Trump Administration Shutters Obama-Era Technology Office 18F
- Group’s projects included a US government single-login site
- Former Tesla engineer sends out email saying it’s noncritical
The small but influential office was once seen as the future of government technology, created out of President Barack Obama’s Presidential Innovation Fellows.
Photographer: Al Drago/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Dismissal notices went out Saturday to about 85 employees of 18F, a federal agency that works on improving government technology — effectively shutting down an office hailed a decade ago as Uncle Sam’s new tech startup.
The news came in an email early Saturday morning from Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer who’s now the deputy commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service, which sets purchasing policy for the government.