US: Innovation office to be headed by Trump's son-in-law

Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is a a former real estate and media executive.

Washington, March 27: US President Donald Trump has picked his son-in-law Jared Kushner to head a new innovation office which will overhaul federal bureaucracy and fulfill key campaign promises, a media report said.

The White House Office of American Innovation, slated to be unveiled on Monday, will operate as its own power centre within the West Wing and will report directly to Trump, the Washington Post said in a report on Sunday.

The office will be staffed by former business executives and is designed to infuse "fresh thinking into Washington, float above the daily political grind and create a lasting legacy for a president still searching for signature achievements", the report said.

"All Americans, regardless of their political views, can recognise that government stagnation has hindered our ability to properly function, often creating widespread congestion and leading to cost overruns and delays," Trump told the Washington Post.

"I promised the American people I would produce results, and apply my 'ahead of schedule, under budget' mentality to the government."

Kushner, 36, a former real estate and media executive is also a shadow diplomat, serving as Trump's lead advisor on relations with China, Mexico, Canada and the Middle East.

He is positioning the new office as 'an offensive team' -- an aggressive, non-ideological factory capable of attracting top talent from both inside and outside of government, and serving as a conduit with the business, philanthropic and academic communities.

"We should have excellence in government," Kushner said on Sunday in an interview in his West Wing office.

"The government should be run like a great American company. Our hope is that we can achieve successes and efficiencies for our customers, who are the citizens."

The innovation office has a certain focus on technology and data, and it is working with industry titans like Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk, the Washington Post report said.

The group has already hosted sessions with more than 100 such leaders and government officials.

IANS