A former top Uber executive to head the Department of Transportation. A former top aide to Peter Thiel to head the Department of Health and Human Services. And a cadre of other tech executives to join Elon Musk at the Department of Government Efficiency.
Such is the wish list for the elite of Silicon Valley at the dawn of the Trump administration. Behind closed doors over the last week, a range of tech leaders have put forth their own brethren in coordinated efforts to try to leave a distinctly Silicon Valley imprint on a cabinet lineup that appears to be open to persuasion.
Much of that power of persuasion has been trained on Mr. Musk. While the world’s richest man is not technically on Mr. Trump’s transition committee, he has become a de facto official of the incoming administration. Vice President-elect JD Vance, who formally serves on the transition committee, also has deep Silicon Valley ties from his former career as a venture capitalist.
All of which makes it easier for tech investors and executives — more so than those of other industries such as finance or oil and gas — to get Mr. Trump’s attention, even if the overtures ultimately fall flat. The Trump transition team did not immediately return a request for comment.
One of Mr. Musk’s friends, the investor and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, spent just over a day this week at Mar-a-Lago helping Mr. Musk with the transition effort, according to three people with knowledge of his activities. Mr. Lonsdale has told the transition team that he is not interested in a full-time government gig, but he and other longtime tech friends have helped funnel names and résumés into Mr. Musk’s orbit.