Peter Thiel Having Hard Time Finding Tech Advisers for Trump

The tech industry got used to "an administration that doted on us" under President Obama, one tech lobbyist tells the Mercury News. Now, with Donald Trump on his way to the White House, Silicon Valley needs to figure out how to have a voice in the government without angering liberal employees, customers, and others by being seen as working too closely with Trump. It's a problem Peter Thiel—billionaire Trump-supporter/Gawker killer—is trying to solve. "A page in the book of history has turned, and there is an opening to think about some of our problems from a new perspective," Thiel tells the New York Times. "I'll try to help the president in any way I can."

Thiel, who is unlikely to take a formal position in the Trump administration, is instead attempting to form a "brain trust" of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to come up with ideas for the Trump administration, which is basically a blank slate when it comes to tech policy, the Washington Post reports. It's an offer many in Silicon Valley would jump at ... for any other president. “The chance to influence the government is a huge opportunity ... for smart people to inject ideas," one such entrepreneur says. Instead, Thiel is having a hard time getting people to join his Trump-helping group. Right now, Thiel's list of potential members is mostly just various mentees of his. Thiel's goals for the Trump administration appear to be greater investment in science and technology and fewer regulations for startups. (More Peter Thiel stories.)