Veterans Administration

A representative from DOGE was given access to contracting systems as well as information on VA operations and information technology systems.

Justin Fulcher starts at VA.

A day after a conservative activist flagged the DOGE account on X about it, DOGE posts on its X.com account that it has removed gender identity options from a specific online form at the VA.

Bloomberg publishes some background information on Justin Fulcher, the DOGE staffer working quietly at the VA, which questions the details of his backstory.

Senate Democrats send a letter to VA Secretary demanding more information about DOGE’s activities there.

VA Secretary Doug Collins posts a message to X claiming that DOGE had found nearly $2 billion in contracts that could be eliminated. This figure will turn out to include important contracts that should not have been cancelled and need to be hastily restored.

A day after posting it had found contracts to cancel, a top V.A. contracting official sends an agency-wide email “PLEASE HALT ALL CONTRACT TERMINATIONS THAT ARE IN PROGRESS” as leadership was re-considering the scope of its contract cancellations.

Justin Fulcher detailed from VA to DOD

Sahil Lavingia starts as Senior Advisor at VA.

Christopher Roussos and Cary Volpert start at VA.

Tech staffers and contractors noticed a new DOGE staffer, Sahil Lavingia, was pushing code to a repo in the VA’s Github instance. He also appeared to be using an AI tool to write code. This later turns out to be code that is reviewing contracts to be terminated.

Luke Farritor uses his admin access to lock out all government officials at multiple agencies from using grants.gov to issue new grants. Instead, all grants must now be sent to a new email address which will be reviewed by DOGE staffers before grants can be posted.

Dave Malcher detailed from GSA to VA

Fast Company runs an interview with Sahil Lavingia, who is promptly fired by DOGE the following day.

Sahil Lavingia leaves role as Senior Advisor at VA

A new memo from the acting principal director for acquisitions at the VA declares that all new contracts for information technology and professional services or any other contract for more than $10 million must be approved first by either Christopher Roussos or Cary Volpert. In addition, they are now required to send weekly reports to both of the DOGE representatives.

ProPublica analyzes public code by Sahil Lavingia for an AI-powered tool to evaluate contracts at the VA and determine which ones are “munchable” (meaning they should be canceled). The analysis finds the AI was given poor instructions and lacks context to correctly make these decisions.

Democratic Congressman Mark Takano sends an angry letter to Secretary Collins of the VA demanding answers about DOGE activities including if they have installed spyware on agency machines, if they have been piloting AI, and if they have accessed medical records. He also asks for detailed information on DOGE staff at the agency.

In an email to agency partners, the operators of grants.gov declare that the revised mechanism added in April that routed all Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) through a DOGE email address has been reversed. Instead, agencies are to return to using the tool like that did previously. This doesn’t necessarily mean that DOGE or political appointees will not be reviewing grants, but they have no longer locked other users out of the system.

An unidentified DOGE team member used the official DOGE VA account on X.com to send a direct message ridiculing a Republican donor who had proposed the imaginary “DOGE Dividend Check” for turning against Musk and creating an anti-Musk SuperPAC. According to the administration, that person no longer works for the VA.

Cary Volpert leaves role at VA (exits govt. service)

Continuing on a Trump Administration plan to consolidate and centralize HR for all federal agencies within OPM, Scott Kupor announces a new “Federal HR 2.0” pilot program with several agencies. Under the new shared services model, OPM will take over roles like performance management, onboarding, payroll, workforce planning, recruitment and hiring from agency staff. This is presented as a move for greater efficiency, but it would also give OPM the centralized power to fire staff and eliminate departments that DOGE wanted. The pilot for this new program will start in Fiscal Year 2027 (October).

Dave Malcher ends detailed position as Senior Advisor at VA (exits govt. service)