Second top White House telecom adviser resigns in less than a year

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 stuck at the center of the Trump administration’s sometimes unpredictable battle 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, named 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. 

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a statement on Monday said he has been “proud” of Rinaldo’s work. 

“During her almost two year tenure at the Department of Commerce, Diane has led NTIA to multiple successes on 5G, supply chain security, broadband and public safety communications,” Ross said. “I have been proud of her leadership and wish her the best in her future endeavors.” 

Rep. Greg Walden (Ore.), the top Republican on the powerful House Energy and Commerce panel, said in a statement that Rinaldo’s “expertise on supply chain security, broadband deployment, public safety, and more was essential in advancing open and secure communications in the U.S. and beyond.”