Conor Fennessy

Analyst, age 32
There aren’t many public details about Conor Fennessy, except that he apparently has a background in finance. Whatever his story, he joined up early with DOGE, starting as a part-time consultant at the Department of Education before heading over to HHS and then the Department of the Interior. His main specialization seems to be reviewing grants for cancellation if they match certain verboten topics like climate change or “DEI.”

Positions

Appointed:
1/31/25 [as ED-02] Senior Advisor GS-15/6, $195,200
Source: Onboarding Materials for "Employee 2" at the Department of Education Document Cloud, 4/07/25
Detailed To:
2/20/25 detailed from Ed.
Internal Transfer:
3/03/25 internal xfer
Source: AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 80-5 Court Document, 4/18/25
Source: AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 73-2 Court Document, 3/29/25
Detailed To:
5/01/25? likely detailed from Ed. «Guessed because created a spreadsheet at DOI on grant cancellations around 5/07»
Source: Trump Administration Is Said to Target Park Service Grants The New York Times, 5/07/25
Detailed To:
5/15/25 detailed from Ed. NTE 9/12/25
Source: USDA Records Reflecting DOGE Economy Act Funding Transfers Document Cloud, 8/22/25
Detailed To:
date unknown likely detailed from Ed. Senior Advisor «identified by agency FOIA as having been at the agency, guessing detailed»
Source: SBA Response to American Oversight FOIA Request Document Cloud, 7/15/25

Events

1/17/25
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.
1/31/25
Appointed:
Conor Fennessy starts as Senior Advisor at Ed..
Appointed: Conor Fennessy 1/31/25
Position Title: Senior Advisor, Office of the Secretary
Salary: $195,200
Source: Onboarding Materials for "Employee 2" at the Department of Education Document Cloud, 4/07/25
2/01/25
Interagency Coordination:
Ethan Shaotran at GSA hosts Brooks Morgan and Conor Fennessy from Education in a Saturday co-working session. It’s unclear if they are there to work together or they are simply interested in using DOGE’s space in the GSA to work.
2/03/25
:
Conor Fennessy is granted basic access to CALM at CMS.
System Access: CALM: CMS Acquisition Lifecycle Management System
: read, 2/03/25-4/18/25 Conor Fennessy
Note: System for tracking CMS acquisitions, contracts, milestones and audits.
DOGE Project: Spending
System Access:
Multiple DOGE staff (Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley, Conor Fennessy and Jeremy Lewin) at CMS are granted read-only access to the CMS Acquisition Lifestye Management System (CALM) which tracks CMS aquisitions and contracts.
Person: Conor Fennessy, Jeremy Lewin, Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley
Source: AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 73-2 Court Document, 3/29/25
Agency: CMS
DOGE Project: Spending
c.2/04/25
Disruption:
The head of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) meets with multiple DOGE personnel with her main point of contact being Conor Fennessy. She describes the interactions with DOGE as chaotic and unclear, with many of their requests being filtered down thorugh multiple layers of leadership.
2/20/25
Detailed To:
Conor Fennessy detailed from Ed. to HHS
Ed. Detailed To: HHS Conor Fennessy 2/20/25
Source: AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 80-5 Court Document, 4/18/25
2/28/25
:
Conor Fennessy is granted basic access to 3 systems at HHS.
System Access: Grant Solutions
: read, 2/28/25 Conor Fennessy
Note: A shared-service provider tool for federal agencies to track grants across their entire lifecycles
DOGE Project: Spending
System Access: Grants.gov
: read, 2/28/25 Conor Fennessy
Note: A system run and administered by HHS that is used at 18+ agencies for publishing grants, finding recipients and delivering funds
DOGE Project: Spending
System Access: HCAS: HHS Consolidated Acquisition System
: read, 2/28/25-4/18/25 Conor Fennessy
Note: This appears to be a system used at HHS for tracking acquisition and procurement efforts across the agency.
DOGE Project: Spending
:
Conor Fennessy is granted basic access to 2 systems at NIH.
System Access: EBS: Oracle E-Business Suite
: read, 2/28/25-4/18/25 Conor Fennessy
Note: Oracle E-Business Suite is a comprehensive suite of applications for finance, order management, logistics, procurement, projects, manufacturing, asset lifecycle, and human capital management.
DOGE Project: Spending
System Access: PRISM: Procurement Request Information System Management
: read, 2/28/25 Conor Fennessy
Note: System for tracking procurement and contracting
DOGE Project: Spending
3/03/25
3/07/25
:
Conor Fennessy is granted basic access to FBIS at HHS.
System Access: FBIS: Financial Business Intelligence System
: read, 3/07/25-4/18/25 Conor Fennessy
Note: A system for tracking business operations at HHS
DOGE Project: Spending
3/29/25
Identification:
In a court declaration in AFL-CIO vs. DOL, counsel for the plaintiffs Alexa Milton provides the names of two DOGE staffers at HHS who were not included in the government’s list of staffers provided as part of legal discovery.
Person: Conor Fennessy, Jeremy Lewin
Source: AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 73-4 Court Document, 3/29/25
Agency: HHS
4/18/25
Access Revoked:
Conor Fennessy has basic access revoked for CALM at CMS.
System Access: CALM: CMS Acquisition Lifecycle Management System
: read, 2/03/25-4/18/25 Conor Fennessy
Note: System for tracking CMS acquisitions, contracts, milestones and audits.
DOGE Project: Spending
Access Revoked:
Conor Fennessy has basic access revoked for 2 systems at HHS.
System Access: HCAS: HHS Consolidated Acquisition System
: read, 2/28/25-4/18/25 Conor Fennessy
Note: This appears to be a system used at HHS for tracking acquisition and procurement efforts across the agency.
DOGE Project: Spending
System Access: FBIS: Financial Business Intelligence System
: read, 3/07/25-4/18/25 Conor Fennessy
Note: A system for tracking business operations at HHS
DOGE Project: Spending
Access Revoked:
Conor Fennessy has basic access revoked for EBS at NIH.
System Access: EBS: Oracle E-Business Suite
: read, 2/28/25-4/18/25 Conor Fennessy
Note: Oracle E-Business Suite is a comprehensive suite of applications for finance, order management, logistics, procurement, projects, manufacturing, asset lifecycle, and human capital management.
DOGE Project: Spending
5/01/25?
Detailed To:
Conor Fennessy detailed from Ed. to DOI
Ed.? Detailed To: DOI Conor Fennessy 5/01/25?
Source: Trump Administration Is Said to Target Park Service Grants The New York Times, 5/07/25
Note: Guessed because created a spreadsheet at DOI on grant cancellations around 5/07
5/07/25
Disruption:
A spreadsheet created by Conor Fennessy outlines a reported $26 million in grant reductions for programs in the National Parks, including those identified as “DEI” or studying climate change. It also axes a popular Scientists in Parks program, that provides educational opportunities for early-career scientists and students. A $400K project to make a park accessible for children with disabilities was also targeted because it was “DEI.”
Person: Conor Fennessy
Source: Trump Administration Is Said to Target Park Service Grants The New York Times, 5/07/25
Agency: DOI
DOGE Project: Anti-DEI, Spending
5/15/25
Detailed To:
Conor Fennessy detailed from Ed. to USDA
Ed. Detailed To: USDA Conor Fennessy 5/15/25
Source: USDA Records Reflecting DOGE Economy Act Funding Transfers Document Cloud, 8/22/25
5/16/25
Identification:
In a response to a FOIA request made by American Oversight, SBA provides a list of all people who have been identified as communicating on agency head Kelly Loefler’s behalf. It includes a number of people known to be DOGE and others with the title Senior Advisor who might also be doge.gov