Kiwi businessman to assist Trump

Chris Liddell.

Matamata-born businessman Chris Liddell has been appointed US President Donald Trump's deputy chief of staff.

A former General Motors and Microsoft chief financial officer, the White House announced on Monday local time Chris had been named deputy chief of staff for policy coordination.

"He has extensive experience managing large organisations and has already overseen a number of inter-agency processes in the White House. In his new role Chris will manage the policy process as we continue to enact the President's agenda," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says.

Chris, 59, has been a White House official since the administration took office in January 2017 and was under consideration this month to become Mr Trump's top economic adviser.

He has worked on projects like information technology modernisation and electronic health records, which have required intensive coordination with government agencies, White House officials said.

He worked on the Trump transition effort and had been working on projects in the White House Office of American Innovation, which was created in March last year to leverage business ideas and potentially privatise some government functions.

White House chief of staff John Kelly says "Chris is widely respected across the administration and is highly qualified to oversee and coordinate our policy process. We look forward to having him in this new role."

Chris was also involved in a new techology council created by executive order last April aimed at improving the US government's IT systems.

A 2016 US Government Accountability Office report estimated the government spent more than $80 billion on IT annually.

Trump has cited estimates that the government could save up to $1 trillion over 10 years through improving government IT and eliminating waste.

-RNZ

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1 comment

How long

Posted on 20-03-2018 15:30 | By overit

before he is sacked?


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