As President-elect Donald Trump assembles his second administration, the influence of Silicon Valley is clearer than ever.
There’s the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a time-limited commission on government waste and cost led by entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Like many others in the Trump camp in 2024, Musk got his start in the so-called “PayPal Mafia,” joining the financial technology firm at an early stage of its formation.
Another PayPal cofounder, venture capitalist and political theorist Peter Thiel, mentored venture capitalist and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
David Sacks, also a member of the PayPal Mafia, is the incoming White House czar on cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence….