Rachel Riley
Rachel Riley has been heavily involved in DOGE’s operations within HHS, where she has worked very closely with Brad Smith, and she has been granted access to a wide range of databases for tracking contracts and operations. Before DOGE, she worked for McKinsey and Associates in government policy in Atlanta, which would place her in good proximity to the CDC. In September, she pushed for a massive wave of firings at HHS that were eventually overruled, with Rachel herself apparently ousted by the end of October. However, it seems like is being placed over the office of naval research as a reward, despite her lack of experience with the navy.
Positions
Appointed:
1/27/25-10/30/25 Senior Advisor $167,603
Internal Transfer:
2/03/25-10/30/25 internal xfer
Internal Transfer:
2/24/25-10/30/25 internal xfer
Appointed:
1/27/25-10/30/25 Senior Advisor $167,603
Internal Transfer:
2/03/25-10/30/25 internal xfer
Internal Transfer:
2/24/25-10/30/25 internal xfer
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 80-5 Court Document, 4/18/25 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | DOGE holdover who pushed for deep cuts at HHS is headed to the Navy Politico, 10/30/25 |
| Source: | DOGE Is Inside the National Institutes of Health’s Finance System Wired Magazine, 2/24/25 |
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| Source: | How DOGE got into the National Science Foundation FedScoop, 4/22/25 |
Appointed:
10/30/25? Chief of Naval Research
Appointed:
10/30/25? Chief of Naval Research
| Source: | SCOOP: Trump Swaps Decorated Admiral With 33-Year-Old DOGEr The Bulwark, 10/30/25 |
Events
1/12/25
Identification:
A New York Times report on DOGE from just before the Inauguration roughly describes the working arrangements for embedding some staff and detailing others as well as some early participants in the project
Identification:
A New York Times report on DOGE from just before the Inauguration roughly describes the working arrangements for embedding some staff and detailing others as well as some early participants in the project
| Person: | Baris Akis, Brad Smith, James Burnham, Joanna Wischer, Marc Andreessen, Matt Luby, Rachel Riley, Shaun Maguire, Steve Davis, Vinay Hiremath |
| Source: | Inside Elon Musk’s Plan for DOGE to Slash Government Costs The New York Times, 1/12/25 |
| Agency: | DOGE |
1/24/25
Identification:
A report from Business Insider names some of the DOGE staffers who were involved in transition activities and provides an early snapshot of who is in DOGE.
Identification:
A report from Business Insider names some of the DOGE staffers who were involved in transition activities and provides an early snapshot of who is in DOGE.
| Person: | Baris Akis, Brad Smith, James Burnham, Joanna Wischer, Katie Miller, Marc Andreessen, Rachel Riley, Shaun Maguire, Steve Davis |
| Source: | DOGE under Musk unites Trumpworld vets with tech industry giants Yahoo, 2/04/25 |
| Agency: | DOGE |
1/27/25
Appointed:
Rachel Riley starts as Senior Advisor at HHS.
Appointed:
Rachel Riley starts as Senior Advisor at HHS.
| Appointed: | Rachel Riley 1/27/25-10/30/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Salary: | $167,603 |
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 80-5 Court Document, 4/18/25 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | DOGE holdover who pushed for deep cuts at HHS is headed to the Navy Politico, 10/30/25 |
2/03/25
:
:
| System Access: | CALM: CMS Acquisition Lifecycle Management System |
| : | read, 2/03/25 Rachel Riley |
| Note: | System for tracking CMS acquisitions, contracts, milestones and audits. |
| DOGE Project: | Spending |
:
:
| System Access: | EHCM: Enterprise Human Capital Management System |
| : | read, 2/03/25 Rachel Riley |
| Note: | This system is used at HHS for managing all aspects of human-capital related tasks, including staffing notes and performance plans. |
| DOGE Project: | Anti-Personnel |
:
:
| System Access: | HCAS: HHS Consolidated Acquisition System |
| : | admin, 2/03/25-4/18/25 Rachel Riley |
| Note: | This appears to be a system used at HHS for tracking acquisition and procurement efforts across the agency. |
| 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.
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 |
2/04/25
:
:
| System Access: | FBIS: Financial Business Intelligence System |
| : | read, 2/04/25 Rachel Riley |
| Note: | A system for tracking business operations at HHS |
| DOGE Project: | Spending |
2/06/25
:
:
| System Access: | BIIS: Business Intelligence Information System |
| : | read, 2/06/25 Rachel Riley |
| Note: | Used to track expenditures at HHS |
| DOGE Project: | Spending |
2/14/25
Action:
Rachel Riley conducts a “Planning Touch Base” meeting with senior leadership at CMS.
Action:
Rachel Riley conducts a “Planning Touch Base” meeting with senior leadership at CMS.
| Person: | Rachel Riley |
| Source: | Key Musk DOGE adviser meets with leaders of Medicare agency ABC News, 2/14/25 |
| Agency: | CMS |
2/20/25
:
:
| System Access: | Grant Solutions |
| : | read, 2/20/25 Rachel Riley |
| Note: | A shared-service provider tool for federal agencies to track grants across their entire lifecycles |
| DOGE Project: | Spending |
2/21/25
Interagency Coordination:
Interagency Coordination:
| Person: | Katrine Trampe, Rachel Riley, Tyler Hassen |
| Source: | Second Production of FOIA materials from DOI to Sierra Club The Sierra Club, 2/27/26 |
| Agency: | DOI, HHS |
| DOGE Project: | Immigration |
2/24/25
:
Rachel Riley is granted basic access to 2 systems at NIH.
:
Rachel Riley is granted basic access to 2 systems at NIH.
| System Access: | EBS: Oracle E-Business Suite |
| : | read, 2/24/25 Rachel Riley |
| 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, 2/24/25 Rachel Riley |
| Note: | System for tracking procurement and contracting |
| DOGE Project: | Spending |
System Access:
Three DOGE staffers – Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley and Clark Minor – are listed as part of the NIH Business System Department. This would grant them access to NIH’s central electronic business system, which includes finance, budget, procurement, a property-management system, and a grant-tracking system
System Access:
Three DOGE staffers – Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley and Clark Minor – are listed as part of the NIH Business System Department. This would grant them access to NIH’s central electronic business system, which includes finance, budget, procurement, a property-management system, and a grant-tracking system
| Person: | Clark Minor, Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley |
| Source: | DOGE Is Inside the National Institutes of Health’s Finance System Wired Magazine, 2/24/25 |
| Agency: | NIH |
| DOGE Project: | Anti-Personnel, Spending |
Identification:
Four DOGE staffers are identified with email addresses linked to NIH. These are Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley, Jeremy Lewin and Clark Minor.
Identification:
Four DOGE staffers are identified with email addresses linked to NIH. These are Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley, Jeremy Lewin and Clark Minor.
| Person: | Clark Minor, Jeremy Lewin, Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley |
| Source: | DOGE Is Inside the National Institutes of Health’s Finance System Wired Magazine, 2/24/25 |
| Agency: | NIH |
3/13/25
Identification:
As later reported in a declaration in AFL-CIO et al. vs. Department of Labor, HHS employee Mark Samburg finds DOGE staff at the agency listed in an online directory as Executive Engineers (and Rachel Riley as a Senior Advisor).
Identification:
As later reported in a declaration in AFL-CIO et al. vs. Department of Labor, HHS employee Mark Samburg finds DOGE staff at the agency listed in an online directory as Executive Engineers (and Rachel Riley as a Senior Advisor).
| Person: | Aram Moghaddassi, Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Marko Elez, Rachel Riley |
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 53-4 Court Document, 3/13/25 |
| Agency: | HHS |
3/31/25
Report:
Politico reports that Brad Smith, who crafted the plan to layoff 10,000 staffers within HHS, is facing criticism from other DOGE staffers for attempting to shield CMS from the brunt of the layoffs. His aide, Rachel Riley is accused of being extraordinarily secretive with the plan.
Report:
Politico reports that Brad Smith, who crafted the plan to layoff 10,000 staffers within HHS, is facing criticism from other DOGE staffers for attempting to shield CMS from the brunt of the layoffs. His aide, Rachel Riley is accused of being extraordinarily secretive with the plan.
| Person: | Brad Smith, Rachel Riley |
| Source: | Internal fallout at HHS delays 10,000 firings Politico, 3/31/25 |
| Agency: | CMS, HHS |
| DOGE Project: | Anti-Personnel |
4/14/25
Detailed To:
Detailed To:
| HHS? Detailed To: NSF Rachel Riley 4/14/25 | |
| Position Title: | Consultant |
| Source: | How DOGE got into the National Science Foundation FedScoop, 4/22/25 |
Sighting:
Three unidentified DOGE staffers show up at NSF headquarters, forcing all approved grants to go through a “secondary review.” They were later identified as Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley and Zach Terrell.
Sighting:
Three unidentified DOGE staffers show up at NSF headquarters, forcing all approved grants to go through a “secondary review.” They were later identified as Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley and Zach Terrell.
| Person: | Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley, Zach Terrell |
| Source: | NSF halts grant awards while staff do second review Science, 4/16/25 |
| Agency: | NSF |
| DOGE Project: | Spending |
4/18/25
Access Revoked:
Access Revoked:
| System Access: | HCAS: HHS Consolidated Acquisition System |
| : | admin, 2/03/25-4/18/25 Rachel Riley |
| Note: | This appears to be a system used at HHS for tracking acquisition and procurement efforts across the agency. |
| DOGE Project: | Spending |
4/22/25
Identification:
Three DOGE staffers are now at the National Science Foundation reviewing grants. Luke Farritor has a “Budget, Finance, and Administration” clearance, which a source said allows him to view and modify the agency’s funding opportunity system.
Identification:
Three DOGE staffers are now at the National Science Foundation reviewing grants. Luke Farritor has a “Budget, Finance, and Administration” clearance, which a source said allows him to view and modify the agency’s funding opportunity system.
| Person: | Luke Farritor, Rachel Riley, Zach Terrell |
| Source: | How DOGE got into the National Science Foundation FedScoop, 4/22/25 |
| Agency: | NSF |
| DOGE Project: | Spending |
5/14/25
Disruption:
After rescinding 300 past layoffs, the head of human resources at CDC emails Rachel Riley to share that the plan going forward will be to fire one person for every singer person who returns to the agency.
Disruption:
After rescinding 300 past layoffs, the head of human resources at CDC emails Rachel Riley to share that the plan going forward will be to fire one person for every singer person who returns to the agency.
| Person: | Rachel Riley |
| Source: | CDC to cut one employee for each it is recalling from layoffs GovExec, 5/14/25 |
| Agency: | CDC |
| DOGE Project: | Anti-Personnel |
9/30/25
Disruption:
The day before the beginning of the 2025 federal government shutdown, HHS proposes eliminating 8,000 jobs at the suggestion of Russell Vought, who wants to use the shutdown to inflict pain. HHS eventually lays off 1760 positions on October 10th, but was later revised to 954 after HHS blamed a coding error for firing too many people. Initially, HHS refuses to identify the creator for the layoff proposal within HHS, but it’s eventually revealed to be Rachel Riley.
Disruption:
The day before the beginning of the 2025 federal government shutdown, HHS proposes eliminating 8,000 jobs at the suggestion of Russell Vought, who wants to use the shutdown to inflict pain. HHS eventually lays off 1760 positions on October 10th, but was later revised to 954 after HHS blamed a coding error for firing too many people. Initially, HHS refuses to identify the creator for the layoff proposal within HHS, but it’s eventually revealed to be Rachel Riley.
| Person: | Rachel Riley, Russell Vought |
| Source: | Vought promised to use the shutdown to shutter the bureaucracy. It didn’t go as planned. Politico, 10/25/25 |
| Source: | DOGE holdover who pushed for deep cuts at HHS is headed to the Navy Politico, 10/30/25 |
| Agency: | HHS |
| DOGE Project: | Anti-Personnel |
10/28/25?
Onboarding:
The Navy removes the head of the Office of Naval Research and places Rachel Riley in the role, despite the fact that she has no experience with the Navy. She was working on DOGE operations within HHS and her prior experience was with McKinsey.
Onboarding:
The Navy removes the head of the Office of Naval Research and places Rachel Riley in the role, despite the fact that she has no experience with the Navy. She was working on DOGE operations within HHS and her prior experience was with McKinsey.
| Person: | Rachel Riley |
| Source: | SCOOP: Trump Swaps Decorated Admiral With 33-Year-Old DOGEr The Bulwark, 10/30/25 |
| Agency: | DOD |
10/30/25
Offboarding:
Rachel Riley leaves role as Senior Advisor at HHS
Offboarding:
Rachel Riley leaves role as Senior Advisor at HHS
| Appointed: | Rachel Riley 1/27/25-10/30/25 |
| Position Title: | Senior Advisor |
| Salary: | $167,603 |
| Source: | AFL-CIO v. DOL, doc 80-5 Court Document, 4/18/25 |
| Source: | Data Reveals Details About DOGE, Government Hiring in 2025 Bloomberg, 1/09/26 |
| Source: | DOGE holdover who pushed for deep cuts at HHS is headed to the Navy Politico, 10/30/25 |
Offboarding:
Rachel Riley leaves role at CMS
Offboarding:
Rachel Riley leaves role at CMS
| : | Rachel Riley 2/03/25-10/30/25 |
Offboarding:
Rachel Riley leaves role at NIH
Offboarding:
Rachel Riley leaves role at NIH
| : | Rachel Riley 2/24/25-10/30/25 |
| Source: | DOGE Is Inside the National Institutes of Health’s Finance System Wired Magazine, 2/24/25 |
10/30/25?
Appointed:
Rachel Riley starts as Chief of Naval Research at DOD.
Appointed:
Rachel Riley starts as Chief of Naval Research at DOD.
| Appointed: | Rachel Riley 10/30/25? |
| Position Title: | Chief of Naval Research, Office of Naval Research |
| Source: | SCOOP: Trump Swaps Decorated Admiral With 33-Year-Old DOGEr The Bulwark, 10/30/25 |