Tech Leaders Back Colleagues for Trump’s Cabinet

Tech industry leaders advocate for their peers to be considered for positions in Donald Trump’s Cabinet, highlighting expertise and innovation

The New York Times reported that tech executives have been attempting to persuade the incoming Trump administration to appoint Silicon Valley insiders for cabinet positions.

Many of these persuasion efforts have been directed toward Elon Musk, given his strong relationship with Donald Trump. This includes friends of Musk, such as Joe Lonsdale, the co-founder of Palantir and venture firm 8VC, who has purportedly proposed some ideas.

Emil Michael, the former COO of Uber, has also been proposed by technology leaders as the new director of the Department of Transportation.

Before joining Uber in 2011, Michael served as a special assistant to Robert Gates at the Department of Defense and as a White House fellow during the Obama administration. In 2017, Michael was purportedly compelled to leave Uber, shortly before the company’s founder, Travis Kalanick, was compelled to resign.

Meanwhile, the Times reported that Jim O’Neill, a longstanding associate of Peter Thiel, was proposed as the leader of the Department of Health and Human Services. However, Trump ultimately selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic.

The outlet notes that O’Neill’s name has been mentioned previously. At the time, he was employed by Mithril Capital Management, which is owned by Thiel. He was recommended to lead the FDA during Trump’s inaugural administration.