OSTP Staffing Update

Roughly half of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) consists of Trump administration hires. More than 20 new people have joined the office since the start of President Donald Trump’s term. The total size of OSTP, including employees who are on detail from other agencies or participating in fellowships, has hovered around 50 people, making it significantly smaller than during the Obama era, when it totaled about 115. There are some new additions to the Tech division. Seven policy advisers have been added including Winter Casey, a veteran of the NTIA and Google; Kelsey Guyselman, formerly of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Danielle Metz, who has worked at the Department of Defense; and Stephanie Xu, previously of the Republican National Committee. Some staffers for the National Space Council, revived by President Trump in June, are housed at OSTP. The staffers working on that effort are John Giles, who has served in the U.S. Air Force, and Jared Stout, previously of the FAA. Mike Mineiro, who’s worked for the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, is also concentrating on space policy.