DHS taps Antoine McCord for top tech post
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McCord is a former Marine and is excited about the use of AI in the agency, people familiar say.
The Department of Homeland Security has a new chief information officer. Antoine McCord started in the role overseeing all department tech at the agency Monday, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Nextgov/FCW also obtained an image showing McCord has a DHS email in the department’s internal directory.
McCord landed in the department at the start of the week with affiliates of the government-slashing Department of Government Efficiency, according to one source familiar, who noted that the new CIO is excited about the use of artificial intelligence. He is a Marine with intelligence community and private sector experience, according to another person familiar who said that an email announcing his hire was sent out Thursday.
In this role, McCord will be overseeing an IT budget of approximately $11 billion.
Given that the department houses components like Customs and Border Protection, its tech may be central to the Trump administration’s policy objectives around immigration. Earlier this week, DHS announced that it was repurposing a Biden-era app to add a “self-deport” feature.
McCord didn’t return a request for comment when emailed. DHS also did not respond to a request for comment.
The DHS CIO role is an appointment. Google alum Eric Hysen — who was a founding member of what was formerly the U.S. Digital Service and has since been transformed into the DOGE — was the CIO for the department during the Biden administration.
McCord is the latest confirmed agency CIO in the Trump administration, which is pushing to politicize these roles. The Energy Department just installed a new CIO who had formerly supported DOGE.
This story is breaking and may be updated.