Improving comms, tech capacity keys for states waiting on Trump policy changes
Build capacity. Improve communications channels with constituents. Be prepared for the worst.
This is the advice two former government officials had for the state and local leaders across the country who are observing the torrent of activity in Washington, D.C., and considering the future of their own programs.
More than a dozen state chief information officers and other state government officials declined to comment on the record about how President Donald Trump’s executive orders and the cuts being made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency may affect their programs. The most common reason cited was that they didn’t know what will happen — several said their current plan is to “wait and see.”
Amanda Renteria, chief executive of the civic tech nonprofit Code for America and former California state and city government employee, said that many in government have told her in recent weeks that they’re worried.
“Everyone feels extremely on edge,” said Renteria, who’s served as a special consultant for San Jose, California, chief of staff for two U.S. senators, and chief of operations for the California Department of Justice. “Oftentimes we’re working with governments on how to smooth out their systems or upgrade their systems. What we’re hearing from states right now is: How do we even figure out what to prepare for?”
But preparing for what may come next is among the best advice she can give, Renteria said, noting that in her meetings with officials, she’s advising them to do what they can to make their systems robust enough to withstand whatever changes may plunk down from the new administration.
The potential downstream effects to the lower levels of government range from a reduced capacity of local election offices to manage misinformation campaigns following cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, to states needing to adjust their programs and IT systems to accommodate cuts to Medicaid, research programs or emergency relief support from the federal government.
Musk, who’s said a best-case outcome for his team is to identify $2 trillion in federal budget cuts, has investigated 19 agencies, according to The New York Times. Musk’s team has jubilantly slashed programs, especially those not favored by Trump’s agenda, such as climate initiatives, U.S. foreign aid, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
According to a website operated by DOGE that tracks its progress, it has, as of Thursday, saved taxpayers $37.88 billion, or nearly 2% of $2 trillion.
“Government isn’t a startup,” Renteria said. “In Silicon Valley, people often talk about failing more times than they win. In government, you can’t fail people. This is their lifeline.”
Code For America — which was founded in 2009 by Jennifer Pahlka, who went on to become deputy chief technology officer under former President Barack Obama and help establish the U.S. Digital Service — centers its efforts on making government’s services easier and faster for people to access.
Its project portfolio includes Clear My Record, which helps counties automate the process of removing low-level offenses from criminal records in accordance with recent laws designed to reduce the load on the criminal justice system, and GetCalFresh, a digital platform for administering food stamps designed to replace a ponderous paper-based system. Its FileYourStateTaxes program is helping states provide taxpayers with a free way to file their state taxes, one piece of the IRS’s new Direct File program.
The federal funding freezes and uncertainty about Medicaid payments are among the items motivating some agencies to speed along projects IT projects, Renteria said, but she noted that the most common response to the uncertainty is for projects to stall while officials “wait and see.”
“Everyone’s a little on hold right now trying to figure out, ‘What can I actually invest in, because I don’t know what’s going to come down from the federal government,’” she said. “That part has really paralyzed some of the progress that has been made in modernization.”
Robert Gordon, a former federal and state official who most recently served as former President Joe Biden’s deputy assistant for economic mobility, told StateScoop that Trump’s barrage of policy changes constitute a “sad, alarming situation” for many working in government.
“There’s a tremendous amount of interdependency between federal and state technology systems, and programs like Medicaid, and those will be substantial impacts,” he said.
Gordon said government has many things that need fixing, but that adopting the startup ethos of “move fast and break things,” a phrase coined by Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, introduces “jarring uncertainty.” For state organizations that are nearly always conservative in their operations and willingness to make large changes, uncertainty frequently leads to slow-downs.
“It impairs people’s ability to do their work,” Gordon said. “You can’t blame people for not focusing on service delivery, for helping people who are experiencing homelessness, or helping people who are in need of help with substance use disorders, or helping people who need help with their education or job training or delivering housing or transportation — all the things that we depend on government to do.”
While state officials “wait and see,” he said, they can build their capacity to manage technology and gain greater control over their systems.
“You can improve your delivery, you can lower your cost and you can be in a better position to deal with all this challenge from Washington,” Gordon said.
Renteria said she’s advising state and local agencies to strengthen their communications channels with constituents so that when definite news of change does come in from Washington, like potential cuts to Medicaid, they can warn recipients or notify them of other services.
“I think it is a moment to just be prepared for the worst,” Gordon said.
Full audio and video for these interviews was featured on the Feb. 12, 2025 episode of StateScoop’s Priorities Podcast.
