Michael Cole
Positions
Appointed:
2/09/25-3/17/25 Senior Advisor on Government Efficiency ES, $170,000 «LinkedIn profile reports August departure»
Promotion:
3/17/25-8/XX/25 promoted to Senior Team Leader on Government Efficiency ES, $170,000 «Converted to SES non-career»
Offboarding:
Left govt 8/XX/25 (self-reported)
Appointed:
2/09/25-3/17/25 Senior Advisor on Government Efficiency ES, $170,000 «LinkedIn profile reports August departure»
Promotion:
3/17/25-8/XX/25 promoted to Senior Team Leader on Government Efficiency ES, $170,000 «Converted to SES non-career»
Offboarding:
Left govt 8/XX/25 (self-reported)
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | Michael Cole OGE-278 disclosure Document Cloud, 6/10/25 |
| Source: | FOIA response from USDA about DOGE staff at the agency Document Cloud, 3/17/26 |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Michael Cole LinkedIn, |
| Source: | FOIA response from USDA about DOGE staff at the agency Document Cloud, 3/17/26 |
Events
2/06/25
| Person: | Aram Moghaddassi, Brian Bjelde, Emily Bryant, Jim Hickey, Katrine Trampe, Michael Cole, Michael Grimes, Michael Mirski, Riley Sennott, Scott Coulter, Scott Langmack, Stephen Ehikian, Tarak Makecha, Tom Krause |
| Source: | FOIA response by GSA for visitor logs in 2025 Document Cloud, 4/10/26 |
| Agency: | Commerce, DOGE, DOI, DOL, GSA, HUD, NASA, OPM, Treas., USDA |
2/09/25
Appointed:
Michael Cole starts as Senior Advisor on Government Efficiency at USDA.
Appointed:
Michael Cole starts as Senior Advisor on Government Efficiency at USDA.
| Appointed: | Michael Cole 2/09/25-3/17/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor on Government Efficiency, Office of the Secretary of Agriculture |
| Salary: | $170,000 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | Michael Cole OGE-278 disclosure Document Cloud, 6/10/25 |
| Source: | FOIA response from USDA about DOGE staff at the agency Document Cloud, 3/17/26 |
| Source: | LinkedIn profile for Michael Cole LinkedIn, |
| Note: | LinkedIn profile reports August departure |
c.2/09/25
:
Michael Cole is granted basic access to 2 systems at USDA.
:
Michael Cole is granted basic access to 2 systems at USDA.
| System Access: | NFC: National Finance Center Mainframe |
| : | read, c.2/09/25 Michael Cole |
| Note: | The National Finance Center is a shared-service provider operated by the USDA that handles payroll for 590,000+ Federal employees across multiple agencies. FOIA requests suggest that DOGE already had access to the NFC mainframe by mid-March for at least two people. |
| DOGE Project: | Anti-Personnel |
| System Access: | LincPass: USDA LincPass Program |
| : | read, c.2/09/25 Michael Cole |
| Note: | The name of the system used to grant access to USDA facilities and information systems. |
| DOGE Project: | Impunity, Anti-Personnel |
2/20/25
Official Action:
In emails with USDA staff to identify climate-related terms to look for and cancel in grants, Gavin Kliger also alludes to DOGE developing LLM models that would analyze grant descriptions in response to a USDA staffer suggestion to use AI more.
Official Action:
In emails with USDA staff to identify climate-related terms to look for and cancel in grants, Gavin Kliger also alludes to DOGE developing LLM models that would analyze grant descriptions in response to a USDA staffer suggestion to use AI more.
| Person: | Gavin Kliger, Michael Cole |
| Source: | The Sustainability Institute v. Trump, doc 67-2 Court Document, 4/17/25 |
| Agency: | USDA |
| DOGE Project: | IT Modernization, Spending |
3/17/25
Promotion:
Michael Cole promoted to Senior Team Leader on Government Efficiency at USDA
Promotion:
Michael Cole promoted to Senior Team Leader on Government Efficiency at USDA
| Promotion: | Michael Cole 3/17/25-8/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Team Leader on Government Efficiency, Immediate Office of the Secretary |
| Salary: | $170,000 |
| Source: | FOIA response from USDA about DOGE staff at the agency Document Cloud, 3/17/26 |
| Note: | Converted to SES non-career |
4/10/25
Identification:
In a response to a FOIA request from American Oversight, the USDA returns a list of known DOGE members at the agency at the time.
Identification:
In a response to a FOIA request from American Oversight, the USDA returns a list of known DOGE members at the agency at the time.
| Person: | Daniel Abrahamson, Gavin Kliger, Jeremy Lichtman, Jordan Wick, Michael Cole, Samuel Berry, Timothy Ronan |
| Source: | USDA Records Concerning DOGE Teams at the Agency Document Cloud, 7/16/25 |
| Agency: | USDA |
8/XX/25
Offboarding:
Michael Cole leaves role as Senior Team Leader on Government Efficiency at USDA (exits govt. service)
Offboarding:
Michael Cole leaves role as Senior Team Leader on Government Efficiency at USDA (exits govt. service)
| Promotion: | Michael Cole 3/17/25-8/XX/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Team Leader on Government Efficiency, Immediate Office of the Secretary |
| Salary: | $170,000 |
| Source: | FOIA response from USDA about DOGE staff at the agency Document Cloud, 3/17/26 |
| Note: | Converted to SES non-career |