US gov't launches 'Tech Force' to replace IT staff DOGE fired

After dissolving several federal tech modernization units and shedding large numbers of technologists, the Trump administration has launched a new talent recruitment initiative, suggesting it still needs people to help drag the government's IT into the present. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Monday announced the establishment of the US Tech Force, an initiative it describes as a "cross-government program to recruit top technologists to modernize the federal government." If that sounds a lot like the US Digital Service, which before being transformed into the now-dissolved Department of Government Efficiency was designed to pair private sector tech skills with public-sector agencies to help modernize them, or the General Services Administration's 18F team, designed to help federal agencies modernize their tech stack before DOGE shut them down, you're not alone in thinking that, but the Trump administration swears this time it'll be different. The Tech Force "is distinct from other technology initiatives within government, including the United States DOGE Service and programs managed by GSA," the program's website states. "These programs differ in their mandates, structure, required skill sets, and ability to convert to the competitive service." Those tech modernization initiatives are mostly gone thanks to Elon Musk's DOGE, which the billionaire recently admitted was only "somewhat successful" and not something he'd do again, as are many of the career tech professionals that worked at those agencies, and on now-stalled modernization projects that may not be continued under new management. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, for example, had hundreds of staff slashed early in the Trump administration, including a 100-strong red team. The Internal Revenue Service has also lost about 2,000 IT staff amid DOGE-era job cuts, while the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau saw cybersecurity staff and contracts trimmed during the same period. The Social Security Administration also closed its tech modernization office in February, with then-acting social security administrator Lee Dudek calling it wasteful. As opposed to those measures, the Tech Force, OPM director Scott Kupor said in a memo [PDF] released alongside the announcement, will operate at a scale that gives it "the critical mass and range of skills the previous initiatives lacked and ensure the program can deploy sufficiently large teams to participating agencies." US gov shutdown leaves IT projects hanging, security defenders a skeleton crew Trump wants to turn it on again with 'Genesis Mission' for AI in science ServiceNow signs Uncle Sam's latest short-term AI discount deal DOGE delayed deals, says Nutanix Tech pros chosen to be part of the Tech Force don't need a traditional degree or a minimum amount of work experience, according to the initiative's website. "Fellows," as the program is calling its participants, will serve two-year stints at one of a handful of government agencies participating in the program, where they'll be working on "high-impact technology initiatives including AI implementation, application development, data modernization, and digital service delivery." One of the major differences between the Tech Force and prior initiatives, in true Trump administration fashion, is the incredibly close ties with the private tech sector. The Tech Force has a goal of providing career inroads to 1,000 entry-level professionals a year, and intends to pull management from Silicon Valley firms, where partner companies are expected to put staff on leave to lend them to the federal government to run teams at various federal agencies. Companies participating in the Tech Force include Anduril, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Palantir, xAI, and others. Once Tech Force recruits finish up their term, the Trump administration is asking participating private companies to consider hiring them. In short, with the federal government's tech workforce decimated, it's falling to the private sector to get things running in line with what's likely to be their own personal visions, and likely their own products, too. We reached out to the OPM and the Tech Force team with plenty of questions about how this new initiative is actually going to be any different or more effective than those that preceded it. We didn't get any answers. ®