Aug 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will

appoint Airbnb ( ABNB ) co-founder Joe Gebbia to spearhead the new

National Design Studio that will seek to make digital services

at federal agencies more efficient, two officials familiar with

the plan said.

Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to create the

studio - a new body that one of the officials said appears to be

a stripped-down successor to the controversial Department of

Government Efficiency (DOGE), formerly headed by billionaire

Elon Musk.

Gebbia, who has led efforts to revamp the federal retirement

process at the federal human resources agency, will be named

Chief Design Officer, the official said, adding that tackling

problems at the Internal Revenue Service would be a focus.

The sources were not authorised to speak on the matter and

declined to be identified.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on

whether the National Design Studio is aimed at replacing DOGE.

Gebbia did not respond to a request for comment on the

appointment.

DOGE sought to slash federal payrolls, shutter agencies and

modernize government software, but public action from the agency

has dwindled dramatically since Musk, once a key Trump advisor,

left the government in May amid an acrimonious spat with the

president.

According to Trump's executive order, the National Design

Studio will improve the "usability and aesthetics" of federal

digital services.

The studio will advise agencies on how to reduce duplicative

design costs and use standardized design on sites where people

interact with the government.

The order also said that the studio will close in three

years. It will be run by an administrator who will report to

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. It was not immediately

clear who would fill that position.