Trump and Biden admin officials gather in Austin
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Trump administration officials will gather alongside top Biden-era national security figures, scientists, tech founders, and investors this week at a private retreat in northwest Austin to plot how to shore up American strength.
Why it matters: The off-the-record bipartisan talks come as Washington remains deeply divided and at a time of geopolitical and technological upheaval.
Driving the news: Roughly 200 invite-only attendees are expected at the second annual Endless Frontiers retreat, co-hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, the University of Texas, Texas A&M University and Rice University.
What they're saying: The three-day retreat is deliberately held in Austin, not Washington or Silicon Valley — a signal, organizers say, about the relationship-driven event.
- "We felt that this needed to be a whole nation effort to renew the foundations of American strength," Jordan Blashek, co-chair of Endless Frontiers, tells Axios.
- "We felt that Austin represents this other side of America, which is this effort to re-industrialize, build new physical hard technologies that you really see emerging here in the Austin ecosystem."
Between the lines: Endless Frontiers was created to convene experts in tech, finance, academia and policy in small group conversations, says Rush Doshi, co-chair of Endless Frontiers and director of the Council on Foreign Relation's China Strategy Initiative.
- "There's a sense in both parties that we need to take bolder steps to be able to fix not just what's going on abroad but, more critically, what's going on at home," Doshi says.
- Just three conversations will be on the record.
Zoom in: This year's Trump administration roster includes deputy trade representative Rick Switzer; Ben Black, CEO of the U.S. International Development Finance Corp.; and Jacob Helberg, Under Secretary of State for economic affairs.
- Last year's keynote address came from Michael Kratsios, Trump's chief science and technology policy adviser.
On the other side of the aisle is former Biden national security advisor Jake Sullivan and former director of national intelligence Avril Haines, among others.
The speaker lineup also includes Kennedy Space Center director Janet Petro, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, former NASA administrator Dan Goldin, former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd and former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
- Entrepreneurs and CEOs will also be in attendance, including leaders of Austin-based Icon, Anduril, Saronic, Palantir and Impulse Space.