At least 206 people worked for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Executive Office of the President or were detailed from EOP between Jan. 20, 2025, and Jan. 31, 2026, according to a new Government Accountability Office report—and investigators say many basic oversight questions remain unanswered because numerous agencies declined to provide records.
Government Accountability Office: investigators hit walls
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found it “largely unable” to determine whether DOGE employees completed required ethics trainings and financial disclosure paperwork. GAO requested records from agencies and the Executive Office of the President for DOGE personnel who worked in or were detailed to the EOP during the specified period; 10 agencies and the EOP did not respond to those requests. “As a result, we are not able to determine the total number of DOGE personnel who held positions within EOP who received trainings or who completed financial disclosures at those 10 agencies or at EOP,” investigators wrote.
Nine agencies provided some information covering 64 DOGE employees, but GAO wrote that much of that documentation was incomplete. The Agriculture Department, for example, supplied an “ethics-related presentation” used for Trump appointees but did not provide evidence showing when, or if, DOGE staffers had received the training.
Personnel counts, appointments, and time limits
GAO identified 206 people who served for DOGE in the EOP or were detailed from the EOP during the review window. At least 128 of those individuals had left by Jan. 31, 2026. Investigators could not determine appointment types—such as Schedule C political appointee or noncareer Senior Executive Service—for more than 150 personnel because many agencies did not provide the requested appointment information.
The report notes that the total includes 127 U.S. DOGE Service (USDS) employees who held titles as digital services experts or consultants within USDS. Although USDS stated that its positions last no more than four years, GAO said it was unable to determine whether these USDS employees or other personnel had held such time-limited appointments.
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See what we buildSpecial government employees and Elon Musk
GAO identified at least 27 special government employees (SGEs) among the DOGE personnel; SGEs are limited to serving 130 days during any one-year period. One prominent SGE named in the report was Elon Musk, described as the former de facto head of DOGE. GAO noted that Musk’s companies received billions of dollars in federal contracts during his government service.
Temporary termination, permanent rename: the U.S. DOGE Service
The GAO report records that “the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization” terminated on July 4, pursuant to the executive order that established it. But GAO also pointed out that the same directive permanently renamed an existing White House office as the U.S. DOGE Service. Investigators wrote that “since the EO does not call for the termination of the broader USDS entity, it is possible that USDS and personnel at federal agencies could continue to do work that advances some of these initiatives after the temporary organization’s termination.”
The question of continuity matters in light of DOGE’s role: the administration’s DOGE effort spearheaded a set of civil service reductions that contributed to a decrease of more than 350,000 in federal headcount over the prior year.
What this means for technologists, policymakers, and procurement leaders
- Technologists and security teams: GAO previously reported in April that the Treasury Department and DOGE did not follow all security protocols when granting access to government payment systems. Incomplete training and disclosure records heighten the need for security teams to validate access logs and privileges tied to DOGE-related accounts and roles.
- Policymakers and regulators: The lack of agency cooperation—10 agencies plus EOP not providing records—complicates oversight of ethics training and financial disclosure compliance for a high-profile, time-limited effort that involved SGEs and substantial personnel movement.
- Procurement leaders and contractors: The report’s explicit note that Musk’s companies received billions in federal contracts while he served as an SGE underscores that firms and acquisition offices will be watching documentation and conflict-of-interest controls closely when staff serve in short-term government roles.
GAO’s findings provide a concrete tally—206 people tied to DOGE in the reviewed period—but also document how gaps in agency cooperation and incomplete records have left basic accountability questions unresolved: who held what appointment, who received required ethics training, and who filed required financial disclosures. With the temporary organization ended on July 4 but a permanent renaming of a White House office in place, GAO’s report invites a narrow but pointed question grounded in the facts it records: how many of those DOGE personnel will continue to advance the initiative’s work under the permanently renamed U.S. DOGE Service, and on what documentation or oversight?
Original story: https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2026/08/watchdog-doge-unknown-agencies/415243/
