Thiel’s Army: Tech Coup Inside US Government

This post is NOT conspiracy theory.

Thiel’s people are in every corner of this administration, from Health to Crypto to Defense to Artificial Intelligence, and beyond.

Here’s your full squad, unsanitized.

1. Jim O’Neill — Deputy Secretary, HHS; Acting CDC Director

• Confirmed June 5, 2025; took office June 9.
• On August 28, named Acting CDC Director after Susan Monarez’s exit.
• Libertarian tech investor, ex‑Clarium/Mithril, co‑founded Thiel Fellowship/Foundations.
• No public health credentials, known for pushing deregulated drug approval.
• This is the guy serving dual roles—with potential sway over childhood vaccine decisions, all under political heat.

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2. David O. Sacks — White House AI & Crypto Czar

• Named December 2024; acts as “special government employee” (130 days/year, bypassing Senate), leads AI and crypto policy.
• PayPal co‑founder, longtime Thiel confidant.
• Now shepherds digital asset rules, free speech tech rhetoric, and regulation—or the lack of it.

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3. Ken Howery — Ambassador to Denmark (Nominee)

• PayPal and Founders Fund co‑founder with Thiel.
• Nominated December 2024.
• Diplomatic placement with longtime SV roots.
• Leverages comfort with Thiel’s ideological crowd.

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4. Jacob Helberg — Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy & Environment (Nominee)

• Senior adviser to Palantir CEO Alex Karp; married to PayPal alum Keith Rabois.
• Donated $2M to Trump in 2024, tilts pro‑Israel, frames Democratic Party as “not obedient enough.”

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5. Michael Kratsios — OSTP Director & Science Adviser

• Former CTO in Trump’s first term, ex‑Clarium and Thiel Capital chief of staff; nominated December 2024.
• Deep in the tech policy weeds—AI, quantum, drones.
• The usual Thiel-brand policy wonk.

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6. Michael Obadal — Army Undersecretary (Nominee)

• Former Anduril senior director tapped to be the Army’s #2 civilian official.
• Hands-on link from Thiel-funded defense tech to Pentagon.

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7. JD Vance — Vice President

• Ex-Mithril, mentored by Thiel, $15M funded his Senate run, now Trump’s VP
• Personal, political, ideological; Thiel’s favorite protégé up for the second-highest seat.

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8. Clark Minor — CIO, HHS

• 13-year Palantir veteran now running HHS IT, cybersecurity, privacy, records. HHS also has Palantir contracts.

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9. Gregory Barbaccia — CIO, OMB

• Ex‑Palantir and Elementus head now in charge of OMB’s IT operations.
• Interviewed agency staff after inauguration.

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10. Akash Bobba — DOGE Staffer

• 21-year‑old Palantir intern now at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

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11. Anthony Jancso — DOGE Recruiter

• Ex‑Palantir recruiter now staffing DOGE ranks.

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12. George Cooper — DOGE Recruiter via Discord

• Palantir engineer-turned-DOGE headhunter, recruiting former Palantirians.

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13. Luke Farritor — DOGE Staffer

• A Thiel Fellow turned DOGE recruiter via Fellowship networks.

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14. Colin Carroll — Chief of Staff, Deputy Secretary of Defense

• Former Anduril guy, now key DoD aide.

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15. Ryan Wunderly — DOGE Staffer (Treasury)

• Ex‑Anduril engineer now embedded inside Treasury through DOGE.

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16. Patrick Witt — Chief of Staff, DoD Office of Strategic Capital

• Took small donations from Thiel for an unsuccessful state run; now in a key strategy role linking DoD and capital.

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17. Additional DOGE Affiliates & Satellite Figures

The New York Times reports at least 23 people with SV-tech ties—Andreessen, Maguire, others—in unpaid government roles via DOGE, operating Signal chatter with a deregulation agenda.

TechCrunch and ProPublica found dozens of DOGE staffers under 40, many with finance/tech backgrounds; some are former Palantir folks embedded across agencies.

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18. Palantir’s Government Takeover

Contracts of note:

• ICE ImmigrationOS — $30M to track migrants in real time.  
• FAA, CDC, Fannie Mae — large-scale deployments, with $300M+ in new business.
• MAVEN Smart System — Up to $795M for AI deployment across U.S. forces.
• Army — Up to $10B over a decade to consolidate software procurement under Palantir.
• Behind this, a revolving door of Palantir alumni in DOGE and agencies smoothing the path.  

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Wrapping It Up

Every actor is named, every tie mapped:  O’Neill, Sacks, Howery, Helberg, Kratsios, Obadal, Vance, Minor, Barbaccia, Bobba, Jancso, Cooper, Farritor, Carroll, Wunderly, Witt, plus scores of DOGE staffers and the Palantir machine powering government from behind the scenes.

Why this matters: Thiel’s ecosystem is embedded across government functions—health, defense, diplomacy, science, tech infrastructure and surveillance—with little public visibility and even less oversight.

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Stay curious.