(NewsNation) — The White House confirmed Tuesday that Amy Gleason is serving as the acting administrator for the Department of Government Efficiency, the new agency created by President Donald Trump.

A White House official said that Gleason, a former U.S. Digital Service official, now leads the department that Trump established via executive order after taking office in January.

Questions about DOGE’s leadership emerged after the White House stated in a court filing that Elon Musk, despite being widely reported as leading the department’s cost-cutting efforts, is technically not part of the agency.

According to Joshua Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, Musk is an employee of the “White House Office” and serves as senior adviser to the president.

What is Amy Gleason’s background?

Gleason has been a senior adviser at the U.S. Digital Service since January 2025, according to her LinkedIn profile. The service, created under the Obama administration to modernize government technology infrastructure, was renamed the U.S. DOGE Service after Trump’s inauguration.

Per her Linkedin profile, she previously worked as a digital services expert at USDS from October 2018 to December 2021, serving under both the Biden administration and during Trump’s first term.

According to an archived White House page, Gleason’s career began in nursing before she transitioned to health care technology. The Obama administration recognized her as a “Champion of Change” for her work improving healthcare technology, including the digitization of medical records.

Before joining the federal government, Gleason served as vice president for research at the Cure JM Foundation for nearly five years. She was also co-founder, chief operating officer and chief strategy officer for CareSync, per the biography on the White House site.

What is DOGE doing?

DOGE was created by Trump under an executive order in an effort to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures” and restructure federal agencies. 

More than 20 staffers who worked in the federal department overtaken by DOGE resigned Tuesday, saying they won’t use their technical skills to jeopardize Americans’ data and compromise essential government systems. 

Members of DOGE have been going into federal agencies, looking at their budgets and tapping into computer systems.

The Associated Press recently reported that DOGE gained access to sensitive Treasury data, including Social Security systems. DOGE agents also gained access to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency said this month. 

New York Magazine reported at least one DOGE worker has been to the Commerce Department’s Maryland headquarters, where they gained access to the agency’s IT system.

In addition, DOGE took control of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s funding, locked out workers, accessed classified information and removed leadership.

NewsNation partner The Hill and Cassie Buchman contributed to this report.