The Federal Chief Information Officer is the top technology official in the executive branch, responsible for setting IT policy, overseeing more than $100 billion in annual federal technology spending, and driving cybersecurity and modernization strategy across every executive agency. The position sits within the Office of Management and Budget and is currently held by Gregory Barbaccia, a cybersecurity professional and Army intelligence veteran.1Technology Modernization Fund. Gregory Barbaccia The role is less about running government computers than about deciding how the government buys, secures, and delivers digital services to the public.
Where the Position Sits
The Federal CIO is officially the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government, a role established inside OMB by the E-Government Act of 2002. The Administrator is appointed by the President.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3602 – Office of Electronic Government Unlike many senior executive branch jobs, this one does not require Senate confirmation, so an incoming administration can fill it quickly.
Reporting to the OMB Director matters more than it sounds. It ties every major technology decision to the budget process instead of leaving IT in a standalone office with no funding leverage. When the Federal CIO flags a failing investment, the same building decides next year’s money. That proximity, combined with OMB’s cross-cutting authority over the executive branch, is what turns a policy office into an operational one.
What the Federal CIO Actually Does
Overseeing Federal IT Spending
The Federal CIO’s office is required to publish a list of every major IT investment across the government, with cost, schedule, and performance data attached. That mandate produced the Federal IT Dashboard, which reported roughly $102 billion in federal IT spending for FY 2025.3IT Dashboard. IT Dashboard The General Services Administration runs the platform; the Federal CIO’s office writes the policy framework and collects the data.4General Services Administration. IT Data Transparency
When agency investments run into trouble, the office uses a process called PortfolioStat to conduct deep-dive reviews of agency IT portfolios, looking for duplication and savings.5Office of Management and Budget. Management and Oversight of Federal Information Technology A 2025 Government Accountability Office report found that OMB was not fully meeting the statutory requirements for annual portfolio reviews, and in some categories was not following them at all.6U.S. GAO. IT Portfolio Management – OMB and Agencies Are Not Fully Addressing Selected Statutory Requirements
The Federal CIO also sits on the board that governs the Technology Modernization Fund, a Treasury account created by the Modernizing Government Technology Act of 2017 to bankroll large-scale IT upgrades.7Technology Modernization Fund. Technology Modernization Fund The board evaluates proposals for security impact, government-wide benefit, and likelihood of success, and releases money in increments as agencies hit milestones.
Setting Cybersecurity Policy
Federal cybersecurity is where the office’s influence is most direct. Under the Federal Information Security Modernization Act, the OMB Director oversees agency information security policies, develops and enforces standards, and coordinates with the National Institute of Standards and Technology on security guidelines.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3553 – Authority and Functions of the Director and the Secretary In practice, those duties fall to the Federal CIO.
Executive Order 14028, signed in May 2021, pushed the government toward zero-trust architecture, a model that replaces default trust inside network boundaries with continuous verification of every user and device. Each agency head was directed to build a zero-trust implementation plan and speed up migration to secure cloud services.9Federal Register. Improving the Nations Cybersecurity The Federal CIO’s office writes the government-wide guidance and tracks agency progress.
Approving Cloud Services and Digital Standards
A cloud service provider cannot sell to the federal government until its product clears the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). The FedRAMP Authorization Act of 2022 codified the program and set up a FedRAMP Board to conduct assessments and issue provisional authorizations. The Federal CIO provides oversight and guidance to that board on behalf of OMB and participates in its meetings.10FedRAMP.gov. M-24-15 Section VII Roles and Responsibilities That gives the position a direct hand in deciding which cloud platforms agencies are allowed to buy.
The office also sets the digital experience standards agencies must follow. The 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act requires every new or redesigned federal website to be accessible to people with disabilities, use a consistent visual design, sit on a .gov or .mil domain, offer search, run over an encrypted connection, and work on mobile. Agencies must also move paper-based forms and in-person services to digital formats where practical. OMB Memorandum M-23-22, issued in September 2023, added requirements to consolidate web content, use plain language, and support phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication on public-facing systems.11Office of Management and Budget. M-23-22 Delivering a Digital-First Public Experience The Federal CIO sets the policy; GSA’s Technology Transformation Services publishes the technical standards.
Coordinating Agency CIOs
The Federal CIO chairs the Chief Information Officers Council, a body of CIOs and senior IT executives from across the executive branch. The council establishes government-wide performance standards, shares practices, and coordinates multi-agency projects on everything from IT workforce recruitment to shared technology platforms.12Councils.gov. Chief Information Officers Council
The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act of 2014 (FITARA) gave agency-level CIOs approval authority over their agencies’ IT budget requests and IT contracts. Agencies outside the Department of Defense cannot enter IT contracts or reprogram IT funds without their CIO’s sign-off.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 40 USC 11319 – Resources, Planning, and Portfolio Management The Federal CIO writes the capital-planning guidance agency CIOs use when making those calls, which produces a workable chain of accountability: the Federal CIO sets the rules, agency CIOs apply them, and the OMB budget process enforces compliance.
Where the Authority Comes From
The powers of the Federal CIO are stitched together from several statutes. The foundation is the Clinger-Cohen Act, codified in Chapter 113 of Title 40 of the U.S. Code. Section 11301 directs the OMB Director to comply with the chapter when managing information-resource functions.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 40 USC 11301 – Responsibility of Director Section 11302 spells out the substance: promote better acquisition, use, security, and disposal of IT across the government, and develop a process for analyzing, tracking, and evaluating the risks and results of every major capital investment in information systems.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 40 USC 11302 – Capital Planning and Investment Control Those duties are delegated to the Federal CIO in practice.
The E-Government Act of 2002 added the structural piece by creating the Office of Electronic Government inside OMB and describing “electronic government” as the use of web-based applications and processes to broaden public access to government data.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 44 USC 3601 – Definitions FITARA layered on the enforcement mechanisms that give the position its practical weight, and MGT Act, FISMA, and the FedRAMP Authorization Act filled out the modernization, security, and cloud-approval authorities.
What the Position Cannot Do
The Federal CIO’s power is largely advisory and procedural. The office can set standards, withhold approval on budget requests, and publicly grade agencies on compliance, but it cannot directly fire an agency CIO or seize control of a failing project. The enforcement mechanism is the budget. Agencies that ignore the guidance tend to find their next funding request scrutinized much more carefully, and that is usually enough.