Jacob Altik
Exited govt: 6/27/25 (verified)
Jacob Altik is a 2021 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. Prior to joining DOGE, he clerked for DC Circuit Appeals Judge Neomi Rao, who was a protege of Russell Vought in the first Trump administration. As a lawyer, he is often responsible for backing up DOGE’s actions with legal threats, and there are several reported cases of him attempting to browbeat independent agencies into compliance with administration policy. He has also been selected to be a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch in the summer of 2025, so he left DOGE by the end of June 2025.
Positions
Appointed:
1/24/25-6/XX/25 [as OPM-16] Senior Advisor to the Director excepted, $195,200 «Start date guessed from system access. No longer in govt on 6/27»
Offboarding:
Left govt 6/27/25 (verified)
Appointed:
1/24/25-6/XX/25 [as OPM-16] Senior Advisor to the Director excepted, $195,200 «Start date guessed from system access. No longer in govt on 6/27»
Offboarding:
Left govt 6/27/25 (verified)
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | OPM New Hires Directory Document Cloud, 5/02/25 |
Detailed To:
Offboarding:
Left govt 6/27/25 (verified)
Detailed To:
Offboarding:
Left govt 6/27/25 (verified)
| Source: | AFGE, AFL-CIO v. OPM, doc 211-5 Court Document, 4/15/26 |
| 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:
Offboarding:
Left govt 6/27/25 (verified)
Detailed To:
Offboarding:
Left govt 6/27/25 (verified)
| Source: | Brehm v. Marocco, doc 7-3 Court Document, 3/06/25 |
| Source: | FOIA response from the FCC Frequency Forward, 8/25/25 |
Events
1/24/25
Appointed:
Jacob Altik starts as Senior Advisor to the Director at OPM.
Appointed:
Jacob Altik starts as Senior Advisor to the Director at OPM.
| Appointed: | Jacob Altik 1/24/25-6/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor to the Director, Office of the Director 2025-06-27 |
| Salary: | $195,200 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | OPM New Hires Directory Document Cloud, 5/02/25 |
| Note: | Start date guessed from system access. No longer in govt on 6/27 |
Onboarding:
Jacob Altik and Nikhil Rajpal start working at OPM
Onboarding:
Jacob Altik and Nikhil Rajpal start working at OPM
| Person: | Jacob Altik, Nikhil Rajpal |
| Source: | Here Are the Job Titles and Salary Ranges of Some DOGE Staffers Bloomberg, 5/02/25 |
| Agency: | OPM |
1/27/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| OPM Detailed To: DOGE Jacob Altik 1/27/25-6/27/25 | |
| Source: | AFGE, AFL-CIO v. OPM, doc 211-5 Court Document, 4/15/26 |
| Source: | The Authors Guild/American Council of Learned Societies v. National Endowment for the Humanities, doc 122-2 Court Document, 2/17/26 |
| Note: | End date might just be end of detail |
1/31/25
:
:
| System Access: | USA Performance |
| : | unknown, 1/31/25 Jacob Altik |
| Note: | System tracking job performance of federal employees |
| DOGE Project: | Anti-Personnel |
2/06/25
Legal:
DOGE member and lawyer Jacob Altik joins the legal defense team for the administration in Jane Does 1-2 v. Office of Personnel Management (D.D.C.) without revealing he is an DOGE staffer who is working for OPM.
Legal:
DOGE member and lawyer Jacob Altik joins the legal defense team for the administration in Jane Does 1-2 v. Office of Personnel Management (D.D.C.) without revealing he is an DOGE staffer who is working for OPM.
| Person: | Jacob Altik |
| Source: | Lawyer linked to DOGE is defending OPM mass email system lawsuit FedScoop, 3/17/25 |
| Agency: | OPM |
2/12/25
Identification:
In a FOIA request, Democracy Forward names DOGE staff known to be at OPM at that time.
Identification:
In a FOIA request, Democracy Forward names DOGE staff known to be at OPM at that time.
| Person: | Akash Bobba, Amanda Scales, Anthony Armstrong, Austin Raynor, Brian Bjelde, Bryanne-Michelle Mlodzianowski, Charles Ezell, Christina Hanna, Edward Coristine, Gavin Kliger, Greg Hogan, Jacob Altik, Joanna Wischer, Justin Monroe, Nikhil Rajpal, Noah Peters, Riccardo Biasini, Stephanie Holmes, Stephen Duarte |
| Source: | Complaint for Injunctive Relief Democracy Forward, 3/03/25 |
| Agency: | OPM |
2/21/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| OPM? Detailed To: USADF Jacob Altik 2/21/25 | |
| Source: | Brehm v. Marocco, doc 7-3 Court Document, 3/06/25 |
| Note: | info in govt legal declation |
Disruption:
Jacob Altik demands waivers to exempt DOGE staff from background checks. He also threatens to fire the USADF board if DOGE’s demands are not met.
Disruption:
Jacob Altik demands waivers to exempt DOGE staff from background checks. He also threatens to fire the USADF board if DOGE’s demands are not met.
| Person: | Jacob Altik |
| Source: | Brehm v. Marocco, doc 7-3 Court Document, 3/06/25 |
| Agency: | USADF |
| DOGE Project: | Elimination, Impunity |
Sighting:
Ethan Shaotran, Jacob Altik, and Nate Cavanaugh arrive at the agency and demand that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) must be signed for their detail assignment.
Sighting:
Ethan Shaotran, Jacob Altik, and Nate Cavanaugh arrive at the agency and demand that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) must be signed for their detail assignment.
| Person: | Ethan Shaotran, Jacob Altik, Nate Cavanaugh |
| Source: | Brehm v. Marocco, doc 7-3 Court Document, 3/06/25 |
| Agency: | USADF |
Interagency Coordination:
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.
Interagency Coordination:
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.
| Person: | Ethan Shaotran, Jacob Altik, Nate Cavanaugh |
| Source: | Aviel v. Gor, doc 35-2 Court Document, 4/18/25 |
| Agency: | DOGE, GSA, IAF |
| DOGE Project: | Elimination, Anti-Personnel, Spending |
System Access:
Nate Cavanaugh and Jacob Altik then demanded immediate access to USADF systems including financial records and payment and human resources systems. They were told they had to go through standard clearance process.
System Access:
Nate Cavanaugh and Jacob Altik then demanded immediate access to USADF systems including financial records and payment and human resources systems. They were told they had to go through standard clearance process.
| Person: | Jacob Altik, Nate Cavanaugh |
| Source: | Brehm v. Marocco, doc 7-3 Court Document, 3/06/25 |
| Agency: | USADF |
| DOGE Project: | Elimination, Spending |
Disruption:
Once the MOU is signed, DOGE staff reveal their real purpose is to conduct a massive reduction in agency staff and scope and demand they must file a RIF plan by February 24th.
Disruption:
Once the MOU is signed, DOGE staff reveal their real purpose is to conduct a massive reduction in agency staff and scope and demand they must file a RIF plan by February 24th.
| Person: | Ethan Shaotran, Jacob Altik, Nate Cavanaugh |
| Source: | Brehm v. Marocco, doc 7-3 Court Document, 3/06/25 |
| Agency: | USADF |
| DOGE Project: | Elimination |
2/24/25
Interagency Coordination:
USIP leadership meets with DOGE staffers James Burnham, Jacob Altik and Nate Cavanaugh to explain the history and legal status of the small independent executive branch agency and why it should not need to respond to DOGE’s demands.
Interagency Coordination:
USIP leadership meets with DOGE staffers James Burnham, Jacob Altik and Nate Cavanaugh to explain the history and legal status of the small independent executive branch agency and why it should not need to respond to DOGE’s demands.
| Person: | Jacob Altik, James Burnham, Nate Cavanaugh |
| Source: | USIP v. Jackson, doc 1-2 Court Document, 3/18/25 |
| Agency: | USIP |
Report:
The DOGE delegation counters to USIP leadership with their belief that minimum statutory size of agency is “a Board of Directors and a president, reports to Congress and the Executive branch, and expenses incident to the Board of Directors” and says they will regroup and return.
Report:
The DOGE delegation counters to USIP leadership with their belief that minimum statutory size of agency is “a Board of Directors and a president, reports to Congress and the Executive branch, and expenses incident to the Board of Directors” and says they will regroup and return.
| Person: | Jacob Altik, James Burnham, Nate Cavanaugh |
| Source: | USIP v. Jackson, doc 1-2 Court Document, 3/18/25 |
| Agency: | USIP |
| DOGE Project: | Elimination |
3/05/25
Disruption:
Jacob Altik and Ethan Shaotran are rebuffed by agency leadership when attempting to enter the agency headquarters.
Disruption:
Jacob Altik and Ethan Shaotran are rebuffed by agency leadership when attempting to enter the agency headquarters.
| Person: | Ethan Shaotran, Jacob Altik |
| Source: | Musk’s DOGE Goons in Tense Standoff Video Unmasked The Daily Beast, 3/07/25 |
| Agency: | USADF |
3/06/25
Disruption:
DOGE staff Jacob Altik and Ethan Shaotran return to the agency joined by Nate Cavanaugh and US marshals to force their way into the agency.
Disruption:
DOGE staff Jacob Altik and Ethan Shaotran return to the agency joined by Nate Cavanaugh and US marshals to force their way into the agency.
| Person: | Ethan Shaotran, Jacob Altik, Nate Cavanaugh |
| Source: | Musk’s DOGE Goons in Tense Standoff Video Unmasked The Daily Beast, 3/07/25 |
| Agency: | USADF |
3/09/25
Disruption:
After receiving inquiries from the DOGE staff, the head of USIP security emailed them information about the private security firm that manages access to the HQ building.
Disruption:
After receiving inquiries from the DOGE staff, the head of USIP security emailed them information about the private security firm that manages access to the HQ building.
| Person: | Jacob Altik, James Burnham, Nate Cavanaugh |
| Source: | USIP v. Jackson, doc 34-1 Court Document, 4/18/25 |
| Agency: | USIP |
3/13/25
Interagency Coordination:
Tarak Makecha, Joshua Fox, and Jacob Altik communicate with FCC staff about detailing arrangements from the OPM to the FCC (presumably for Tarak and Jacob)
Interagency Coordination:
Tarak Makecha, Joshua Fox, and Jacob Altik communicate with FCC staff about detailing arrangements from the OPM to the FCC (presumably for Tarak and Jacob)
| Person: | Jacob Altik, Joshua Fox, Tarak Makecha |
| Source: | FCC FOIA Production 2 for Frequency Forward Document Cloud, 12/16/25 |
| Agency: | DOGE, FCC |
3/14/25
Disruption:
DOGE members Kenneth Jackson, Jacob Altik and Nate Cavanaugh show up at USIP building with 2 other people who claim to be FBI agents. They are refused entry. The DOGE delegation attempts to present a document firing the USIP president.
Disruption:
DOGE members Kenneth Jackson, Jacob Altik and Nate Cavanaugh show up at USIP building with 2 other people who claim to be FBI agents. They are refused entry. The DOGE delegation attempts to present a document firing the USIP president.
| Person: | Jacob Altik, Kenneth Jackson, Nate Cavanaugh |
| Source: | DOGE plays hardball in U.S. Institute of Peace takeover The Washington Post, 3/18/25 |
| Agency: | USIP |
| DOGE Project: | Impunity |
3/17/25
Disruption:
DOGE members Kenneth Jackson, Jacob Altik and Nate Cavanaugh remove staff and president of the USIP with the help of Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, the FBI and D.C. police. Kenneth Jackson is named Acting President.
Disruption:
DOGE members Kenneth Jackson, Jacob Altik and Nate Cavanaugh remove staff and president of the USIP with the help of Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, the FBI and D.C. police. Kenneth Jackson is named Acting President.
| Person: | Jacob Altik, Kenneth Jackson, Nate Cavanaugh |
| Source: | USIP v. Jackson, doc 1-2 Court Document, 3/18/25 |
| Source: | DOGE plays hardball in U.S. Institute of Peace takeover The Washington Post, 3/18/25 |
| Agency: | USIP |
| DOGE Project: | Elimination |
3/18/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| DOGE Detailed To: FCC Jacob Altik 3/18/25 | |
| Salary: | Volunteer |
| Source: | FOIA response from the FCC Frequency Forward, 8/25/25 |
Legal:
A lawyer for the plaintiffs accuses the Department of Justice of deliberately misrepresenting Jacob Altik’s participation in the defense “perhaps to preserve the illusion that OPM’s counsel were ignorant of what OPM was doing with the Government-Wide Email System, or perhaps to obscure the role of DOGE and the White House in this case.”
Legal:
A lawyer for the plaintiffs accuses the Department of Justice of deliberately misrepresenting Jacob Altik’s participation in the defense “perhaps to preserve the illusion that OPM’s counsel were ignorant of what OPM was doing with the Government-Wide Email System, or perhaps to obscure the role of DOGE and the White House in this case.”
| Person: | Jacob Altik |
| Source: | Lawyer linked to DOGE is defending OPM mass email system lawsuit FedScoop, 3/17/25 |
| Agency: | OPM |
3/26/25
Identification:
Politico publishes a list of 10 lawyers that it says are linked to DOGE.
Identification:
Politico publishes a list of 10 lawyers that it says are linked to DOGE.
| Person: | Ashley Boizelle, Austin Raynor, Daniel Abrahamson, Jacob Altik, James Burnham, Jeremy Lewin, Joshua Fox, Joshua Hanley, Justin Aimonetti, Keenan Kmiec, Noah Peters |
| Source: | DOGE assembles a legal army Politico, 3/26/25 |
| Agency: | DOGE |
4/04/25
Sighting:
Tarak Makecha, Jordan Wick and Jacob Altik are listed in the public directory of FCC staff and listed as associated with the Office of the Chairman at the FCC.
Sighting:
Tarak Makecha, Jordan Wick and Jacob Altik are listed in the public directory of FCC staff and listed as associated with the Office of the Chairman at the FCC.
| Person: | Jacob Altik, Jordan Wick, Tarak Makecha |
| Source: | DOGE staffers are listed in the FCC directory The Verge, 4/04/25 |
| Agency: | FCC |
4/08/25
Interagency Coordination:
Jacob Altik and Ashley Boizelle meet in the FCC headquarters with the Chief of Staff Greg Watson to discuss the FCC’s progress on removing regulations.
Interagency Coordination:
Jacob Altik and Ashley Boizelle meet in the FCC headquarters with the Chief of Staff Greg Watson to discuss the FCC’s progress on removing regulations.
| Person: | Ashley Boizelle, Jacob Altik, Jordan Wick, Tarak Makecha |
| Source: | FCC FOIA Production 2 for Frequency Forward Document Cloud, 12/16/25 |
| Agency: | DOGE, FCC |
| DOGE Project: | Deregulation |
c.4/20/25
Interagency Coordination:
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.
Interagency Coordination:
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.
| Question: | Fuzz: Date is unspecified, just sometime earlier in April |
| Person: | Christopher Sweet, Jacob Altik |
| Source: | DOGE Put a College Student in Charge of Using AI to Rewrite Regulations Wired Magazine, 4/30/25 |
| Agency: | DOGE, HUD |
| DOGE Project: | Deregulation, IT Modernization |
6/24/25
Identification:
In a status report for AFGE, AFL-CIO v. OPM, the government reports that multiple DOGE staff at OPM have left the government by this date. Of course, their actual departure dates might be earlier, but it’s a direct acknowledgment of multiple staff departures in the preceding months.
Identification:
In a status report for AFGE, AFL-CIO v. OPM, the government reports that multiple DOGE staff at OPM have left the government by this date. Of course, their actual departure dates might be earlier, but it’s a direct acknowledgment of multiple staff departures in the preceding months.
| Person: | Anthony Armstrong, Bryanne-Michelle Mlodzianowski, Chris Young, Christina Hanna, Christopher Stanley, Jacob Altik, Justin Monroe, Stephen Duarte |
| Source: | AFGE, AFL-CIO v. OPM, doc 138 Court Document, 6/27/25 |
| Agency: | OPM |
6/27/25
Offboarding:
Offboarding:
| OPM Detailed To: DOGE Jacob Altik 1/27/25-6/27/25 | |
| Source: | AFGE, AFL-CIO v. OPM, doc 211-5 Court Document, 4/15/26 |
| Source: | The Authors Guild/American Council of Learned Societies v. National Endowment for the Humanities, doc 122-2 Court Document, 2/17/26 |
| Note: | End date might just be end of detail |
6/XX/25
Offboarding:
Jacob Altik leaves role as Senior Advisor to the Director at OPM
Offboarding:
Jacob Altik leaves role as Senior Advisor to the Director at OPM
| Appointed: | Jacob Altik 1/24/25-6/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor to the Director, Office of the Director 2025-06-27 |
| Salary: | $195,200 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | OPM New Hires Directory Document Cloud, 5/02/25 |
| Note: | Start date guessed from system access. No longer in govt on 6/27 |
7/01/25
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.
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.
| Person: | Ashley Boizelle, Austin Raynor, Christopher Sweet, Jacob Altik, James Burnham |
| Source: | DOGE builds AI tool to cut 50 percent of federal regulations The Washington Post, 7/26/25 |
| Agency: | CFPB, DOGE, HUD |
| DOGE Project: | Deregulation |