A new memorandum regarding control of White House information systems, which President Obama signed March 19, expands the reach of the Executive Office of the President.
According to USA Today, the memo applies to the components of the Executive Office, including the National Security Council, the White House Military Office and the Office of Administration. That much would be expected, but it also covers the White House Communication Agency, which is part of the Defense Department, and the Secret Service, part of the Department of Homeland Security.
Related: Facebook engineer named first director of White House IT
Obama signed the directive in an effort to “maintain the president’s exclusive control of the information resources” provided to the White House. It gives the president the power to set “operating policies and procedures” used in any system that provides information to the White House.
It also establishes a five-person Executive Committee for Presidential Information Technology and creates the position of White House information technology director. Obama appointed David Recordon, a former engineering director at Facebook, to that post.
See the full report at USAToday.com.
