Executive Office of the President
subagencies: DOGE
One of the challenging thing about tracking reporting about DOGE is that DOGE itself is purposefully vague by design. When it’s time for them to threaten an agency or demand control over their systems, then it’s a firmly defined entity backed by the authority of Elon Musk and also the President. When it’s time to handle pesky reporters or legal discovery demands, it’s just a vague concept located somewhere within the Executive Office of the President (EOP). DOGE itself is also hard to define, since it can be used interchangably to mean: - The DOGE Temporary Organization/USDS entity within the White House - Staff that have been detailed to other agencies from DOGE specifically - Staff that are detailed from other agencies besides DOGE (see The Wreckers for what this means) who are taking direction from DOGE leadership - Staff hired at other agencies who are following DOGE’s aims. DOGE has attempted to use this ambiguity in legal cases (for instance, not reporting the activities Gavin Kliger and Jeremy Lewin on behalf of DOGE at the CFPB, because technically they worked for the GSA), and media can sometimes be very imprecise as well. So, when an article reports a new person at an agency is from DOGE, does that mean they report to the White House or were detailed from there? It can be hard to figure out. As a result, this page has a large amount of ambiguity within. Not only does it include people working for DOGE who might not be. It is also a muddled mix of various White House-affiliated staff, including people assigned directly to DOGE and people who work elsewhere in the White House.
Positions
| Position | Date | Person |
|---|---|---|
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EOP
1/23
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appointed Deputy Assistant to the President / Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel (supervisory) | |
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EOP
2/07
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appointed Director, Office of Management and Budget (supervisory) | |
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EOP
4/XX
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appointed Senior Advisor to the US Federal CIO, Office of Management and Budget «LinkedIn says he started there in April» |
Events
| Agency | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
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11/26
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Sighting:
A person who is likely Anthony Jancso posted a message in an AI challenge’s Discord saying “Helping the Dept. of Government Efficiency team find hardcore engineers. Send your GitHub/LinkedIn to @DOGE on X and your X handle to me in DM if you’re interested or know someone who is, could help get them into the pipeline.”
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| December 2024 | ||
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12/05
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Sighting:
Luke Farritor posts a recruitment message for DOGE in a Discord server for SpaceX interns stating that he is looking for volunteers to work at DOGE for 6 months.
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12/05
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Sighting:
A person who is likely Anthony Jancso posts recruitment messages for DOGE to a chat group for employees who had worked at Palantir
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12/06
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c.1/25
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Report:
Elon Musk makes a request for Baris Akis to be allowed to work for DOGE, even though he is a noncitizen and it wouldn’t normally be allowed. His request is denied.
(fuzz: date not given, but source published Feb 4th)
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1/06
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Directory:
Future DOGE recruit Riley Sennott’s public calendar lists a 15-minute DOGE recruiting meeting on this day.
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1/12
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Directory:
A New York Times report on DOGE from just before the Inauguration roughly describes the working arrangements for embedding some staff and detailing others as well as some early participants in the project
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1/16
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Report:
A report on conservative nonprofit groups doing research for DOGE notes that interviews are being conducted by Marc Andreessen and Shaun Maguire.
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1/17
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Sighting:
The public calendar of Riley Sennott mentions a 30-minute “SGE Ethics Discussion” meeting with other new DOGE members Derek Geissler, Brooks Morgan and Conor Fennessy included on the invitation. SGE stands for Special Government Employee.
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1/20
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1/20
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Official:
USDS is transferred out of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and established a standalone office in the Executive Office of the President.
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1/20
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1/21
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Disruption:
Nikhil Rajpal and Cole Killian start screening all preexisting USDS staff with short interviews, asking them their views of DOGE and to name who they think are underperformers that should be fired.
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1/24
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1/30
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Interagency:
Leland Dudek reaches out to Tiffany Flick, the Associate Director of Budget, Facilities and Security to inform her that Mike Russo and Scott Coulter would be onboarding for DOGE. He was a mid-level employee at the time who would not normally be coordinating inter-agency details like this.
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1/30
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Interagency:
Elon Musk reportedly visits GSA to meet with staff, several of whom are identified from their appearances in the internal directory for the agency. These include Steve Davis, Nicole Hollander, Thomas Shedd, Stephen Ehikian and Luke Farritor.
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| February 2025 | ||
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2/01
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Report:
Stephanie Holmes, the new head of HR at DOGE/USDS, is unable to answer questions from USDS staff about if the “Fork in the Road” retirement offer is legitimate.
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2/04
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Interagency:
One of AFGE’s members who works in the headquarters of the Department received an instruction from Department leadership that Elon Musk and his DOGE team would be accessing Department of Labor headquarters beginning around 4 p.m. on February 5, 2025. This member and other employees were told by Department leadership that when Mr. Musk and his team visit, they are to do whatever they ask, not to push back, not to ask questions. They were told to provide access to any DOL system they requested access to and not to worry about any security protocols; “just do it.”
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2/05
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Official:
According to later sworn testimony from Kendall Lindemann, this is the date that Steve Davis was designated as the decision-maker for DOGE as the senior-most political appointee until Amy Gleason is appointed as acting administratior of DOGE on 2025-02-18. Later news reports suggest Steve Davis continued to remain in charge.
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2/11
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Report:
Online security researchers post evidence that the DOGE website was developed and is hosted by Outburst Data, a company run and operated by Kyle Schutt.
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2/11
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2/13
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2/14
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Disruption:
Approximately 50 USDS staff are fired, with most of terminations focused on project managers and designers (removing approximately 1/3 of the USDS staff that predated DOGE).
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2/17
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2/18
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Report:
A custom AI chatbot based on xAI’s Grok model was discovered hosted on subdomain on the doge.gov site. It is linked to Christopher Stanley.
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2/19
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Official:
Trump issues an executive order EO 14218 “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” that instructs USDS to work with agencies to identify federal funding for immigrants and build up eligibility verification systems
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2/19
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Official:
Trump issues an executive order EO 14219 “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency Deregulatory Initiative” which requires agency heads to consult with DOGE teams on deregulatory efforts.
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2/21
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Interagency:
Ethan Shaotran and Nate Cavanaugh return to the IAF with Jacob Altik, who presented himself as representing the EOP. Altik confirms that DOGE plans to reduce IAF to what he considers the statutory minimum (a board and president, a location in DC, some grants) and DOGE will be conducting a Reduction in Force of all employees and terminating all grants. The demand approval from the board and threaten the board will be fired otherwise.
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2/24
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2/25
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Disruption:
21 of the remaining USDS staff who predated DOGE’s arrival publicly resign in protest of DOGE’s actions and publish an open letter on their resignation.
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2/25
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2/26
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2/26
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Official:
After days of sustained questioning about who the USDS Administrator is, the White House gives the name of Amy Gleason. It is unclear how long she had been in the role. She also conveniently is on a trip to Mexico during the announcement and is thus unreachable.
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2/27
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| March 2025 | ||
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c.3/26
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Directory:
In a later interview, Sahil Lavingia describes attending an “E-meeting” for DOGE that included Elon Musk but was essentially run by Steve Davis as well as two other Musk loyalists, Anthony Armstrong and Baris Akis. Baris Akis is notably not an employee of DOGE, since he is a foreign national and Musk was not granted a waiver to hire him.
(fuzz: date is given as “late March,” assuming a Wednesday bc others reported DOGE meetings during that time)
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3/05
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Directory:
The Intercept receives a list of 30 DOGE staffers working within the Executive Office of the President (EOP), including 4 lawyers previously not listed
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3/05
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Legal:
From this date, detailing arrangements for DOGE staff are between the target agency and other agencies that have now hired DOGE staff, according to a declaration made by DOGE in AFL-CIO et al vs. Department of Labor. For instance, Jordan Wick became an employee of the CFPB instead of DOGE.
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3/06
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Disruption:
The Engineering Director of USDS publicly resigns in protest, stating “this is not the mission I joined.”
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3/10
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3/10
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3/12
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Interagency:
Elon Musk visits the National Security Agency (NSA) to meet with its top administrator, General Timothy Haugh
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3/12
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3/18
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Interagency:
A senior policy strategist at the White House relays a “Stephen request” (meaning Stephen Miller) that “POTUS wants to see more action against universities.” Included in the initial coordination is GSA Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Commissioner Josh Gruenbaum. He becomes involved with figuring out grants from multiple agencies to cut for both University of Pennsylvania and San Jose State University, because they had allowed trans athletes to participate in sports. This is very much not his area of responsibility at the GSA, but he is on the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism which stripped funding from Columbia Univesity.
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3/18
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Official:
In an unsigned email response to the Intercept Media, DOGE claims it is within the Executive Office of the President and thus not subject to FOIA.
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3/18
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3/19
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Directory:
In another sworn statement, Amy Gleason declares “every member of an agency’s DOGE Team is an employee of the agency or a detailee to the agency.” She does later clarify that some are detailed from USDS but also claims they report to agency heads. She also reports that USDS has approximately 79 directly appointed employees and 10 employees detailed from other agencies.
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3/19
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Onboard:
DOGE has reportedly hired Adam Hoffman to work on national security related projects. It is unclear if he is working directly for DOGE or is formally hired at another agency.
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3/20
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Official:
President Trump issues an executive order demaning that agency heads must share all access to any unclassified datasets “related to the identification and elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse.” This is potentially in violation of the Privacy Act, so the order leaves it to individual agency staff to determine what sharing is allowed “to the maximum extent consistent with law.”
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3/20
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3/25
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3/26
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Directory:
Politico publishes a list of 10 lawyers that it says are linked to DOGE.
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3/27
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3/27
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3/27
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3/31
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| April 2025 | ||
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c.4/20
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Interagency:
In a meeting between HUD and DOGE, Jacob Altik says they are planning to use Christopher Sweet’s AI model analyzing regulations at HUD to review the entire Code of Federal regulations for regulations to review.
(fuzz: Date is unspecified, just sometime earlier in April)
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4/01
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Disruption:
Alarmed at the viral spread of DOGE’s false claim that 40% of all calls to Social Security are fraud, agency staff at SSA draft a public statement to correct the errors in the claim. They are specifically ordered by Katie Miller not to release it. She asserts “the number is 40 percent.”
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4/07
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Legal:
Kendall Lindemann testifies in a sworn deposition for AFL-CIO v. Dep’t of Labor (D.D.C.) as a representative of DOGE after saying she had conducted extensive conversations with Amy Gleason.
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4/13
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Interagency:
Adam Martinez responds in the affirmative to an email (contents redacted in court filings) requesting items/access for unspecified people to conduct the RIF. Several DOGE staffers (Ashley Boizelle and Steve Davis as well as Gavin Kliger and Jeremy Lewin) are also cc’ed on the message
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4/16
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Directory:
Three DOGE staffers – Marko Elez, Edward Coristine and Joe Gebbia – are reported to be working with staff from DHS, the State Department and USCIS on implementing an application process for a $5 Million “Gold Card” visa. It is unclear what agencies they are working for and how this partnership has been structured.
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4/18
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4/21
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Official:
OMB issues a new memo mandating that agencies must collect daily occupancy data on all workers by May 4th. To support this effort, GSA unveils a website outlining methods to track federal workers, including mandatory daily surveys, monitoring badge usage or even video surveillance.
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4/29
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Interagency:
Nate Cavanaugh sends an email to the two remaining members of the CPB board requesting a meeting. He describes a DOGE team at GSA and cc’s several other members of DOGE
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| May 2025 | ||
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5/01
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Interagency:
A glimpse of Luke Farritor’s visible calendar in a Fox News DOGE profile includes a “connect” with OMB about the National Science Foundation
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5/14
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5/19
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Interagency:
A glimpse of Luke Farritor’s visible calendar in a Fox News DOGE profile includes a quick sync with a finance department deputy at the agency and a DOGE liasion.
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5/20
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Disruption:
In a post on its X account, DOGE reports that it is working to review surveys conducted by the Census Bureau and claims to have already eliminated 5 surveys that include questions about alcohol consumption and internet usage.
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5/23
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5/28
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5/29
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Offboard:
In the wake of Elon Musk’s departure, Steve Davis, Katie Miller and James Burnham reportedly also left DOGE. Davis had been widely described as running the day-to-day operations of DOGE, and it’s unclear who will take that over.
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5/XX
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| June 2025 | ||
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c.6/05
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Disruption:
Concerned by people questioning his continued authority, Steve Davis reportedly taps Anthony Armstrong, Josh Gruenbaum and Stephen Ehikian to assess the loyalty of DOGE staffers and assert they are the leadership of DOGE now, acting under the authority of JD Vance and Susie Wiles in the White House. This is a bluff, and staffers in the White House counter that their authority is only within GSA itself.
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c.6/05
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Disruption:
Concerned by Steve Davis’ attempts to stay involved with DOGE despite no longer being employed by the agency and instructions to not interact with him, DOGE staffers Yinon Weiss, Sam Corcos, Ryan Shea, and Adam Blake privately questioned Davis about his involvement. They also reportedly contacted DOGE general counsel Austin Raynor about the legality of his continued involvement.
(fuzz: date is not given in article, unclear if at meeting or afterwards)
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6/02
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Official:
In the budget for next year, the White House requests $45 million total for DOGE, forecasting 150 employees would work for the agency. From this amount, it allocates $10 million for a “software modernization initiative,” with $35 million being provided to DOGE through reimbursement from agencies where DOGE staff will be embedded.
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6/04
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Official:
Testifying to Congress, Russell Vought says the White House is in “the midst of … establishing the leadership on an ongoing basis.” But he also says more DOGE staff will be embedded directly in agencies to report to leadership there. Amy Gleason is not mentioned.
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6/04
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Official:
In an appendix for next year’s budget request, the White Houre reports that approximately 89 staffers have worked for DOGE this fiscal year, and this number includes direct employees as well as staff on reimburable details. It’s unclear if this count includes remaining members of the USDS, but that seems likely.
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6/05
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6/06
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Report:
Despite the departure of Elon Musk and several key leaders below him, DOGE is actively recruiting for new hires, promising pay of up to $195,200 (the maximum for a GS-15) and a two year excepted term. DOGE is reportedly hiring for both the USDS and the DOGE Temporary Organizations that embed in other agencies.
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6/06
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Legal:
In a 6-3 ruling on an emergency application, the Supreme Court rejected an injunction that prevented DOGE from accessing Social Security data. In a setback for privacy advocates, this will allow for SSA to share data with DOGE and other agencies, while the case about the legality of that proceeds.
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6/06
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Legal:
In a 6-3 ruling on an emergency application, the US Supreme Court overturned rulings from lower courts that DOGE would have to comply immediately with records requests from CREW in their lawsuit. This rejection does not terminate the case, but it allows for an indefinite pause as cases are being considered.
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6/07
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Disruption:
Steve Davis removed DOGE staffers that he considered disloyal from shared Signal chats that DOGE had continued to use for coordination. He also used his influence at GSA to have Ryan Shea removed from his position. Other Davis targets – Yinon Weiss, Sam Corcos and Adam Blake – were able to remain at their posts but were shut out from DOGE communications
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6/10
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Report:
Despite having left government service, Elon Musk, Steve Davis and Katie Miller reportedly tell top DOGE staff at a meeting that Musk continues to back their work and they should continue to stay the course.
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6/XX
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Official:
The White House Presidential Personnel Office contacts DOGE leads across the government to inform them that Steve Davis is no longer an employee of DOGE and they should cease all contact with him.
(fuzz: Not named, but linking to Trent Morse, since this is his office.)
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6/XX
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Report:
After several DOGE staffers expressed concerns that he should not have access to government information or continue to direct DOGE staff, Steve Davis reportedly pushes for their firing, calling it an attempted coup. Sam Corcos is named as one DOGE staffer who was given the silent treatment by Davis and allies.
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| July 2025 | ||
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7/01
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Action:
DOGE gives a presentation of a “DOGE AI Deregulation Decision Tool” that will use AI to target roughly 50% of federal regulations for elimination, on the argument that they aren’t meeting statutory requirements. The goal is to slash these regulations by January 20, 2026. In their presentation, DOGE claims the tool has already made determinations on 1083 decisions at HUD (using Christopher Sweet’s work) and has also been used for 100% of deregulatory actions at the CFPB. It also states that DOGE lawyers James Burnham, Austin Raynor, Jacob Altik and Ashley Boizelle have vetted and endorsed the tool.
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7/08
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Report:
The Wall Street Journal reports that Steve Davis continues to exert control over DOGE via informal communications, despite having departed the agency after Musk left.
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7/15
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Legal:
In a setback for the Trump administration, an appeals court rules in CREW v. DOGE that the agency must comply with records requests being made by CREW and that the official DOGE administrator Amy Gleason must be made available to testify. This came after CREW modified its initial request to exclude certain communications that the Supreme Court had ruled should be exempted. Those changes were enough to satisfy the appeals court.
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7/30
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Oversight:
Three Democratic senators introduce the “Pick Up After Your DOGE Act”, which would task the GAO with auditing what systems DOGE has accessed across the government. The bill will not pass, but it could be a preview of oversight measures that could happen with a change of control in Congress.
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Questions
- What does it mean in a recent court case filing that staff were detailed to a specific agency and also to USDS?
In a recent court declaration from the government, there was this type of phrasing: “Luke Farritor is an employee of the General Services Administration (GSA) and has been detailed to HHS… Mr. Farritor is also detailed to USDS from GSA.” What does that mean? Were they then detailed out from USDS instead of their home agency?