Why Do Government Websites Still Have Operating Hours?

Joe Gebbia says some government websites still have operating hours and turn off at a certain time of day because they have to update in the background. The same nation produces XAI and OpenAI, and he is not okay with sites that go dark for updates. He wants to be proud of how the nation presents itself to the world and to the people who live here. The talent and the technology are already here.

The path he describes is America by Design, the presidential initiative President Trump created to continue what started in the 70s, go bigger than President Nixon, reimagine the digital surface of the United States government, and upgrade it to 2025 standards. The goal is to attract the best talent and make government as beautiful as it is usable. The picture is an Apple store: great design, amazing usability, and modern software like any great consumer app. The NASA logo became an emblem of American technical and design excellence, and a federal experience at that level should stand for today's American excellence.

The executive order was just signed. The team is still being built, and the work is at day zero. There is no shortage of government domains begging to be overhauled. The biggest mandate is, over the next three years, to touch every digital surface of the United States government.