Federal CIO Ranks See Major Shake-Up

Several senior federal technology leaders are set to leave their posts over the coming weeks, creating turnover across key government technology leadership positions.

Federal CIO Leaving

Greg Barbaccia is stepping down as federal chief information officer (CIO) and chief AI officer (CAIO), and as acting director of the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Technology Transformation Services.

Barbaccia’s last day of federal service will be August 31.

A former Army intelligence sergeant, Barbaccia joined the Trump administration after working at AI software company Palantir for a decade, and two other startups.

Barbaccia encouraged the government to change how it thinks about technology, compliance, and modernization, pushing the federal CIO office to get more feedback from agency tech leaders. He also argued that the government should default to buying more commercial tools rather than building in-house systems. 

“Greg Barbaccia has been an incredible partner at GSA. He has fundamentally reshaped our work on the federal government’s technology and the products GSA delivers across the federal workforce on behalf of the American taxpayer,” said GSA Administrator Edward Forst. 

No word yet on where Barbaccia is heading or who will replace him on a permanent basis.

Former Education Department CIO Thomas Flagg became Office of Management and Budget (OMB) acting CIO in May. 

Transportation CIO to Exit 

Department of Transportation (DOT) chief digital and information officer Pavan Pidugu is also set to depart in September.

Pidugu became CIO in February 2025, after serving as CTO for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for nearly five years. 

In an email announcing his looming departure, Pidugu says his office achieved "unprecedented milestones,” including conducting an agency-wide transition to Gmail software, creating the internal T-Cloud environment, and pursuing long-term plans to migrate legacy IT infrastructure.

Interior CIO Shakeup 

Also exiting federal service is Interior Department CIO Paul McInerny, a former SpaceX engineer who aligned himself with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
According to NextGov/FCW, McInerny had a falling out with administration officials, with his tenure strained by tech consolidation challenges.   

Matt Luby, a strategy official also involved with DOGE efforts and a longtime friend of former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, is acting CIO.