The Agriculture Department has installed an employee brought on from the controversial Department of Government Efficiency, Sam Berry, to oversee the department’s technology.
Berry will replace the department’s longtime chief information officer, Gary Washington, who is now helming a newly created role as USDA’s chief innovation officer, according to an internal email sent to staff Friday and obtained by Nextgov/FCW. Washington also served as the acting head of the department at the start of the Trump administration.
Berry has been at USDA full-time through DOGE as a special advisor since at least early April, if not earlier, according to a publicly released response to a Freedom of Information Act request. He was sworn in as a senior advisor on government efficiency working in the USDA Office of the Chief Information Officer in May.
Weeks after President Donald Trump resumed office, the administration asked agencies to make it easier to install political appointees in CIO roles. Other DOGE associates have also taken on CIO positions since the start of Trump 2.0.
The email announcing the change touted Berry’s “strong track record of driving digital transformation and technology excellence,” although not much is known about his background by the employees he’ll be overseeing, said one IT employee at USDA who asked to remain anonymous as they’re not authorized to speak to the press.
Berry has 15 years of software experience in the private sector, primarily in the startup space, including founding a hospitality-focused software firm, according to an event agenda from a USDA symposium last month.
Now, he’ll be overseeing the technology across USDA’s 17 component agencies.
DOGE access to USDA systems has driven controversy in recent months. DOGE staffer Jordan Wick obtained high-level access to a system controlling loans and payments to farmers in the spring, NPR reported in July, which has drawn concern from congressional Democrats. It’s unclear if Berry has had access to that system.
Washington will be focusing on “advancing USDA strategic innovation initiatives,” the message to employees says, calling the new role for him a “natural progression.” He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and has worked in the government for over 25 years, the last seven plus as USDA’s CIO. Washington was selected as a Federal 100 award winner in 2018 for his work advancing IT modernization at the agency.
“We’re focused on making it easy for the American citizen to engage USDA using technology. They should have as good or better experience with us as they do at home with technology,” he told Nextgov/FCW in 2023.
