Cavanaugh's Cronies
Nate Cavnaugh doesn’t do his work alone. He is helped by a growing group of other DOGE members who either show up with him at agencies or handle things alone.
Jacob Altik
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 this summer, so it’s unclear how long his tenure with DOGE will last.
Likely aliases: OPM-16
Positions
| Position | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
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1/24
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[as OPM-16] appointed Senior Advisor to the Director, Office of the Director (Schedule C, GS-15, excepted, $167,603 - $195,200) «Salary range is for a GS-15 in DC» | |
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2/21
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likely detailed «info in govt legal declation» court doc | |
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4/04
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likely detailed Verge |
Systems
| System | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
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USA Performance
1/31
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1/31 | USA Performance
System tracking job performance of federal employees (OPM) unknown access «system name is listed as “USA Performance - Office of the Director”» |
Events
| Agency | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
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1/24
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2/06
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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.
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2/12
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Directory:
In a FOIA request, Democracy Forward names DOGE staff known to be at OPM at that time.
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2/21
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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.
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2/21
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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.
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2/21
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Interagency:
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.
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2/21
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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.
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2/21
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2/24
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Interagency:
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
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2/24
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3/05
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Disruption:
Jacob Altik and Ethan Shaotran are rebuffed by agency leadership when attempting to enter the agency headquarters.
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3/06
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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.
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3/09
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3/14
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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.
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3/17
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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
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3/18
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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.”
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3/26
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Directory:
Politico publishes a list of 10 lawyers that it says are linked to DOGE.
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4/04
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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.
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c.4/20
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Interagency:
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.
(fuzz: Date is unspecified, just sometime earlier in April)
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Emily Bryant
Wrecker
, recruiter, age 23
A relatively new arrival to DOGE. My only information on her is a sighting on the DOGE team at the FTC. ProPublica did report that she has an email address at both GSA and EOP, so I am assuming she started there and was detailed outward. In a recent podcast, Antonio Gracias said that “[Baris Akis] and Emily do the recruiting.” Is it possibly her?
Positions
| Position | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
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3/XX
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appointed «Appears in a leaked list of DOGE email addresses» Bluesky | |
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3/XX
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appointed «linked to GSA by NYT, start date guessed» | |
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c.3/28
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likely detailed «limited info, 2025-04-04 report stated she started “last week”» Axios |
Events
| Agency | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
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4/04
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Sighting:
Axios reports that Gavin Kliger and Emily Bryant have started work at the FTC, looking at grants and contracts at the agency.
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Open Questions
- Is there more info I can dig up on Emily Bryant? She doesn't seem to be any documentation on her.
Justin Fox
Wrecker
, analyst, age 27
Joining GSA as a wrecker in mid-February, Justin Fox has mainly served as Nate Cavanaugh’s sidekick for the destruction of several small independent federal agencies. Prior to his career as a visigoth, he worked as an analyst at several different investment firms. He was all friends in college with fellow wrecker Marshall Wood.
Positions
| Position | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
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3/XX
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appointed «No idea on GSA start but before 3/13» | |
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c.3/13
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likely detailed court doc | |
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3/22
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likely detailed «Linked to MCC by NPR, start date guessed from disruption there» NPR | |
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3/31
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likely detailed «Linked to WWICS by NPR, date is first DOGE sighting at agency» NPR | |
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4/16
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likely detailed Bloomberg |
Systems
| System | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
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Microsoft Entra ID
c.3/12
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c.3/12 | Microsoft Entra ID
A centralized identity provider used to support single-sign-on (SSO) and centralize access control for agencies. (NEH) admin access «inferred because he sent emails from what looks like a global admin account for Entra» court doc |
Events
| Agency | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
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3/12
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Disruption:
Immediately after the removal of the agency’s chair by the Trump administration, DOGE staffers Nate Cavanaugh and Justin Fox contact NEH IT for access to key systems.
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3/31
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Sighting:
DOGE staff reportedly visit the Wilson Center for Scholars headquarters. In other reporting, the New York Times had identified Justin Fox as part of this delegation.
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4/01
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4/02
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Disruption:
Approximately 1500 grantees receive grant cancellation emails sent from a nonstandard email address and bypassing the normal grant review process. The domain for the email address Grant_Notifications@nehemail.onmicrosoft.com suggests it was sent from a global admin account for Microsoft Entra, an access-control system used at the agency. The Acting Director of the NEH seems unaware of the messages. The content of the message cites an incorrect executive order as its justification, suggesting it was copied from an earlier email that was sent to IAF and USADF grantees after their DOGE takeover.
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4/03
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Disruption:
145 NEH staff members (approximately 80% of workforce) are abruptly placed on administrative leave and locked out of system access. The remaining employees are pressured by Nate Cavanaugh and Justin Fox to formally conduct a Reduction-in-Force (RIF) as quickly as possible
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c.4/07
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Sighting:
Nate Cavanaugh and Justin Fox begin holding a series of meetings with MCC leadership. Following the DOGE pattern for small independent agencies, this process eventually culminates in termination of all grants and mass layoffs.
(fuzz: exact date not given, just in “last two weeks”)
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4/16
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Sighting:
Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh are reportedly detailed from the GSA to work at the NLRB over the next few months.
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4/22
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Report:
Staff at the Millennium Challenge Corporation are informed that DOGE has directed the termination of all grants and the reduction of the staff from 320 to a few dozen.
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4/29
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Interagency:
Nate Cavanaugh sends an email to the two remaining members of the CPB board requesting a meeting. He describes a DOGE team at GSA and cc’s several other members of DOGE
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5/13
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Sighting:
Justin Fox emails GAO (cc’ing Nate Cavanaugh) to schedule a call to get a DOGE team assigned to the GAO. This is despite the GAO being located in the legislative branch and thus not answerable to the President.
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5/13
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7/21
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Directory:
Multiple DOGE staff are listed in the invite for a new meeting for political appointees at the agency which will be held once every two weeks.
(fuzz: Jeremy Lewin is a Deputy Undersecretary at State, but still a GSA employee?)
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Jonathan Mendelson
Wrecker
, analyst
An April addition to the DOGE lineup, Jonathan Mendelson has been part of Nate Cavanaugh’s wrecking crew that visits small independent executive agencies to subvert and destroy them. He has been spotted at the SEC and the USDFC so far, which is concerning considering he comes from a background in venture capital and investment banking. Prior to DOGE, he was an investor in the Silicon Valley VC firm Accel.
Positions
| Position | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
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4/09
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appointed NPR | |
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4/28
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likely detailed Politico | |
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c.5/02
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likely detailed as Senior Advisor, Chairman of the SEC «title sourced from ProPublica» Reuters |
Events
| Agency | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
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4/28
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Sighting:
A team of 4 DOGE personnel – Nate Cavanaugh, Jonathan Mendelson, Ethan Shaotran and Marshall Wood – arrive at the headquarters of the US International Development Finance Corporation
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4/29
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Interagency:
Nate Cavanaugh sends an email to the two remaining members of the CPB board requesting a meeting. He describes a DOGE team at GSA and cc’s several other members of DOGE
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5/13
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Eliezer Mishory
Wrecker
, lawyer, age 41
Positions
| Position | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
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c.4/05
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unknown |
Events
| Agency | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
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4/15
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7/01
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Donald Park
Mr. Park is the cofounder of a private equity company named Ionic Partners and located in Austin, Texas. He has been involved in efforts to discover fraud in SBA loans.
Positions
| Position | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
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2/XX
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appointed «assuming hired at GSA» | |
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2/03
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likely detailed as Senior Advisor, DOGE «identified by agency FOIA as having been at the agency, guessing detailed» American Oversight | |
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5/14
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likely detailed The Handbasket |
Events
| Agency | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
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2/03
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Sighting:
Email to SBA staff announces that Edward Coristine and Donald Park were granted access to all systems including HR, contract, and payment systems.
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5/14
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Sighting:
Nate Cavanaugh and Donald Park reportedly are assigned email addresses and reserved office space at the Export-Import Bank of the US.
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5/16
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Directory:
In a response to a FOIA request made by American Oversight, SBA provides a list of all people who have been identified as communication on agency head Kelly Loefler’s behalf. It includes a number of people known to be DOGE and others with the title Senior Advisor who might also be doge.gov
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Jack Stein
Wrecker
, analyst, age 25
Recently an investment banking associate at Salem Partners, he is one of the newer members of Nate Cavanaugh’s wrecking crew that visited small agencies in April.
Marshall Wood
A former investment banking associate at Jefferies, Marshall Wood is part of the wrecking crew led by Nate Cavanaugh that has visited multiple independent agencies. He also is a friend of Justin Fox from their days as students at the University of Virginia.
Events
| Agency | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
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4/28
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Sighting:
A team of 4 DOGE personnel – Nate Cavanaugh, Jonathan Mendelson, Ethan Shaotran and Marshall Wood – arrive at the headquarters of the US International Development Finance Corporation
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5/13
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7/21
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Directory:
Multiple DOGE staff are listed in the invite for a new meeting for political appointees at the agency which will be held once every two weeks.
(fuzz: Jeremy Lewin is a Deputy Undersecretary at State, but still a GSA employee?)
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Bridget Youngs
Wrecker
, coder, age 29
Positions
| Position | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|
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4/04
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likely detailed «unknown who this is and if sent to other agencies» The Guardian |
Events
| Agency | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
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4/04
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Sighting:
DOGE staffer Bridget Youngs visits the Peace Corps, planning to work over the weeked to review records and access IT systems.
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Open Questions
- She was named as showing up at the Peace Corps once. Has she been involved in any other DOGE visits to other independent agencies?