Kratsios, Slater to handle tech on Trump transition

Gail Slater and Michael Kratsios are handling tech policy during the Trump transition, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person said the decision was made roughly two months ago and that the two want to hear from a “diverse set of stakeholders” in their work.

Kratsios served as chief technology officer during president-elect Donald Trump’s first term. He was one of the authors of Trump’s 2020 artificial intelligence executive order, meant to supercharge AI research investment, federal computing and data resources, set technical standards, build up the American AI workforce and engage with international allies on the technology.

More recently, Kratsios has worked as managing director at Scale AI, an AI startup that has secured some notable Department of Defense contracts.

Slater serves as economic policy adviser to vice president-elect JD Vance. She previously held top executive roles at Roku, Fox Corp. and the now-defunct tech industry trade group The Internet Association.

Slater worked for Trump during his first term as a special assistant to the president on tech, telecom and cybersecurity issues. She was an ally of the wireless industry and advocated for a free-market approach to 5G wireless technology.

The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kratsios and Slater declined to comment.

John Hendel contributed to this report.