In 2009, Friedman accepted a role as the first Director of Digital Media at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. In that position, his job was to both "revolutionize how the VA interacts with veterans on the Internet" and oversee VA's "burgeoning social media empire." In 2011, "AOL Government" noted that VA was "becoming a model for other agencies." Friedman's office and staff were the subject of cover story profiles in "The Washington Post", "The Federal Times", "Stars and Stripes", and other publications.