency.

National Archives and Records Administration Acting CIO: Gulam Shakir

Shakir became acting CIO of NARA when Sheena Burrell moved to the FDIC to be deputy CIO and chief innovation officer in December. He previously served as NARA’s CTO for four years.

National Science Foundation CIO: Terry Carpenter

Carpenter was appointed as NSF’s CIO and CTO in early 2024, as part of a broader IT reorganization within the agency. Before his work at NSF, he served as CTO of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission CIO: Scott Flanders

Flanders was named permanent NRC CIO in May 2024 after serving for months in an acting role. He has been with the agency since 1991.

Office of Personnel Management CIO: Greg Hogan

Hogan serves as CIO of OPM. He was named to the job in January, following former OPM Deputy CIO Melvin Brown II’s week-long time as acting CIO after former CIO Guy Cavallo announced his retirement from government late last year.

Office of the Director of National Intelligence Acting CIO: Doug Cossa

Cossa became acting CIO of ODNI after Adele Merritt left to become National Institutes of Health’s CIO in December 2024. Cossa previously served as CIO of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Small Business Administration Acting CIO: Stephen Kucharski

Kucharski has been the acting CIO of SBA since 2022. He has served as Director for SBA’s Office of Performance Systems Management since 1998.

Social Security Administration Acting CIO: Michael Russo

Michael Russo was appointed as SSA’s CIO on February 3rd, 2025, replacing Brian Peltier. Prior to joining the agency, Russo held leadership roles at MICROS Systems Inc., Prematics, Inc. and Artromick International. Most recently, Russo was a senior technical advisor at payment and processing technology solutions company Shift4, where he previously served as the CTO for more than six years.