President Bill Clinton appointed Gibbons to serve as the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; his tenure there lasted from February 2, 1993 to April 15, 1998. As the President's Science Advisor, he co-chaired the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) and was a member of the Domestic Policy Council, the National Economic Council, the National Security Council, and the National Science and Technology Council, which coordinated science and technology policy and budgets across the federal government.