Amy Gleason Reacts After Being Publicly Named Acting DOGE Administrator – Details

According to The New York Times, Gleason did not immediately provide a comment regarding her new role. She was reportedly on vacation in Mexico on Tuesday, February 25.

However, she had informed associates that she was unaware the White House intended to publicly announce her appointment. Individuals familiar with the matter, speaking anonymously due to concerns of potential repercussions, shared these details.

President Donald Trump formed DOGE on January 20 via an executive order. Its purpose is to modernize Federal technology and software to enhance governmental efficiency and productivity. This move also renamed the US Digital Service to the US DOGE Service (USDS).

Now, Gleason's naming comes after DOGE has been driving major reforms within the federal bureaucracy, with Elon Musk playing a significant role in its direction.

Despite this, the White House maintained in court that Musk does not officially lead the initiative, which raised questions about its oversight.

On Monday, February 24, a federal judge pressed officials for clarification on Musk’s involvement, expressing concerns over potential unauthorized leadership. Following weeks of avoiding a direct response, the White House has now confirmed Gleason as the acting administrator.

Gleason, a longtime government technology official, began her career in nursing but her love for technology took her to a different career path. She previously worked at the digital service unit during Trump's first term.

Gleason was a digital services expert with the US Digital Service at the White House and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). She returned to the agency late last year, according to individuals familiar with her position and reviewed documents.

During her earlier tenure, she was also assigned to the Department of Health and Human Services, where she contributed to the federal COVID-19 response.

Her work in health care reform stems from personal experience as she once spoke in a 2020 TEDx talk, titled “A 360⁰ View of Patient History,” about how her daughter's rare illness exposed flaws in the medical system. Gleason's daughter Morgan Gleason was diagnosed with Juvenile Dermatomyositis.

Following the first Trump administration, she joined an investment firm specializing in health companies as a chief product officer. She worked under Brad Smith, a healthcare executive who had collaborated with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on pandemic response efforts.

Late last year, Smith, who had been advising Musk's cost-cutting initiative, brought Gleason into discussions about the effort, sources said. Based in Nashville, she soon became involved in the transition.

On December 30, over three weeks before Inauguration Day, Gleason was reintroduced as a new hire in the digital service office via an internal Slack channel, according to reviewed documents.

Upon her return, she described her previous tenure as highly meaningful and expressed enthusiasm about rejoining impactful projects. Her LinkedIn also shows that she is currently working as a senior advisor for the US Digital Services as of January 2025.

Hence, by January she was holding regular meetings with Smith and Steve Davis, a key Musk aide, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where Musk had established the DOGE headquarters. More recently, she has overseen the digital service agency's shift into Musk's operation.

Now, an executive order from Trump moved the agency from the Office of Management and Budget into the White House, limiting public access to its records.

During an all-hands meeting last week, Gleason urged staff to embrace a united approach and collaborate with the young engineers and lawyers Musk had recruited to lead the government overhaul.