Politico reports today that PTO Director Michelle Lee is “in the running to head up the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy” known as OSTP. [LINK] Lee’s Obama-Holdover status suggests to me that OSTP’s policy-making role will be substantially downgraded under President Trump as compared to that of the Obama Administration when the office was headed by John Holdren. However, the move would also confirm a comparative business forward position. The OSTP Director also now holds an official seat of the new Office of American Innovation headed by Jared Kushner.
According to reports, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has interviewed several replacement candidates for PTO Director.