National Design Studio
In the middle of summer 2025, DOGE found itself in a minor crisis. Elon Musk had left, Steve Davis had spurred a civil war within the organization, and embittered agency heads were starting to assert more power over the DOGE members embedded in their agency, including firing the ones they didn’t like. In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that Joe Gebbia had pitched the White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on a new design direction for DOGE, using “Mad Men”-style presentation boards to promote a plan for a refurbished National Parks website among others. As the article wryly noted, “Susie listened, There were no major decisions made.”
But, it clearly worked. In late August, Trump signed EO 14338, establishing a new office of the National Design Studio within the White House, charged with defining standards for the look and functionality of federal websites. Within a few weeks, Joe Gebbia was named as the first Chief Design Officer of the NDS. Despite this new role, the NDS seems to be following theconfigs: same playbook as DOGE, with the executive order definining a similar Temporary Organization that can be used to hire Special Government Employees without them having to quit their regular work or worry about ethics declarations. Is it just DOGE 2.0?
People
Information: Click items to expand
Appointed:
7/XX/25 «Guessing started at NDS because identified by White House as staffer»
Detailed To:
Appointed:
7/XX/25 «Guessing started at NDS because identified by White House as staffer»
Detailed To:
| Source: | New White House design team aims for ‘delightful’ websites — changing design ethos in the process NextGov, 2/23/26 |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Tai Groot LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
8/21/25 Chief Design Officer «Position created in EO 14338»
Appointed:
8/21/25 Chief Design Officer «Position created in EO 14338»
| Source: | Trump to tap Airbnb co-founder Gebbia to improve government websites, sources say Reuters, 8/21/25 |
Appointed:
c.8/26/25 Director of Operations
Appointed:
c.8/26/25 Director of Operations
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Kaitlyn Koller LinkedIn, |
| Source: | ‘Sloppy’ Code and Accessibility Issues: The Trouble With Trump’s Silicon Valley-Inspired Web Design Project NOTUS, 12/01/25 |
| Source: | DOGE Operatives Are Joining Donald Trump’s New National Design Studio Wired Magazine, 8/29/25 |
Appointed:
8/29/25? Director of Engineering
Appointed:
8/29/25? Director of Engineering
| Source: | Accessibility Matters National Design Studio, 2/27/26 |
| Source: | DOGE Operatives Are Joining Donald Trump’s New National Design Studio Wired Magazine, 8/29/25 |
| Source: | DOGE Isn’t Dead. Here’s What Its Operatives Are Doing Now Wired Magazine, 12/02/25 |
Appointed:
8/29/25? «He has been linked to NDS but is still also at HHS?»
Appointed:
8/29/25? «He has been linked to NDS but is still also at HHS?»
| Source: | ‘Sloppy’ Code and Accessibility Issues: The Trouble With Trump’s Silicon Valley-Inspired Web Design Project NOTUS, 12/01/25 |
| Source: | DOGE Operatives Are Joining Donald Trump’s New National Design Studio Wired Magazine, 8/29/25 |
Appointed:
9/XX/25 Design Director, Founding Design Partner
Appointed:
9/XX/25 Design Director, Founding Design Partner
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Aaron Jackson LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
10/XX/25 Chief Creative Officer
Appointed:
10/XX/25 Chief Creative Officer
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Nate Brown LinkedIn, |
| Source: | Edward ‘Big Balls’ Coristine Is Helping Out on Viral Fraud Videos Now Wired Magazine, 4/03/26 |
Appointed:
10/XX/25 Hacker in Residence
Appointed:
10/XX/25 Hacker in Residence
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Greg Hogan LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
10/XX/25 Creative Director
Appointed:
10/XX/25 Creative Director
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Michael Novia LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
10/XX/25 Executive Creative Director
Appointed:
10/XX/25 Executive Creative Director
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Darshan Phillips LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
10/XX/25 Member of the Technical Staff
Appointed:
10/XX/25 Member of the Technical Staff
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Caelin Sutch LinkedIn, |
| Source: | New White House design team aims for ‘delightful’ websites — changing design ethos in the process NextGov, 2/23/26 |
Appointed:
12/XX/25 Producer
Appointed:
12/XX/25 Producer
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Jaylee Adams LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
1/XX/26 Software Engineer
Appointed:
1/XX/26 Software Engineer
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Braden Steffaniak LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
2/06/26
Appointed:
2/06/26
| Source: | Tweet by Adam Bhaloo X.com, 2/06/26 |
Appointed:
2/XX/26
Appointed:
2/XX/26
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Tyler Kim LinkedIn, |
| Source: | New White House design team aims for ‘delightful’ websites — changing design ethos in the process NextGov, 2/23/26 |
Appointed:
3/09/26 Design Engineer «Post announcing move on Friday before»
Appointed:
3/09/26 Design Engineer «Post announcing move on Friday before»
| Source: | LinkedIn post by Ahmad Sandid LinkedIn, 3/06/26 |
Appointed:
3/XX/26 Member of Technical Staff
Appointed:
3/XX/26 Member of Technical Staff
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Luis Bizarro LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
3/XX/26 Engineer
Appointed:
3/XX/26 Engineer
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Aldous Waites LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
4/20/26 Design Engineer
Appointed:
4/20/26 Design Engineer
| Source: | LinkedIn post by Abdulwahab Omira LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
4/XX/26 Senior Product Designer
Appointed:
4/XX/26 Senior Product Designer
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for John Cafazza LinkedIn, |
Appointed:
4/XX/26 Interactive Designer
Appointed:
4/XX/26 Interactive Designer
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for James DeBrock LinkedIn, |
Events
7/XX/25
| Appointed: | Tai Groot 7/XX/25 |
| Source: | New White House design team aims for ‘delightful’ websites — changing design ethos in the process NextGov, 2/23/26 |
| Note: | Guessing started at NDS because identified by White House as staffer |
8/21/25
Appointed:
Joe Gebbia starts as Chief Design Officer at NDS.
Appointed:
Joe Gebbia starts as Chief Design Officer at NDS.
| Appointed: | Joe Gebbia 8/21/25 |
| Position Title: | Chief Design Officer, National Design Studio |
| Source: | Trump to tap Airbnb co-founder Gebbia to improve government websites, sources say Reuters, 8/21/25 |
| Note: | Position created in EO 14338 |
Website:
The National Design Studio also launches americabydesign.gov to promote the America by Design initiative mentioned in EO 14338. This includes the oft-repeated quote from Joe Gebbia that government websites should offer an “Apple Store”-like experience. This site is a single page of large bold text, with a header video of a waving American flag. It also includes an email sign-up form.
Website:
The National Design Studio also launches americabydesign.gov to promote the America by Design initiative mentioned in EO 14338. This includes the oft-repeated quote from Joe Gebbia that government websites should offer an “Apple Store”-like experience. This site is a single page of large bold text, with a header video of a waving American flag. It also includes an email sign-up form.
| Source: | americabydesign.gov National Design Studio site, |
| Agency: | NDS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
Website:
To accompany the creation of the National Design Studio, the organization launches the site ndstudio.gov to promote the group. The site features a single page of chunky bold text as well as an email signup form and a place to submit resumes.
Website:
To accompany the creation of the National Design Studio, the organization launches the site ndstudio.gov to promote the group. The site features a single page of chunky bold text as well as an email signup form and a place to submit resumes.
| Source: | ndstudio.gov National Design Studio site, |
| Agency: | NDS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
Official Action:
President Trump signs EO 14338, which creates the new National Design Studio within the EOP and tasks it with centralizing control over design across the federal government. Joe Gebbia is subsequently named the new Chief Design Officer. Similar to DOGE’s structure, the NDS contains a temporary organization within that can be used for hiring Special Government Employees (SGEs) to work for the government on a volunteer basis.
Official Action:
President Trump signs EO 14338, which creates the new National Design Studio within the EOP and tasks it with centralizing control over design across the federal government. Joe Gebbia is subsequently named the new Chief Design Officer. Similar to DOGE’s structure, the NDS contains a temporary organization within that can be used for hiring Special Government Employees (SGEs) to work for the government on a volunteer basis.
| Person: | Joe Gebbia |
| Source: | DOGE Operatives Are Joining Donald Trump’s New National Design Studio Wired Magazine, 8/29/25 |
| Agency: | NDS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
c.8/26/25
Appointed:
Kaitlyn Koller starts as Director of Operations at NDS.
Appointed:
Kaitlyn Koller starts as Director of Operations at NDS.
| Appointed: | Kaitlyn Koller c.8/26/25 |
| Position Title: | Director of Operations |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Kaitlyn Koller LinkedIn, |
| Source: | ‘Sloppy’ Code and Accessibility Issues: The Trouble With Trump’s Silicon Valley-Inspired Web Design Project NOTUS, 12/01/25 |
| Source: | DOGE Operatives Are Joining Donald Trump’s New National Design Studio Wired Magazine, 8/29/25 |
8/29/25?
Appointed:
Appointed:
| Appointed: | Edward Coristine 8/29/25? |
| Position Title: | Director of Engineering |
| Source: | Accessibility Matters National Design Studio, 2/27/26 |
| Source: | DOGE Operatives Are Joining Donald Trump’s New National Design Studio Wired Magazine, 8/29/25 |
| Source: | DOGE Isn’t Dead. Here’s What Its Operatives Are Doing Now Wired Magazine, 12/02/25 |
| Appointed: | Zach Terrell 8/29/25? |
| Source: | ‘Sloppy’ Code and Accessibility Issues: The Trouble With Trump’s Silicon Valley-Inspired Web Design Project NOTUS, 12/01/25 |
| Source: | DOGE Operatives Are Joining Donald Trump’s New National Design Studio Wired Magazine, 8/29/25 |
| Note: | He has been linked to NDS but is still also at HHS? |
9/20/25
Website:
The Trump administration revamps the “Gold Card Visa” site that was originally launched in June. The visa now will cost $1 million and be an expedited EB-1 or EB-2 visa; the original proposal has been rebranded as the platinum card, which will be “coming soon.” The legality of this program still remains wildly unclear and demand is inflated because sign-up is through a public web form. This website is the first public work of recently-formed National Design Studio, although the previous version of the site was built by DOGE too.
Website:
The Trump administration revamps the “Gold Card Visa” site that was originally launched in June. The visa now will cost $1 million and be an expedited EB-1 or EB-2 visa; the original proposal has been rebranded as the platinum card, which will be “coming soon.” The legality of this program still remains wildly unclear and demand is inflated because sign-up is through a public web form. This website is the first public work of recently-formed National Design Studio, although the previous version of the site was built by DOGE too.
| Source: | trumpcard.gov National Design Studio site, |
| Source: | Want To Be American? For $1 Million, The ‘Trump Gold Card’ Visa Will Now Allow Entry Forbes Magazine, 9/20/25 |
| Agency: | Commerce, NDS, USCIS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
9/XX/25
Appointed:
Aaron Jackson starts as Design Director, Founding Design Partner at NDS.
Appointed:
Aaron Jackson starts as Design Director, Founding Design Partner at NDS.
| Appointed: | Aaron Jackson 9/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Design Director, Founding Design Partner |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Aaron Jackson LinkedIn, |
10/10/25
Website:
Working with the White House and HHS, the National Design Studio launches the TrumpRX to promote a forthcoming initiative from the White House to cap certain drug prices for private payers. This is the fourth website to bear the National Design Studio credit, and like the others it is a single-page site with expandable accordion elements of text and an email signup form.
Website:
Working with the White House and HHS, the National Design Studio launches the TrumpRX to promote a forthcoming initiative from the White House to cap certain drug prices for private payers. This is the fourth website to bear the National Design Studio credit, and like the others it is a single-page site with expandable accordion elements of text and an email signup form.
| Source: | TrumpRx Is a Narcissistic, AI-Generated Nightmare Gizmodo, 10/10/25 |
| Source: | trumprx.gov National Design Studio site, |
| Agency: | CMS, EOP, HHS, NDS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
10/17/25
Official Action:
The Trump Administration announces plans for a digital version of the existing federal voter registration form that would be created by the National Design Studio. The system would run voter identity and citizenship checks against SAVE and other DHS systems before allowing voters to register. Notes from the call with National Association of State Election Directors reported that election officials from both parties expressed concern about this plan not complying with state laws. They also reported “the developers do not seem to want to spend the time to understand election official concerns.”
Official Action:
The Trump Administration announces plans for a digital version of the existing federal voter registration form that would be created by the National Design Studio. The system would run voter identity and citizenship checks against SAVE and other DHS systems before allowing voters to register. Notes from the call with National Association of State Election Directors reported that election officials from both parties expressed concern about this plan not complying with state laws. They also reported “the developers do not seem to want to spend the time to understand election official concerns.”
| Source: | Trump administration proposal for online voter registration form raises concerns Votebeat, 10/27/25 |
| Agency: | DHS, NDS |
| DOGE Project: | Immigration |
10/23/25
Official Action:
Seeking to further bolster support for its proposed new voter registration tool that would be integrated with DHS databases, the Election Assistance Commission hosts a call with the National Association of Secretaries of State. Akash Bobba speaks on the call as a developer and reports it will be created by the National Design Studio and integrate with the revamped SAVE database from DHS. When asked for details about data retention and security, Bobba could only state that “clear data retention policies” would be provided to states in advance.
Official Action:
Seeking to further bolster support for its proposed new voter registration tool that would be integrated with DHS databases, the Election Assistance Commission hosts a call with the National Association of Secretaries of State. Akash Bobba speaks on the call as a developer and reports it will be created by the National Design Studio and integrate with the revamped SAVE database from DHS. When asked for details about data retention and security, Bobba could only state that “clear data retention policies” would be provided to states in advance.
| Person: | Akash Bobba |
| Source: | Trump administration proposal for online voter registration form raises concerns Votebeat, 10/27/25 |
| Agency: | DHS, NDS |
| DOGE Project: | Immigration |
10/24/25
Official Action:
The Trump Administration registers the domain techforce.gov and later launches a password-protected site with branding for the National Design Studio on it.
Official Action:
The Trump Administration registers the domain techforce.gov and later launches a password-protected site with branding for the National Design Studio on it.
| Source: | White House registers ‘techforce.gov’ domain FedScoop, 10/30/25 |
| Agency: | NDS, OPM |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
10/29/25
Website:
The National Design Studio launches a new website safedc.gov for the admnistration’s new DC task force. It features a single page of large bold text on a black background with a large (possibly AI-generated) picture of Trump on patrol with agents, links to job listings on USA Jobs and an email sign-up form. Weirdly, the NDS header also includes a clock.
Website:
The National Design Studio launches a new website safedc.gov for the admnistration’s new DC task force. It features a single page of large bold text on a black background with a large (possibly AI-generated) picture of Trump on patrol with agents, links to job listings on USA Jobs and an email sign-up form. Weirdly, the NDS header also includes a clock.
| Source: | safedc.gov National Design Studio site, |
| Source: | "Design is in the White House" says America's first chief design officer Joe Gebbia Dezeen, 11/18/25 |
| Source: | SCOOP: Trump expands DC crime task force with hiring push of nationwide law enforcement FOX News, 10/29/25 |
| Agency: | CPB, DHS, ICE, NDS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
10/XX/25
Appointed:
Appointed:
| Appointed: | Nate Brown 10/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Chief Creative Officer |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Nate Brown LinkedIn, |
| Source: | Edward ‘Big Balls’ Coristine Is Helping Out on Viral Fraud Videos Now Wired Magazine, 4/03/26 |
| Appointed: | Greg Hogan 10/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Hacker in Residence |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Greg Hogan LinkedIn, |
| Appointed: | Michael Novia 10/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Creative Director |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Michael Novia LinkedIn, |
| Appointed: | Darshan Phillips 10/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Executive Creative Director |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Darshan Phillips LinkedIn, |
| Appointed: | Caelin Sutch 10/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Member of the Technical Staff |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Caelin Sutch LinkedIn, |
| Source: | New White House design team aims for ‘delightful’ websites — changing design ethos in the process NextGov, 2/23/26 |
11/18/25
Report:
In an interview, Joe Gebbia affirms he has been the Chief Design Officer since being appointed to the role in September, after EO 14338 was issued in August. He also confirms the position is in the White House and reports directly to the Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Although it has an office nearby, Gebbia will primarily be working from his home in Austin, Texas.
Report:
In an interview, Joe Gebbia affirms he has been the Chief Design Officer since being appointed to the role in September, after EO 14338 was issued in August. He also confirms the position is in the White House and reports directly to the Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Although it has an office nearby, Gebbia will primarily be working from his home in Austin, Texas.
| Person: | Joe Gebbia |
| Source: | "Design is in the White House" says America's first chief design officer Joe Gebbia Dezeen, 11/18/25 |
| Agency: | NDS |
11/25/25
Website:
The Department of Energy launches a new “Genesis Mission” to heavily use AI tools for scientific research. The website for this endeavor is created by the National Design Studio and features the classic hallmarks of their work: bold fonts on a black background with animations all on a single page with no navigation and an email signup form. According to Edward Coristine’s twitter account, this page took 3 weeks to make.
Website:
The Department of Energy launches a new “Genesis Mission” to heavily use AI tools for scientific research. The website for this endeavor is created by the National Design Studio and features the classic hallmarks of their work: bold fonts on a black background with animations all on a single page with no navigation and an email signup form. According to Edward Coristine’s twitter account, this page took 3 weeks to make.
| Person: | Edward Coristine, Joe Gebbia |
| Source: | Genesis Mission Dept. of Energy, |
| Source: | Tweet from Edward Coristine's X account X.com, 11/25/25 |
| Source: | Tweet from Joe Gebbia's X account X.com, 11/25/25 |
| Agency: | DOE, NDS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
12/10/25
Website:
Trump officially launches the trumpcard.gov
website, which has been modified to now accept more formal online
applications and a $15,000 processing fee. This change was presumably
made by the National Design Studio, who did the last revamp of the site
originally developed by DOGE. More importantly, it now has a more
detailed signup form that promises payment processing of the $15,000
processing fee as well. With this change, NDS has added a second page.
Website:
Trump officially launches the trumpcard.gov
website, which has been modified to now accept more formal online
applications and a $15,000 processing fee. This change was presumably
made by the National Design Studio, who did the last revamp of the site
originally developed by DOGE. More importantly, it now has a more
detailed signup form that promises payment processing of the $15,000
processing fee as well. With this change, NDS has added a second page.
| Source: | Trump’s ‘gold card’ program goes live, offering US visas starting at $1 million per person The Associated Press, 12/10/25 |
| Source: | trumpcard.gov National Design Studio site, |
| Agency: | Commerce, NDS, USCIS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
12/14/25
Website:
The National Design Studio launches merrychristmas.gov, a site for the America Bt Design to highlight 12 days of “GovDesign History.” In a marked departure from typical NDS style, this page features smaller text on a white background, snow that can be toggled on and off and a different URL for each day as well as a page linking to NORAD’s Santa tracker. These pages meant the site comprises 14 pages in total (the largest for any NDS site)
Website:
The National Design Studio launches merrychristmas.gov, a site for the America Bt Design to highlight 12 days of “GovDesign History.” In a marked departure from typical NDS style, this page features smaller text on a white background, snow that can be toggled on and off and a different URL for each day as well as a page linking to NORAD’s Santa tracker. These pages meant the site comprises 14 pages in total (the largest for any NDS site)
| Source: | 12 Days of GovDesign History National Design Studio site, 12/14/25 |
| Agency: | NDS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
12/15/25
Website:
The National Design Studio and OPM launch techforce.gov, a new site recruiting technical staff for a 2-year term to work on technical projects within agencies, a model that sounds similar to 18F and USDS, which were respectively completely destroyed and hollowed out by DOGE. The site features the typical design of NDS websites – a single page of large bold fonts on a black background with accordion elements to expand information. It also features AI images of a figure with a computer monitor head.
Website:
The National Design Studio and OPM launch techforce.gov, a new site recruiting technical staff for a 2-year term to work on technical projects within agencies, a model that sounds similar to 18F and USDS, which were respectively completely destroyed and hollowed out by DOGE. The site features the typical design of NDS websites – a single page of large bold fonts on a black background with accordion elements to expand information. It also features AI images of a figure with a computer monitor head.
| Source: | Tech Force Tech Force, 12/15/25 |
| Agency: | NDS, OPM |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
12/17/25
Website:
The National Design Studio launches another single-page site trumpaccounts.gov in cooperation with the US Treasury. This is to promote a program of special investment accounts that was passed by Congress but presented as if it’s a result of Trump’s personal largesse. It conveys a softer tone than many other of their sites, but still sticks to the same convention of a single page of text, with a FAQ presented as expandable accordions and a form to sign up for a mailing list.
Website:
The National Design Studio launches another single-page site trumpaccounts.gov in cooperation with the US Treasury. This is to promote a program of special investment accounts that was passed by Congress but presented as if it’s a result of Trump’s personal largesse. It conveys a softer tone than many other of their sites, but still sticks to the same convention of a single page of text, with a FAQ presented as expandable accordions and a form to sign up for a mailing list.
| Source: | trumpaccounts.gov National Design Studio site, |
| Source: | Bessent unveils new Trump Accounts website as part of push to encourage saving for children CBS News, 12/17/25 |
| Agency: | NDS, Treas. |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
12/26/25
Website:
The National Design Studio launches a new blog named “Dev Index” with an article written about the modernization work at OPM for digitizing retirements that apparently has moved over to the NDS from OPM with Joe Gebbia. The article is written by Yat Choi and Dennis Li and thanks Edward Coristine and Zach Terrell for reviewing the content.
Website:
The National Design Studio launches a new blog named “Dev Index” with an article written about the modernization work at OPM for digitizing retirements that apparently has moved over to the NDS from OPM with Joe Gebbia. The article is written by Yat Choi and Dennis Li and thanks Edward Coristine and Zach Terrell for reviewing the content.
| Person: | Dennis Li, Edward Coristine, Yat Choi, Zach Terrell |
| Source: | How We Automated Federal Retirements National Design Studio, 12/26/25 |
| Agency: | NDS |
12/XX/25
Appointed:
Jaylee Adams starts as Producer at NDS.
Appointed:
Jaylee Adams starts as Producer at NDS.
| Appointed: | Jaylee Adams 12/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Producer |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Jaylee Adams LinkedIn, |
1/09/26
Website:
The National Design Studio launches realfood.gov with HHS. Evoking more of a nostalgic and warm tone rather than the technocratic darkness of some prior sites, it is still a one-page site with large bold text, expandable accordions but now also with some scrolling animation.
Website:
The National Design Studio launches realfood.gov with HHS. Evoking more of a nostalgic and warm tone rather than the technocratic darkness of some prior sites, it is still a one-page site with large bold text, expandable accordions but now also with some scrolling animation.
| Source: | realfood.gov National Design Studio site, |
| Source: | LinkedIn post from Matt Lira LinkedIn, 1/09/25 |
| Agency: | HHS, NDS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
1/23/26
Report:
Speaking in a podcast interview, Joe Gebbia reports that the National Design Studio is working to revise every government website, adding that “look like they’re from the mid-90s.” He also states that the NDS is going to deliver a refresh of some existing websites by July 4, 2026 and that the team will eventually consist of approximately 15 engineers and 15 designers and is currently employing brilliant veterans of Silicon Valley.
Report:
Speaking in a podcast interview, Joe Gebbia reports that the National Design Studio is working to revise every government website, adding that “look like they’re from the mid-90s.” He also states that the NDS is going to deliver a refresh of some existing websites by July 4, 2026 and that the team will eventually consist of approximately 15 engineers and 15 designers and is currently employing brilliant veterans of Silicon Valley.
| Person: | Joe Gebbia |
| Source: | National Design Studio looks to overhaul 27,000 federal websites — and is hiring a team to do it Federal News Network, 1/23/26 |
| Agency: | NDS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
1/30/26
Report:
Speaking at the ACT-IAC Summit, Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia touted the work of the National Design Studio and reported that OMB is working closely with NDS to “coalesce” the administration’s website design, comparing it to how certain hotel brands will all look and smell the same. He reports there are internal sandboxes running for new designs and a redesigned site for CIO.gov will soon illustrate the new look. The NDS is also reportedly leaning heavily into using AI for its work. In addition, 35,000 people have applied to the administration’s Tech Force initiative and they are reviewing 6,000 applicants.
Report:
Speaking at the ACT-IAC Summit, Federal CIO Greg Barbaccia touted the work of the National Design Studio and reported that OMB is working closely with NDS to “coalesce” the administration’s website design, comparing it to how certain hotel brands will all look and smell the same. He reports there are internal sandboxes running for new designs and a redesigned site for CIO.gov will soon illustrate the new look. The NDS is also reportedly leaning heavily into using AI for its work. In addition, 35,000 people have applied to the administration’s Tech Force initiative and they are reviewing 6,000 applicants.
| Person: | Greg Barbaccia, Joe Gebbia |
| Source: | Federal CIO sees website redesign as key to digital services' "one government" approach FedScoop, 1/30/26 |
| Agency: | NDS, OMB |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
1/XX/26
Appointed:
Braden Steffaniak starts as Software Engineer at NDS.
Appointed:
Braden Steffaniak starts as Software Engineer at NDS.
| Appointed: | Braden Steffaniak 1/XX/26 |
| Position Title: | Software Engineer |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Braden Steffaniak LinkedIn, |
2/05/26
Website:
The Trump RX site formally relaunches with a lookup option to find savings codes for various prescriptions. Like many other National Design Studio sites, it features a mix of Apple Store-style titles and text styling alongside gilt images of an American map and an eagle and bombastic language extolling Trump himself. In a first for NDS sites, it also features a site search to look up specific medications, each of which has their own page URL.
Website:
The Trump RX site formally relaunches with a lookup option to find savings codes for various prescriptions. Like many other National Design Studio sites, it features a mix of Apple Store-style titles and text styling alongside gilt images of an American map and an eagle and bombastic language extolling Trump himself. In a first for NDS sites, it also features a site search to look up specific medications, each of which has their own page URL.
| Source: | trumprx.gov National Design Studio site, |
| Source: | Trump’s Online Drugstore Opens for Business The New York Times, 2/05/26 |
| Agency: | CMS, HHS, NDS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
2/06/26
Appointed:
Adam Bhaloo starts at NDS.
Appointed:
Adam Bhaloo starts at NDS.
| Appointed: | Adam Bhaloo 2/06/26 |
| Source: | Tweet by Adam Bhaloo X.com, 2/06/26 |
2/10/26
Report:
The news site Nextgov reports that the National Design Studio’s new site realfood.gov is directing users directly to Elon Musk’s Grok AI product. After being contacted by reporters for comment, the link is instead labeled as “Ask AI” but stll points to the Grok site.
Report:
The news site Nextgov reports that the National Design Studio’s new site realfood.gov is directing users directly to Elon Musk’s Grok AI product. After being contacted by reporters for comment, the link is instead labeled as “Ask AI” but stll points to the Grok site.
| Source: | Trump's nutrition website directs users to Elon Musk's Grok NextGov, 2/10/26 |
| Agency: | HHS, NDS |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
2/11/26
Website:
The CIO Council launches a new version of its website cio.gov which has been redesigned by the National Design Studio. This site also includes a new design system, which outlines a new style for websites but it lacks instructions, standardized CSS tags or web components found in other design systems like the US Web Design System and it has poor scores for accessibility. Nevertheless, with this launch, the National Design Studio has rebuilt a site with dozens of pages and has also implemented a site search for the first time.
Website:
The CIO Council launches a new version of its website cio.gov which has been redesigned by the National Design Studio. This site also includes a new design system, which outlines a new style for websites but it lacks instructions, standardized CSS tags or web components found in other design systems like the US Web Design System and it has poor scores for accessibility. Nevertheless, with this launch, the National Design Studio has rebuilt a site with dozens of pages and has also implemented a site search for the first time.
| Source: | Federal Chief Information Officers Council The Chief Information Officers Council, |
| Agency: | NDS, OMB |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
2/21/26
Report:
In a tweet on his personal account on X, Edward Coristine claims that the source code for freedom.gov will be open-sourced for public review.
Report:
In a tweet on his personal account on X, Edward Coristine claims that the source code for freedom.gov will be open-sourced for public review.
| Person: | Edward Coristine |
| Source: | Tweet by Edward Coristine X.com, 2/21/26 |
| Agency: | NDS |
2/23/26
Identification:
An article on the National Design Studio in NextGov lists several people as associated with National Design Studio, including some names that hadn’t been mentioned previously.
Identification:
An article on the National Design Studio in NextGov lists several people as associated with National Design Studio, including some names that hadn’t been mentioned previously.
| Person: | Braden Steffaniak, Caelin Sutch, Edward Coristine, Greg Hogan, Jaylee Adams, Joe Gebbia, Kaitlyn Koller, Nate Brown, Tai Groot, Tyler Kim |
| Source: | New White House design team aims for ‘delightful’ websites — changing design ethos in the process NextGov, 2/23/26 |
| Agency: | NDS |
2/24/26
Report:
In a tweet on his personal X account, National Design Studio member Tyler Kim confirms that the content on cio.gov was “almost entirely generated by our internal ai agent system [end-to-end].”
Report:
In a tweet on his personal X account, National Design Studio member Tyler Kim confirms that the content on cio.gov was “almost entirely generated by our internal ai agent system [end-to-end].”
| Person: | Tyler Kim |
| Source: | Tweet by Tyler Kim X.com, 2/24/26 |
| Agency: | NDS, OMB |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |
2/27/26
Official Action:
Posting with the title of Director of Engineering, Edward Coristine publishes a blog post on the National Design Studio website about how NDS is elevating the importance of accessibility in its designs and citing its work on trumprx.gov specifically.
Official Action:
Posting with the title of Director of Engineering, Edward Coristine publishes a blog post on the National Design Studio website about how NDS is elevating the importance of accessibility in its designs and citing its work on trumprx.gov specifically.
| Person: | Edward Coristine |
| Source: | Accessibility Matters National Design Studio, 2/27/26 |
| Agency: | NDS |
2/XX/26
| Appointed: | Tyler Kim 2/XX/26 |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Tyler Kim LinkedIn, |
| Source: | New White House design team aims for ‘delightful’ websites — changing design ethos in the process NextGov, 2/23/26 |
3/09/26
Appointed:
Ahmad Sandid starts as Design Engineer at NDS.
Appointed:
Ahmad Sandid starts as Design Engineer at NDS.
| Appointed: | Ahmad Sandid 3/09/26 |
| Position Title: | Design Engineer |
| Source: | LinkedIn post by Ahmad Sandid LinkedIn, 3/06/26 |
| Note: | Post announcing move on Friday before |
3/XX/26
Appointed:
Appointed:
| Appointed: | Luis Bizarro 3/XX/26 |
| Position Title: | Member of Technical Staff |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Luis Bizarro LinkedIn, |
| Appointed: | Aldous Waites 3/XX/26 |
| Position Title: | Engineer |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Aldous Waites LinkedIn, |
4/20/26
Appointed:
Abdulwahab Omira starts as Design Engineer at NDS.
Appointed:
Abdulwahab Omira starts as Design Engineer at NDS.
| Appointed: | Abdulwahab Omira 4/20/26 |
| Position Title: | Design Engineer |
| Source: | LinkedIn post by Abdulwahab Omira LinkedIn, |
4/23/26
Official Action:
Testifying at the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reported that the US had approved only 1 “gold card” visa application so far. He also claimed there were hundreds more applicants in the queue for the program, which requires a $1 million fee and $15,000 in processing fees.
Official Action:
Testifying at the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reported that the US had approved only 1 “gold card” visa application so far. He also claimed there were hundreds more applicants in the queue for the program, which requires a $1 million fee and $15,000 in processing fees.
| Source: | The Trump Administration Has Approved Just One ‘Gold Card’ Visa So Far NOTUS, 4/23/25 |
| Agency: | Commerce, NDS |
4/XX/26
Appointed:
Appointed:
| Appointed: | John Cafazza 4/XX/26 |
| Position Title: | Senior Product Designer |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for John Cafazza LinkedIn, |
| Appointed: | James DeBrock 4/XX/26 |
| Position Title: | Interactive Designer |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for James DeBrock LinkedIn, |