James Sullivan
A veteran of the first Trump Administration, James Sullivan might not have been considered DOGE before by any media organizations. But he was hired with the Senior Advisor title and on 3/28, he took over as the Chief of Staff at OPM from Amanda Scales. He also is one of the redacted identies in court filings from the OPM. So, I think he counts? James has mainly been involved in coordinating layoffs at various agencies from his position at OPM.
Positions
Appointed:
Promotion:
3/28/25 promoted to Chief of Staff ES-00
Appointed:
Promotion:
3/28/25 promoted to Chief of Staff ES-00
| Source: | Onboarding documentation at OPM for "Employee 8" Document Cloud, 4/23/25 |
| Source: | AFGE, AFL-CIO v. OPM, doc 97-3 Court Document, 5/16/25 |
Events
1/20/25
Appointed:
James Sullivan starts as Senior Advisor to the Director at OPM.
Appointed:
James Sullivan starts as Senior Advisor to the Director at OPM.
| Appointed: | James Sullivan 1/20/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor to the Director |
| Salary: | $195,200 |
| Source: | Onboarding documentation at OPM for "Employee 8" Document Cloud, 4/23/25 |
1/24/25
Interagency Coordination:
Representing OPM, James Sullivan coordinates in an email to Department of Energy officials on several DOGE-led initiatives. One messages states “as discussed over the phone, when you compile the list of 69 DEI employees placed on admin leave, please share with Amanda and myself.” Energy officials also send a list of 1394 probationary employees to Amanda Scales, all of whom will be fired.
Interagency Coordination:
Representing OPM, James Sullivan coordinates in an email to Department of Energy officials on several DOGE-led initiatives. One messages states “as discussed over the phone, when you compile the list of 69 DEI employees placed on admin leave, please share with Amanda and myself.” Energy officials also send a list of 1394 probationary employees to Amanda Scales, all of whom will be fired.
| Person: | Amanda Scales, James Sullivan |
| Source: | How the Energy Department got DOGE’d E&E News, 11/07/25 |
| Agency: | DOE, OPM |
| DOGE Project: | Anti-DEI, Anti-Personnel |
2/03/25
:
James Sullivan is granted elevated access to 2 systems at OPM.
:
James Sullivan is granted elevated access to 2 systems at OPM.
| System Access: | Databricks |
| : | admin, 2/03/25 James Sullivan |
| Note: | A hosted or self-hosted service that simplifies systems for processing big Data |
| System Access: | USA Staffing |
| : | admin, 2/03/25 James Sullivan |
| Note: | A platform for federal agencies to recruit and onboard employees. |
| DOGE Project: | Anti-Personnel |
3/28/25
Promotion:
James Sullivan promoted to Chief of Staff at OPM
Promotion:
James Sullivan promoted to Chief of Staff at OPM
| Promotion: | James Sullivan 3/28/25 |
| Position Title: | Chief of Staff, Office of the Director |
| Source: | AFGE, AFL-CIO v. OPM, doc 97-3 Court Document, 5/16/25 |
Action:
For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, Amanda Scales is replaced as the Chief of Staff at OPM by James Sullivan. Amanda changes to a Senior Advisor position at the agency.
Action:
For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, Amanda Scales is replaced as the Chief of Staff at OPM by James Sullivan. Amanda changes to a Senior Advisor position at the agency.
| Question: | Fuzz: Amanda Scales reports on her LinkedIn that she left DOGE in March, so this might have been the cause |
| Person: | Amanda Scales, James Sullivan |
| Source: | AFGE, AFL-CIO v. OPM, doc 97-3 Court Document, 5/16/25 |
| Agency: | OPM |
8/04/25
Identification:
In a report about DOGE’s continued work on OPM’s Online Retirement Application (ORA) continuing to move ahead, Politico identifies DOGE staff that are working on the project under Joe Gebbia.
Identification:
In a report about DOGE’s continued work on OPM’s Online Retirement Application (ORA) continuing to move ahead, Politico identifies DOGE staff that are working on the project under Joe Gebbia.
| Person: | Akash Bobba, Andrew Vilcsak, James Sullivan, Joe Gebbia, Yat Choi |
| Source: | This DOGE project is still full steam ahead Politico, 8/04/25 |
| Agency: | OPM |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization |