Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Chris Liddell is Trump’s man behind efforts to modernize the whole government

Liddell is No. 70 on the Recode 100.

Chris Liddell is Trump’s man behind efforts to modernize the whole government

Liddell is No. 70 on the Recode 100.

Even in the tumult of the Trump White House, Christopher Liddell is toiling away.

Since joining the team in January, the former chief financial officer at Microsoft has led the president’s efforts to modernize the whole of government — from the way it purchases technology to the services it provides citizens who need to interact with the feds online.

That’s no easy task. It’s one that has eluded Democrat and Republican administrations for years. Liddell, though, has tried to jump-start that work through efforts like the American Technology Council, a group of federal officials and tech industry executives he helped convene this June. Months later, Liddell’s team is forging ahead with reforms that might make it easier for companies like Amazon to sell their cloud wares in Washington, D.C.

Importantly, that early work at the White House has come at times despite Liddell’s own boss. Scores of business executives abandoned Trump earlier this year for his controversial comments about the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Va.

But those same companies are still engaging with the administration behind the scenes. And when they do, they are talking to feds like Liddell.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel