President Donald Trump is to appoint son-in-law Jared Kushner to head up a new White House innovation team which intends to revamp federal bureacracy by employing strategies used in the world of business, according to a report from The Washington Post.
The White House Office of American Innovation will operate as a “SWAT team of strategic consultants” expected to “float above the daily political grind,” the report suggests.
Led by Kushner, a former real estate and media executive and a senior advisor to Trump, the innovation office is working with major business executives, including Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Salesforce Chief Executive Marc Benioff and Tesla founder Elon Musk.
“We should have excellence in government. The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens,” Kushner said in an interview with The Washington Post Sunday.
Envisioned with a particular focus on technology and data, the bureau’s initial aims will focus on modernizing the digital infrastructure of all federal departments; remodeling workforce-training programs; improving Veteran Affairs; and creating “transformative projects” under the president’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan. This includes providing broadband internet service to every American.
“All Americans, regardless of their political views, can recognize that government stagnation has hindered our ability to properly function, often creating widespread congestion and leading to cost overruns and delays,” Trump said in a statement to The Washington Post. “I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my ‘ahead of schedule, under budget’ mentality to the government.”
The team, set to be announced Monday by Trump, will likely been seen as a positive reinforcement of his plans to focus on his pro-growth government reforms following the collapse of his health-care overhaul bill over the weekend.
Click here to read the full report from The Washington Post.