Brad Smith
A healthcare executive who served in the first administration, Brad Smith kept a relatively low profile running DOGE operations within HHS. There, he mainly was involved in organizing $67 billion in cuts and the large layoffs that eliminated 10,000 positions across the various agencies within HHS. He left HHS and DOGE about a week before Elon Musk’s departure, but he has apparently returned in August to work at the State Department.
Positions
Appointed:
1/20/25-6/11/25 Senior Advisor «identified as dual appointee at HHS and DOGE / resigned on 6/11 and returned to State Dept in August.»
Appointed:
1/20/25-6/11/25 Senior Advisor «identified as dual appointee at HHS and DOGE / resigned on 6/11 and returned to State Dept in August.»
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 82-3 Court Document, 4/29/25 |
| Source: | The Authors Guild/American Council of Learned Societies v. National Endowment for the Humanities, doc 122-2 Court Document, 2/17/26 |
Detailed To:
Converted to Permanent Position:
3/04/25-5/23/25 converted to permanent position Senior Advisor volunteer «resigned on 5/23 but returned to State dept in August»
Detailed To:
Converted to Permanent Position:
3/04/25-5/23/25 converted to permanent position Senior Advisor volunteer «resigned on 5/23 but returned to State dept in August»
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | Appointment Affidavit: Brad Smith at HHS Document Cloud, 3/18/25 |
Appointed:
c.8/12/25 «some sort of leadership over global health division»
Appointed:
c.8/12/25 «some sort of leadership over global health division»
| Source: | Former senior DOGE official returns to the Trump administration Semafor, 8/12/25 |
Events
12/06/24
Identification:
An article in the NYT identifies Brad Smith as the person effectively running DOGE at Mar-a-Lago during the project’s formation and speculates that DOGE may have an early focus on healthcare for this reason. It also names Steve Davis as a close collaborator.
Identification:
An article in the NYT identifies Brad Smith as the person effectively running DOGE at Mar-a-Lago during the project’s formation and speculates that DOGE may have an early focus on healthcare for this reason. It also names Steve Davis as a close collaborator.
| Person: | Brad Smith, Steve Davis |
| Source: | Musk Cost-Cutting Effort Is Being Guided by Health Entrepreneur The New York Times, 12/06/24 |
| Agency: | DOGE |
1/12/25
Identification:
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
Identification:
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
| Person: | Baris Akis, Brad Smith, James Burnham, Joanna Wischer, Marc Andreessen, Matt Luby, Rachel Riley, Shaun Maguire, Steve Davis, Vinay Hiremath |
| Source: | Inside Elon Musk’s Plan for DOGE to Slash Government Costs The New York Times, 1/12/25 |
| Agency: | DOGE |
1/20/25
Appointed:
Brad Smith starts as Senior Advisor at DOGE.
Appointed:
Brad Smith starts as Senior Advisor at DOGE.
| Appointed: | Brad Smith 1/20/25-6/11/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 82-3 Court Document, 4/29/25 |
| Source: | The Authors Guild/American Council of Learned Societies v. National Endowment for the Humanities, doc 122-2 Court Document, 2/17/26 |
| Note: | identified as dual appointee at HHS and DOGE / resigned on 6/11 and returned to State Dept in August. |
1/24/25
Identification:
A report from Business Insider names some of the DOGE staffers who were involved in transition activities and provides an early snapshot of who is in DOGE.
Identification:
A report from Business Insider names some of the DOGE staffers who were involved in transition activities and provides an early snapshot of who is in DOGE.
| Person: | Baris Akis, Brad Smith, James Burnham, Joanna Wischer, Katie Miller, Marc Andreessen, Rachel Riley, Shaun Maguire, Steve Davis |
| Source: | DOGE under Musk unites Trumpworld vets with tech industry giants Yahoo, 2/04/25 |
| Agency: | DOGE |
2/XX/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| DOGE Detailed To: HHS Brad Smith 2/XX/25-3/04/25 | |
| Note: | detail started before 2/13 |
3/04/25
Converted to Permanent Position:
Brad Smith converted to permanent position as Senior Advisor at HHS
Converted to Permanent Position:
Brad Smith converted to permanent position as Senior Advisor at HHS
| Converted to Permanent Position: | Brad Smith 3/04/25-5/23/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Salary: | Volunteer |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | Appointment Affidavit: Brad Smith at HHS Document Cloud, 3/18/25 |
| Note: | resigned on 5/23 but returned to State dept in August |
3/31/25
Report:
Politico reports that Brad Smith, who crafted the plan to layoff 10,000 staffers within HHS, is facing criticism from other DOGE staffers for attempting to shield CMS from the brunt of the layoffs. His aide, Rachel Riley is accused of being extraordinarily secretive with the plan.
Report:
Politico reports that Brad Smith, who crafted the plan to layoff 10,000 staffers within HHS, is facing criticism from other DOGE staffers for attempting to shield CMS from the brunt of the layoffs. His aide, Rachel Riley is accused of being extraordinarily secretive with the plan.
| Person: | Brad Smith, Rachel Riley |
| Source: | Internal fallout at HHS delays 10,000 firings Politico, 3/31/25 |
| Agency: | CMS, HHS |
| DOGE Project: | Anti-Personnel |
5/23/25
Offboarding:
Brad Smith leaves role as Senior Advisor at HHS
Offboarding:
Brad Smith leaves role as Senior Advisor at HHS
| Converted to Permanent Position: | Brad Smith 3/04/25-5/23/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Salary: | Volunteer |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | Appointment Affidavit: Brad Smith at HHS Document Cloud, 3/18/25 |
| Note: | resigned on 5/23 but returned to State dept in August |
6/11/25
Offboarding:
Brad Smith leaves role as Senior Advisor at DOGE
Offboarding:
Brad Smith leaves role as Senior Advisor at DOGE
| Appointed: | Brad Smith 1/20/25-6/11/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 82-3 Court Document, 4/29/25 |
| Source: | The Authors Guild/American Council of Learned Societies v. National Endowment for the Humanities, doc 122-2 Court Document, 2/17/26 |
| Note: | identified as dual appointee at HHS and DOGE / resigned on 6/11 and returned to State Dept in August. |
c.8/12/25
Appointed:
Brad Smith starts at State.
Appointed:
Brad Smith starts at State.
| Appointed: | Brad Smith c.8/12/25 |
| Source: | Former senior DOGE official returns to the Trump administration Semafor, 8/12/25 |
| Note: | some sort of leadership over global health division |
11/17/25
Official Action:
Acting in his new capacity as a global health advisor in the State Department, Brad Smith is reportedly pressuring African nations to sign memorandums of understanding which would grant the US access to their health data for the next 25 years in return for limited health aid from the US for the next five years. This is blasted by critics as extractive and an attempt by the US to bypass the World Health Organization’s normal role in monitoring for emerging pathogens.
Official Action:
Acting in his new capacity as a global health advisor in the State Department, Brad Smith is reportedly pressuring African nations to sign memorandums of understanding which would grant the US access to their health data for the next 25 years in return for limited health aid from the US for the next five years. This is blasted by critics as extractive and an attempt by the US to bypass the World Health Organization’s normal role in monitoring for emerging pathogens.
| Person: | Brad Smith |
| Source: | Former DOGE Official Driving US Bilateral Health Agreements With African Countries Health Policy Watch, 11/17/25 |
| Agency: | State |