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I don't really find this post to be rational. 18F started out as a part of the executive office of the president. Their whole recruiting pitch revolved around

I don't really find this post to be rational. 18F started out as a part of the executive office of the president. Their whole recruiting pitch revolved around the ego boost of the proximity to power. It was later moved under the umbrella of the GSA. Nothing described in this blog post with respect to 18F is exceptional or abnormal. The heads of major agencies and their sub components have always been political appointees. Government agencies reorganize internally constantly. 18F started out life being run by a political appointee and has previously been reorganized from the EOP to the GSA. The only difference now is that the OP doesn't care for the politics of the current administration.

degenerate 9y ago
For an example of how incompetent the GSA is, and why moving 18F underneath it was such a crap idea, look no further than the 2012 Oversight hearing on "Addressing GSA's Culture of Wasteful Spending": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0oekP6OGbo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0oekP6OGbo The GSA is a living, breathing oxymoron. They try to simplify government purchasing by making 999 rules and hoops to jump through, burning through cash and taking a percentage of every contract put through the organization. It's a giant cancerous scam that was allowed to grow so big it can't be killed or stopped, like the IRS/Fed.
snowwrestler 9y ago
I think you might be confusing the U.S. Digital Service, which started in the executive office of the president and is still there, and 18F, which started in GSA and is still there.
- pmorici 9y ago
  I should have been more exact. The original 18F team was made up largely of former Presidential Innovation Fellows a program created by the EOP. The Presidential Innovation Fellows program predated 18F and was moved under the purview of 18F when it was created. So you are right wasn't part of the EOP but everything else still stands. They were created by the head of the GSA, a political appointee and a program created by the EOP was reorganized into them at their creation.

degenerate 9y ago

For an example of how incompetent the GSA is, and why moving 18F underneath it was such a crap idea, look no further than the 2012 Oversight hearing on "Addressing GSA's Culture of Wasteful Spending": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0oekP6OGbo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0oekP6OGbo The GSA is a living, breathing oxymoron. They try to simplify government purchasing by making 999 rules and hoops to jump through, burning through cash and taking a percentage of every contract put through the organization. It's a giant cancerous scam that was allowed to grow so big it can't be killed or stopped, like the IRS/Fed.

snowwrestler 9y ago

I think you might be confusing the U.S. Digital Service, which started in the executive office of the president and is still there, and 18F, which started in GSA and is still there.

pmorici 9y ago
I should have been more exact. The original 18F team was made up largely of former Presidential Innovation Fellows a program created by the EOP. The Presidential Innovation Fellows program predated 18F and was moved under the purview of 18F when it was created. So you are right wasn't part of the EOP but everything else still stands. They were created by the head of the GSA, a political appointee and a program created by the EOP was reorganized into them at their creation.