The Path Forward: Continuing the CAO's Legacy of Leadership
How Catherine Szpindor's Tenure Set the Stage for Congress' Next Pivotal Shift
BY AUBREY WILSON AND CAITLIN MCNALLY
A Foundation Built for the Future
Last week, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Catherine Szpindor announced her retirement from the US House of Representatives, closing a significant chapter in the institution's modernization story. Her departure comes at a pivotal transition point that will define Congress' capacity for a generation to come. Anne Binstead has been named as the interim CAO effective January 2026.
The timing of this transition could not be more consequential. The Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright creates both opportunity and obligation for the Legislative branch to reclaim its constitutional role to make laws that are then faithfully executed by the Executive branch in line with clear Congressional intent. Meanwhile, decades of capacity erosion have left Congress struggling to compete with Executive agencies for talent, technology, and analytical capability. Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally and actively reshaping how governments operate, how information flows, and how institutions serve their constituents.
The Chief Administrative Officer cannot independently address or solve all of these challenges. But this appointment will determine whether the House of Representatives has the operational foundation to meet this moment, or whether the institution continues operating with 20th-century infrastructure in a 21st-century world. While many Americans may never hear about the CAO position and the nearly 800 employees in the Administrative Office of the House, they hold the keys to the human and technical operations of the People’s House.
The CAO determines which technologies Congress can access, how quickly innovation can be adopted, and whether staff have tools comparable to those in the Executive branch and private sector. Through this authority, the CAO shapes whether the Legislative branch can fulfill its Article I responsibilities in a world where information moves at machine speed and policy questions require sophisticated technical analysis. Well beyond the narrow “administrative” title, the CAO position, especially in the years ahead, will require vision and strategic leadership. The next CAO cannot simply maintain systems or the status quo. They will need to put in motion a focused strategy to ensure that the House stays relevant in our rapidly changing world. Get this appointment right, and Congress has the foundation to rebuild its capacity. Get it wrong, and the institution falls further behind the Executive branch and private sector, in an era when agility and capacity matter more than ever.
Szpindor's legacy is worthy of celebration. Her tenure delivered measurable improvements across technology, staff development, and constituent services, implementing over 100 of the Select Committee on Modernization of Congress's 202 bipartisan recommendations while navigating the institution through pandemic-era challenges and beginning to ask questions about how AI will be deployed in the Legislative branch.
2026 will again bring transformational emerging technology and tension between America’s branches of government. The choice of who will lead the CAO in the years ahead will be a consequential element of whether the House meets the moment.
Understanding the CAO in this Moment
The CAO's portfolio spans everything from information technology and cybersecurity to human resources, financial management, procurement, logistics, and operational support. From welcoming a Member-elect during New Member Orientation to supporting the daily office needs of all DC and district offices, the CAO is the operational backbone of the House as a business organization. Leadership in this office has the potential to shape Congressional capacity for generations. Unlike Members who focus on the next election cycle, the CAO must think on a longer timeframe — building systems that will serve multiple Congresses, investing in infrastructure that will pay dividends for decades, and anticipating needs before they become crises.
Most importantly, the CAO must understand that success is defined by one simple metric: Are Members and staff equipped to serve the American people effectively? Everything else — every system deployed, every program launched, every innovation championed — must flow from that fundamental purpose.
The next CAO inherits an institution under extraordinary pressure.
The Chevron Reversal Changes Everything
Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo eliminated Chevron deference, ending Executive agencies’ interpretive authority by requiring them to implement laws according to Congressional intent. In theory, this strengthens the Legislative branch. In practice, Congress lacks the technical expertise, analytical capacity, and institutional infrastructure to write the detailed, technically sophisticated legislation this new landscape demands. When Congress cannot keep pace with regulatory complexity, the result is gridlock and continued executive action through alternative means. In the past, this might have been seen as a question outside of the CAO’s purview, left solely to questions of human capital. But increasingly, Congress’ ability to process the information required for governing will require technical systems that augment the work of human experts. “Intelligence” is no longer just an HR question, and as the facilitator or bottleneck to procurement and deployment of new tools, the CAO will be an important player in the future of Congressional capacity.
AI Acceleration Creates Winner-Take-All Dynamics
AI is reshaping governance right now. Executive agencies are deploying AI for regulatory analysis, benefits administration, and program delivery. Meanwhile, Congress struggles to modernize basic systems while the world accelerates. This is not a minor technology gap. Advancement in this arena will determine whether Congress can effectively oversee AI deployment across government, enhance its own analytical capabilities, and legislate meaningfully in the modern era.
Procurement Paralysis Blocks Innovation
While businesses pilot AI tools rapidly, Congress operates on procurement cycles designed for a pre-digital world. Multi-year contracts, defensive security reviews, and centralized approval processes mean that by the time a technology reaches Congressional staff, better alternatives already exist. This approach does not protect Congress. It ensures the institution operates with inferior tools.
The Expertise Exodus Continues
Staff turnover in the House is at record levels. Technical talent flows toward the private sector, agencies, and think tanks. The CAO cannot fix Congressional pay scales, but the office can determine whether staff have access to tools and training that make the work feasible despite resource constraints.
The cumulative effect: a Legislative branch that increasingly cannot match the demands of modern governance. Not because Members lack dedication or staff lack intelligence, but because the institutional infrastructure has not evolved.
The Chief Administrative Office needs a leader ready to meet the current moment.
Catherine Szpindor's Legacy: Building the Foundation for Modern Congress
Catherine Szpindor brought 34 years of technology leadership to the CAO role. Her path was unconventional. After passing IBM's data processing aptitude test in the mid-1970s at a time when few women entered the field, she built a career spanning Virginia's utility sector, Sprint Nextel's IT operations, and eventually Capitol Hill. She served as House Chief Information Officer from 2015 to 2021, where she implemented Microsoft Teams across the entire House before COVID-19 made such tools essential. When Speaker Nancy Pelosi named her CAO on January 3, 2021, she became the first woman to hold the position.
During her tenure, Szpindor oversaw the creation of the House Digital Service, with the goal of bringing agile development practices to Capitol Hill. Modeled after successful programs like 18F and the US Digital Service and recommended by the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, HDS works directly with Members and staff to build technology solutions for Congressional needs. The result has been tools like HouseCal (a unified calendar for all Floor and Committee events that has been used by 5,000 staffers), FlagTrack (transforming constituent flag requests into a transparent tracking system that replaced decades-old manual processes), LegiDex (an internal staff directory), and CaseCompass (aggregating casework data to help offices serve constituents more strategically).
She championed utilization of the Modernization Initiatives Account to serve Member and staff priorities, including the eDiscovery technology, deployed for committees. She led the CAO to guarantee WiFi accessibility for Member-designated flagship district offices.
Szpindor established the CAO Coach Program, staffing it with former top Congressional staff from both parties who provide training, consultations, and resources to help House employees navigate their uniquely challenging jobs. She created the Congressional Excellence Program to support office operations and leadership development and expanded and further institutionalized the Congressional Staff Academy.
Szpindor also led the implementation of ModCom recommendations to host bipartisan conferences across the country, supporting more than 1,200 staff in 2024. She created Customer Advocates who serve as single points of contact for Member offices and championed the institutionalization of key human resources, including the House Intern Resource Office and House HR Hub, professionalizing workforce support for the entire House staffing pipeline.
In 2023, she led the House to be one of the first legislative bodies in the world to issue AI guidance for staff and Member use of AI. In fall 2025, she announced the rollout of Microsoft Copilot to House staffers to begin this upcoming spring.
Szpindor leaves the House stronger than she found it. The question now is: will House leadership appoint an individual as the next permanent CAO who will build on this legacy and bring the institution into its next era?
The Vision: What Modern CAO Leadership Demands
In a little over a year, the House will gavel in the 120th Congress. The Chief Administrative Office needs a leader to address the House's needs today and a vision for what the institution must become tomorrow. The world is changing rapidly and Congress’ effectiveness, resilience, and relevancy is dependent upon decisions that will be made in the coming months. Szpindor’s successor, the next CAO, needs to boldly implement a strategy in which:
the House’s technology policies empower Members to be innovative rather than constrained,
tools enable rather than hinder modern approaches to constituent service, and
Congress leads rather than lags in adopting emerging technology.
Modern CAO leadership means embracing AI with optimism and urgency.
The next CAO must embrace AI and its potential to increase Congressional capacity. While legitimate concerns about security, accuracy, and governance must be addressed, they cannot crystallize and lock the institution into paralysis. This means expanding beyond the Microsoft Copilot deployment, piloting new tools that can transform constituent services, and building capabilities that help Congress keep pace with the Executive branch and global parliaments already racing ahead. It means creating a culture where innovation and security are partners, not adversaries — where thoughtful urgency replaces fearful caution, and where Members feel inspired by what is possible.
Modern CAO leadership means reimagining procurement for technology that evolves at unprecedented speed.
Congressional procurement processes were designed for a world where technology changed slowly and multi-year contracts made sense. That world no longer exists. AI capabilities evolve so rapidly that traditional procurement cycles often render solutions obsolete before deployment. It is time for the CAO to undertake fundamental procurement reform — exploring new contracting vehicles, establishing rapid-pilot authorities for low-risk experiments, creating innovation sandboxes where offices can test before institution-wide deployment. This does not mean abandoning oversight; it means recognizing that the current approach is preventing Congress from accessing cutting-edge tools at competitive prices and on reasonable timelines.
Modern CAO leadership means doubling down on human capital investment.
Technology only matters if people can use it effectively. The next CAO must accelerate Szpindor's workforce development initiatives — expanding the offerings of the Congressional Staff Academy to provide unbiased AI literacy training and fostering cohort-based learning programs that build networks across offices. The Congressional workforce and their workflows are changing, from interns to Members. This means the CAO’s customers are changing. The next CAO should lean into this evolution and capture the opportunity to answer the call for innovative and visionary leadership.
Modern CAO leadership means empowering district offices as innovation hubs.
District offices are where democracy happens daily — where constituents bring their problems and insights, seek help navigating federal agencies, and expect to see results. However, district staff have historically operated with fewer resources than their Washington counterparts, and often feel left behind and overlooked by the institution. Although Szpindor made strides in narrowing that gap, including the outstanding work of the district-focused Coaches and real investment in fly-in events to connect district-based staff, the next CAO must complete the transformation she began. Emerging technologies are unlocking the ability to communicate with constituents in new ways, and translate those insights and connections into data and evidence critical to the policymaking process. Streamlining and reimagining overly-restrictive procurement practices and delayed security reviews can unlock the creativity of Members and staff as they find new tools and practices to engage constituents at macro- and micro-levels. Member offices increasingly play varied roles in their communities, especially in engaging with constituents outside of the physical office, hosting large-scale events, responding to disasters, and navigating complex security environments. The next CAO needs to recognize that district offices’ diverse needs are a boon, not a bug, to institutional advancement. The future of the CAO should lean into establishing mechanisms for local experimentation and innovation.
Modern CAO leadership means thinking beyond election cycles.
Members must focus on two-year terms, but a successful CAO requires a longer-term vision. The CAO finalizes contracts that will serve Members and staff over multiple Congresses, invests in systems that pay dividends for decades, and makes strategic decisions whose full impact will not be visible for years. This requires vision to champion investments and shift priorities to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world and build capacity for the Congress of tomorrow.
Modern CAO leadership means forecasting needs before they become crises.
The best CAOs do not just respond to current demands — they anticipate what's coming. Szpindor exemplified this when she oversaw the House's cloud migration before COVID-19, a decision that made remote work (and therefore the continuity of the Chamber) possible. The next CAO must maintain this forward-looking posture, constantly scanning for emerging technologies, evolving threats, and changing expectations that will shape Congressional needs in years to come. Workforce changes are on the horizon and the Congressional community will need to adapt. The CAO will be the epicenter of support resources available to Members and staff navigating the upcoming transitions. The CAO has the opportunity to be all the more essential by anticipating and beginning to plan to address these upcoming needs.
Modern CAO leadership requires creativity, passion, and unwavering dedication.
As Congressional leadership searches for the next CAO, it is essential to understand what is at risk. This is not a role for someone who wants to manage the status quo or avoid risks. This is not the role for a traditional thinker or sycophant. It is a role for a visionary leader who can see what Congress could become and works tirelessly to make that vision real. Someone who approaches obstacles as opportunities for innovation and understands the urgency of the moment.
This is the vision of modern CAO leadership and it requires careful consideration. The decision will define House operations for generations to come in ways we can hardly begin to imagine.
The Path Forward
Catherine Szpindor has led the CAO through an era of modernization and institutional investment in the Congressional workforce. Her accomplishments have created a foundation for what must come next.
Now House leadership faces a choice with generational consequences.
The challenges are clear: AI acceleration, Chevron reversal, expertise exodus, procurement paralysis. Incremental progress will not address them. The next CAO must operate at a fundamentally different pace and scale to meet the demands of this particular moment. This means taking more risks, moving faster, and prioritizing Member offices' ability to serve constituents over institutional risk avoidance.
This is not a role for a traditional thinker or someone seeking to avoid controversy. This is a role for someone who understands that the Legislative branch's constitutional relevance is at stake and is prepared to act with urgency.
The next CAO should be a forecaster who scans the horizon for emerging challenges. An innovator who pilots new technologies rather than waiting for perfect solutions. An adapter who responds rapidly while maintaining stability. A visionary who sees what Congress could become, not just what it has been. A translator who takes complex possibilities and turns them into practical solutions.
Most importantly, the next CAO must remember what the office’s mission boils down to. Success is measured by one metric: Are Members and staff equipped to serve their constituents effectively? Everything else flows from that fundamental purpose.
Catherine Szpindor announced her retirement as Chief Administrative Officer effective December 31, 2025. Deputy CAO Anne Binsted will serve as interim CAO beginning in January 2026. POPVOX Foundation stands ready to support whoever takes up this critical role in leading Congress through one of the most consequential technological transitions in history.
