Top White House telecom advisor steps down

The top White House adviser on telecom issues is stepping down, marking the second time the leader of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has left their position this year.

Acting Administrator in Charge Diane Rinaldo’s departure comes about seven months after former NTIA chief David Redl left his post.

“As my time at NTIA comes to an end, I want to thank you for your dedication to our organization and its mission,” she wrote in an email to staff. “My main goal in this position was to be a champion and bullhorn for all of the good work you do, and I will always be an NTIA supporter.”

The NTIA is tasked with advising the Trump administration’s telecom policy within the Department of Commerce. It has been at the center of the Trump administration’s sometimes unpredictable policies over how the government and private industry should handle the race toward implementing next-generation wireless networks.

Rinaldo, who did not say where she’s heading next, touted the agency’s work on broadband, privacy, next-generation wireless and tech trade policy as successes over her two-year tenure at NTIA.

The former House Intelligence Committee staffer, who previously served as Redl’s deputy at NTIA, has worked on tech and cybersecurity issues for years. She was the lead committee staffer on the Cybersecurity Act of 2015, a landmark piece of cybersecurity legislation, and previously served as the oversight and budget monitor for the National Security Agency.