The White House announced on the 25th (local time) that the acting administrator of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in Donald Trump's second administration is Amy Gleeson. However, the personnel and operation methods of DOGE remain shrouded in mystery. This is because Trump changed the name of the digital government promotion agency established during former President Barack Obama's administration from 'U.S. Digital Service' to 'United States DOGE Service' and moved its affiliation from the Office of Management and Budget to the White House, allowing for DOGE-related information to remain undisclosed.
Relatedly, The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 27th that it identified the backgrounds of 49 personnel working in DOGE, including Elon Musk, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Tesla. Most of these individuals are software engineers and have accumulated experience at companies owned by Musk, such as The Boring Company and xAI, rather than in Washington D.C.'s political circles.
According to NYT, the DOGE leadership consists of five members, including Musk. Musk is serving as a White House advisor, while the acting administrator is a woman named Gleeson. Brad Smith, founder of the healthcare startups 'Russell Street Ventures' and 'Main Street Health,' also works at DOGE. Additionally, Steve Davis, CEO of The Boring Company and a long-time associate of Musk, and Musk's political advisor, Chris Young, are part of the DOGE leadership.
DOGE employees include many who have built careers in engineering, law, finance, human resources, and real estate. Edward Koristin, who interned at Musk's neuroscience startup Neuralink as a teenager, was appointed as a senior advisor to the State Department's Office of Diplomatic Technology before joining DOGE.
Luke Parriter, a computer scientist who dropped out of college, previously worked at SpaceX and manages systems for various federal agencies. Christopher Stanley, a software engineer responsible for security engineering at SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter), is handling matters for the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Justice.
The person who pushed for layoffs when Musk acquired X also works for DOGE. Brian Velde, an early executive at SpaceX responsible for human resources, is currently formulating a layoff plan at the Office of Personnel Management. Christina Hana, Musk's former personnel manager, Steven Duarte, who was an HR manager at SpaceX, and Brian-Michel Mlozjanowski, who was also Musk's HR manager, all work in the Office of Personnel Management.
Ricardo Biasini, who worked at The Boring Company and X, serves as Musk's senior advisor at DOGE. Another individual who worked at X, Anthony Armstrong, is a finance professional who participated in Musk's acquisition of X and is now a senior advisor in the DOGE Office of Personnel Management.
NYT noted, 'DOGE has targeted over 20 federal government agencies while accessing sensitive government data systems, but its influence and the scope of its objectives remain unclear,' and pointed out that 'the overall operation of DOGE is opaque, and it is not clear exactly how large its operations are.'