The Senate has confirmed Michael Kratsios to head the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) with support from both parties.
Kratsios, who served as Trump’s chief technology officer during his initial White House term, secured Senate approval on Tuesday with a vote of 74-25.
He will play a significant role in directing the administration’s AI agenda and will assist Trump in matters regarding science and technology.
“It’s a privilege to serve as the Director of @Whitehouse Science & Technology Policy.” Kratsios stated in a post on Tuesday on social media: “American leadership in emerging technologies and revolutionary advancements in AI is more vital than ever. Under @Potus’ guidance, we are entering a golden era of American innovation!”
Trump announced in December last year that he selected Kratsios to assume the role of OSTP Director. Kratsios is an alumnus of Princeton University and most recently worked as the managing director at Scale AI, a data annotation firm based in San Francisco, as outlined on LinkedIn.
During his confirmation hearing in February before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Kratsios emphasized the importance of the US maintaining its status as a leader in emerging technologies, advocating for federal research and development funding. He defended the budget cuts proposed for the National Science Foundation and other agencies.
Kratsios achieved progress from the committee with a vote of 24-4.
On Tuesday, he received compliments from Indian-American entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan, who was appointed by Trump as a senior adviser on AI.
