 | This articlecontainsweasel words: vague phrasing that often accompaniesbiased orunverifiable information. Such statements should beclarified or removed.(February 2025) |
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | March 27, 2017 |
| Dissolved | January 20, 2021 |
| Headquarters | White House |
| Parent agency | Executive Office of the President of the United States |
TheOffice of American Innovation (OAI) was an office within theWhite House Office that existed from 2017 until 2021 during theTrump administration. UnderJared Kushner, the office's purpose was to be the liaison between the White House and the American tech industry as part of an effort to reform the federal bureaucracy by applying pragmatic business principles.
The Office of American Innovation (OAI) was established by PresidentDonald Trump on March 27, 2017, with the purpose to "make recommendations to the President on policies and plans that improve Government operations and services, improve the quality of life for Americans now and in the future, and spur job creation."[1] The office was to draw on the lessons of the private sector to bring "new thinking and real change" to the country's problems, including the federal government'sIT spend, economic activity, and theopioid crisis. According toPolitico, the office was intended to be the White House's primary point of contact with thetech industry.[2]
OAI was directed by President Trump's son-in-law and Senior Advisor to the PresidentJared Kushner,[3][4][5] By July 2017, OAI's operational team consisted of Kushner, Liddell,Reed Cordish, and Matt Lira.[6] Communications were run by Josh Raffel, a formerHollywoodpublic relations executive,[7][8] until February 2018, when Raffel announced his resignation from the position.[9] Between April 2019 to November 2020,Ja'Ron Smith served as the office's Deputy Director.[10][11]
After its founding in May 2017, OAI convened a summit of more than a dozen tech CEOs, including Amazon'sJeff Bezos,Tim Cook of Apple,Satya Nadella ofMicrosoft, andGinni Rometty ofIBM. The office was also involved in theDepartment of Veterans Affairs' purchase of a multi-billion dollar computer system and the administration'sexecutive order on apprenticeships.[2]
In its first year, the office established the Trump Administration's IT Modernization Plan.[12] It also established a Centers of Excellence program within theGeneral Services Administration in December 2017 that encouraged federal agencies to move to thecloud and improvedata management. The program was included in the2019 United States federal budget to implement the recommendation of the IT Modernization Plan.[13]
The office was closed during thePresidential transition of Joe Biden in 2021, and there were no plans to revive it.[12]
Senior adviser Jared Kushner has two staffers working directly below him, as well as another five in the newly created Office of American Innovation who are focused on his portfolio of White House issues. Included in that mix is a communications adviser, Josh Raffel, a former Hollywood PR exec who previously repped Kushner's real estate work.
