Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Holds Confirmation Hearing on OSTP Director Nominee Michael Kratsios

On February 25, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a confirmation hearing on the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director nominee, Michael Kratsios, and the Federal Trade Commissioner nominee, Mark Meador. As previously reported by COSSA, Kratsios served as Trump’s Chief Technology Officer and later as Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Department of Defense (DOD) during the first Trump term. During the hearing, Kratsios affirmed that he would “prioritize emerging technologies” if confirmed. Further, when Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) questioned Kratsios about the recent firings of federal agency workers by the Trump Administration (see previous COSSA coverage), he claimed it was “reasonable” for the Administration to make changes to the federal workforce to align with their policy agenda. The full recording of this hearing can be found here.

Stay tuned to COSSA’s continued coverage on the new Administration.