President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday establishing a new position for the federal government’s chief design officer, with Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia set to fill the role, according to sources familiar with the matter. The executive order creates a National Design Studio within the White House, giving Gebbia a central role in modernizing government forms, processes, and digital interfaces to improve the daily experiences of Americans.
Gebbia, 44, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. His mandate as the nation’s first chief design officer, as outlined in the White House release, is to “prioritize improving websites and physical sites that have a major impact on Americans’ everyday lives.” This broad directive could encompass everything from income tax filings and Social Security applications to Medicare enrollment, immigration services, and other high-volume federal programs.
The new position follows Gebbia’s work on overhauling the government’s retirement processing system, a notoriously cumbersome operation that previously relied on paper records stored in an abandoned limestone mine in Pennsylvania to calculate federal employees’ benefits. Gebbia has described much of the federal bureaucracy as a “design desert,” noting the need for modern tools and streamlined processes.
The National Design Studio will report directly to the White House chief of staff and has been given a deadline of July 4, 2026 to deliver initial results. Gebbia’s appointment follows the abolition of the Obama-era 18F office, which had handled digital design projects across the federal government, signaling a shift toward a more centralized, high-profile approach to design and user experience in federal services.
Sources say Gebbia’s role may also build on initiatives from the Department of Government Efficiency, previously led under Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s direction, which had begun efforts to streamline federal processes before the department was largely dismantled.
Trump’s executive order and Gebbia’s appointment mark a significant step in integrating design thinking into federal operations, aiming to modernize and simplify services that impact millions of Americans daily. Observers will be watching closely to see how the National Design Studio transforms entrenched bureaucratic systems and whether the approach can deliver tangible improvements in usability, efficiency, and citizen satisfaction.
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