Federal CIO Barbaccia leaving in August

Federal Chief Information Officer and Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Greg Barbaccia is leaving federal service.

The Office of Management and Budget confirmed Barbaccia’s last day will be Aug. 31.

“Greg has done an excellent job as federal CIO and chief AI officer. He will certainly be missed when his time here comes to an end,” an OMB spokesperson said in a statement to Federal News Network.

Further details about where Barbaccia is going next or who will be the acting CIO or CAIO were not immediately available from OMB.

FedScoop first reported Barbaccia’s decision to leave.

Thomas Flagg joined OMB in May as the deputy federal CIO, but it’s unclear if he will become acting federal CIO.

Barbaccia became the federal CIO in January 2025 after spending most of his career in the private sector. He became the first federal chief AI officer in July 2025 when the White Housed released its AI Action Plan. Barbaccia added a third job when he became acting director of the Technology Transformation Services at the General Services Administration in February.

“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. I’m deeply grateful for his extraordinary service to President [Donald] Trump and the American people,” said GSA Administrator Edward Forst in an email statement.

During his time as federal CIO, Barbaccia focused on improving the internal workings of federal technology by empowering agency CIOs and driving more collaboration across the community.

Part of the driver for delivering better and more cost-efficient services is that the Trump administration requested a record $75.7 billion for civilian agency IT in fiscal 2027. Out of the top 23 CFO Act non-Defense agencies, 12 would receive an increase as President Donald Trump’s request for civilian agency IT spending is $7.7 billion more for 2027 than what agencies are expected to spend in 2026.

OMB issued a memo in March not just reminding agencies that CIOs should be involved in policy and acquisition decisions around IT, but also now are holding agencies accountable for proving it. CIOs will begin submitting to OMB details about “all contracts or other agreements for IT or IT services that he or she personally approves; and any contracts or other agreements for IT products or services that are approved by a delegee of the CIO, if such contracts or agreements directly enable or facilitate interaction between the public and the federal government through digital services.”

Related to that, Barbaccia pushed agencies to improve how they managed software licenses and to consolidate and modernize websites.

In December, he said among his top priorities was eliminating waste, duplication and decades old rules that slow agencies down.

“We will be setting one standard for how government technology works for the American people, from our websites to our use of artificial intelligence,” Barbaccia said in a video at that time.

Barbaccia said in January that he wanted to get agencies to “obsess over delivering tangible outcomes and results for the American taxpayer.”

Another big priority has been to hire more technology expertise into government. Barbaccia and Scott Kupor, the director of the Office of Personnel Management, collaborated to launch the Tech Force initiative, which has since spawned NASA Force and War Force efforts.

Kupor said on X that Barbaccia “has been an incredible leader for innovation in the @POTUS administration – thank you for your service to the American people.”

On the AI front, Barbaccia oversaw the update to the federal AI inventory, which now features 3,611 AI use cases.

Barbaccia told Federal News Network in May that agencies now have the “opportunity to deploy technology inside the government at the speed of the commercial sector, but we can do it all together.”

Ross Nodurft, the executive director of the Alliance for Digital Innovation, an industry association, praised Barbaccia’s time as federal CIO.

“Greg Barbaccia’s announced departure is a reminder of just how important the Federal CIO role is. The Federal CIO must set a governmentwide technology vision, coordinate across the diverse priorities of agency CIOs, and, just as importantly, advocate for and support those CIOs as they work to modernize systems, strengthen cybersecurity, adopt emerging technologies, and deliver better digital services to the American people,” Nodurft said in an email to Federal News Network. “Greg brought real energy and focus to that mission, and ADI appreciates his service to the federal technology community. ADI looks forward to continuing to partner with the Office of the Federal CIO team to sustain the momentum they have built around movement to cloud computing, AI adoption, and the use of modern commercial technology.”

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