DOGE Track

Michael Grimes

Executive, age 58
Tech Industry Links: Twitter
Exited govt: 2/XX/26 (self-reported)
Michael Grimes is one of the two members of DOGE who came to the agency from Morgan Stanley, the investment bank that coordinated Musk’s takeover of Twitter. At Commerce, he has kept a relatively low profile, but there were some reports of him subjecting staff in the CHIPS for America program to DOGE-style interviews.

Positions

Appointed:
2/27/25-5/XX/25 Senior Advisor $167,603
Promotion:
3/XX/25-2/XX/26 promoted to Executive Director, US Investment Accelerator
Offboarding:
Left govt 2/XX/26 (self-reported)
Source: Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26
Source: Michael Grimes OGE-278 disclosure Document Cloud, 6/10/25
Source: LinkedIn profile for Michael Grimes LinkedIn, 
Source: LinkedIn profile for Michael Grimes LinkedIn, 

Events

2/06/25
Interagency Coordination:
A large contingent of DOGE staff from multiple agencies meet at GSA HQ. It is unclear if they are representing their specific agencies or if this is a DOGE all-hands gathering. It is also unclear how many DOGE staffers in GSA are in attendance.
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
2/27/25
Appointed:
Michael Grimes starts as Senior Advisor at Commerce.
Appointed: Michael Grimes 2/27/25-5/XX/25
Position Title: Senior Advisor
Salary: $167,603
Source: Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26
Source: Michael Grimes OGE-278 disclosure Document Cloud, 6/10/25
Source: LinkedIn profile for Michael Grimes LinkedIn, 
3/28/25
Sighting:
Michael Grimes conducts DOGE-style interviews with each member of the staff in the Chips Program Office. This group administers grants following the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (signed by Biden) to encourage semiconductor manufacturing in the US.
Person: Michael Grimes
Source: Former Wall Street rainmaker leads purge of US chips subsidies agency The Financial Times, 3/06/25
Agency: Commerce
DOGE Project: Anti-Personnel
3/XX/25
Promotion:
Michael Grimes promoted to Executive Director, US Investment Accelerator at Commerce
Promotion: Michael Grimes 3/XX/25-2/XX/26
Position Title: Executive Director, US Investment Accelerator
Source: LinkedIn profile for Michael Grimes LinkedIn, 
2/XX/26
Offboarding:
Michael Grimes leaves role as Executive Director, US Investment Accelerator at Commerce (exits govt. service)
Promotion: Michael Grimes 3/XX/25-2/XX/26
Position Title: Executive Director, US Investment Accelerator
Source: LinkedIn profile for Michael Grimes LinkedIn,