The White House is pictured on January 20, 2025, in Washington.
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Mike Stewart/AP

The White House has officially announced that Amy Gleason, a healthcare technology leader with experience under Presidents Trump and Biden, will serve as the interim administrator for the Department of Government Efficiency, commonly known as DOGE.

However, it is the prominent tech entrepreneur and senior White House advisor Elon Musk who actively supervises DOGE, as confirmed by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The precise division of responsibilities between Gleason and Musk remains ambiguous, though Musk has prominently represented the new cost-reduction initiative established last month.

Musk has been spotted alongside Trump, including during a cabinet meeting where he highlighted DOGE’s initiatives. He frequently shares updates regarding the group’s activities with his millions of followers on X (formerly Twitter).

DOGE plays a vital role in the current administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce, resulting in the termination of approximately 20,000 government employees so far.

Here’s a closer look at Amy Gleason and the confusion surrounding the operational leadership of DOGE.

Who is Amy Gleason?

Gleason’s LinkedIn profile states that she is a senior advisor at what was formerly known as the U.S. Digital Service, which has since been transformed into the U.S. DOGE Service, the official hub of DOGE following Trump’s inauguration. The U.S. Digital Service was originally established by the Obama administration in response to the subpar launch of HealthCare.gov, aiming to work alongside federal agencies to modernize the digital framework of the government.

NPR attempted to contact a DOGE representative but did not receive a response.

Gleason’s tenure at USDS lasted from October 2018 to December 2021, covering parts of both the Trump and Biden administrations, as indicated by her LinkedIn profile. She returned to the agency in January.

Much of Gleason’s professional background appears to be in the private sector. In a 2021 interview on the podcast Tell Me Where It Hurts, she shared that she began her career as an emergency room nurse, where she first encountered the intersection of technology and healthcare. She later worked with several healthcare technology firms, including Allscripts, which specializes in electronic medical records software.

At one point, her young daughter was diagnosed with juvenile myositis, a rare autoimmune disorder. “I learned a tremendous amount about the patient experience and caregiving,” Gleason reflected during the podcast, “and how navigating the healthcare system is significantly more challenging than I recognized even while working in it from the provider’s perspective.”

During her initial tenure at USDS, Gleason was part of the data team for the White House Coronavirus Task Force, contributing to the federal government’s response during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Confusion Surrounding DOGE Leadership

Musk was brought into the administration in the role of a special government employee, a classification for individuals hired temporarily to offer their expertise, and the administration is currently facing legal challenges regarding Musk’s decision-making authority.

The executive order that established DOGE specifies that the office is meant to be led by an administrator who reports directly to the White House chief of staff. Musk holds the position of senior advisor to the president.

In several court cases questioning the roles of Musk and DOGE within the federal government, Justice Department lawyers have struggled to clarify who the actual administrator is. The latest instance occurred recently when Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly asked Justice Department attorney Bradley Humphreys about the matter during a hearing concerning a lawsuit against the Treasury Department related to its information sharing with DOGE.

“I do not have that answer,” Humphreys stated, according to Lawfare.

On Tuesday, a reporter inquired of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt regarding the identity of the DOGE administrator. Leavitt commented, “Elon Musk is overseeing DOGE.” She added, “There are both career officials and political appointees at DOGE. I won’t disclose the name of that individual from this podium.”

However, by Wednesday morning, Leavitt confirmed media reports that Gleason is indeed acting as the administrator for DOGE. “Amy Gleason has held the role of DOGE administrator for a significant period — I believe for several weeks, perhaps a month — but I’m not certain of the exact timeline,” she stated.