One yr after Elon Musk started an unprecedented attempt to eradicate swaths of the federal authorities, newly launched deposition movies are offering a never-before-seen take a look at two of the individuals chargeable for the biggest mass termination of federal grants within the Nationwide Endowment for the Humanities’ historical past.
Based on the depositions and different supplies launched as a part of a civil lawsuit associated to the funding cuts, the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) relied on ChatGPT to establish greater than $100 million in grants associated to variety, fairness, and inclusion (DEI) that have been later cancelled.
When President Donald Trump returned to workplace final January, he empowered Musk to slash federal spending as a lead adviser within the newly created DOGE. Inside days, all companies have been directed to place DEI employees on depart and associated packages have been shuttered.
Nathan Cavanaugh talks about Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) cuts throughout a deposition on Jan. 23, 2026.
American Council of Discovered Societies, the American Historic Affiliation, and the Fashionable Language Affiliation.
In prolonged depositions, two DOGE staff — Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh — defended the hassle to chop “ineffective companies” as a part of DOGE’s try to scale back the federal deficit.
“You do not remorse that folks may need misplaced necessary revenue … to assist their lives?” an lawyer requested Cavanaugh concerning the grant cancellations.
“No. I feel it was extra necessary to scale back the federal deficit from $2 trillion to shut to zero,” Cavanaugh stated.
“Did you cut back the federal deficit?” the lawyer requested.
“No, we did not,” Cavanaugh stated.
With backgrounds in tech and finance, neither man labored in authorities previous to becoming a member of DOGE final yr. Cavanaugh stated they initially decided which grants might be minimize primarily based on in the event that they included sure phrases — like “DEI, DEIA, Fairness, Inclusion, BIPAC, LGBTQ” — although the ultimate resolution about cuts was as much as the top of particular person companies.
“Do you suppose it is inappropriate in any means that somebody of their 20s with no expertise with grants for the federal authorities was making private judgment calls about what grants to cancel?” an lawyer requested.
“Um, no. I do not suppose it is inappropriate,” Cavanaugh stated, arguing that he didn’t want formal training or expertise to make knowledgeable judgments.
“So presumably you learn a few of these books that might have knowledgeable you on methods to cancel a grant primarily based on DEI,” the lawyer requested.
“Um, I didn’t learn a e-book, um, on methods to discern whether or not a grant contains DEI or not. I learn the precise description of the particular grant,” Cavanaugh stated.
Fox stated they as an alternative turned to OpenAI’s ChatGPT to assist sift via the hundreds of grants awarded by the Nationwide Endowment for the Humanities.
Based on court docket filings, the lads prompted ChatGPT by asking, “From the angle of somebody trying to establish DEI grants, does this contain DEI? Reply factually in lower than 120 characters.· Start with ‘Sure.’ o. ‘No.’ adopted by a short clarification.· Don’t use ‘this initiative’ or ‘this description’ in your response.”
Justin Fox discusses federal authorities cuts made by DOGE throughout a Jan. 28, 2026 deposition.
American Council of Discovered Societies, the American Historic Affiliation, and the Fashionable Language Affiliation.
Fox was repeatedly pressed by attorneys to clarify sure funding selections, comparable to defunding a language heart — described as a “wasteful, noncritical spend” — or initiatives associated to Black historical past and civil rights.
“Why is a documentary about Holocaust survivors DEI?” an lawyer requested.
“It is a gender-based story that is inherently discriminatory to deal with this particular group,” Fox stated.
Based on the depositions and authorized paperwork, the lads didn’t present a transparent definition for DEI or take further steps to make sure the choices weren’t discriminatory — arguing it was not crucial as a result of AI software program was not the ultimate decision-maker.
“Did you do something to make sure that ChatGPT’s notion of DEI as utilized right here would not discriminate on the idea of intercourse?” an lawyer requested, prompting one other objection.
“It did not matter,” Fox stated.
DOGE’s efforts in a number of federal companies and departments final yr confronted opposition and lawsuits, with critics elevating issues concerning the group’s effectiveness and its entry to delicate information.
Each Fox and Cavanaugh defended the funding selections, arguing the cuts have been crucial to scale back the deficit, although they by no means achieved their objectives.
“Did you ever discover it problematic that you just have been, alongside Nate, short-listing for termination initiatives that had hits on phrases like Black, gay, LGBTQ+?” an lawyer requested, prompting an objection and observe up query.
“We have been figuring out wasteful spend within the authorities primarily based on administration route. That was the entire motive we have been there, was to search out financial savings,” Fox stated, although he acknowledged the deficit was by no means decreased.
Their work chopping grants from the Nationwide Endowment for the Humanities was memorialized in a social media submit by DOGE, which vowed that any future grants could be “merit-based and awarded to non-DEI, pro-America causes.”
Based on the depositions, among the saved funds have been spent on the Nationwide Backyard of American Heroes — a sculpture backyard to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.
