Gavin Kliger

{{Short description|American software engineer}} '''Gavin Kliger''' is an American software engineer and government official, currently serving as chief data officer at the United States Department of Defense.<ref name="auto1">{{cite news |last=Lawrence |first=Drew |date=March 6, 2026 |title=Pentagon names former DOGE employee Gavin Kliger as new chief data officer |url=https://defensescoop.com/2026/03/06/doge-dod-gavin-kliger-new-pentagon-chief-data-officer/ |access-date=March 8, 2026 |newspaper=DefenseScoop}}</ref> A 2020 graduate of UC Berkeley in electrical engineering and computer science, he previously worked as a software engineer at Databricks before entering public service in January 2025 as part of the second Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).<ref>{{cite news |last=Elliott |first=Vittoria |date=February 2, 2025 |title=The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover |url=https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-government-young-engineers/ |access-date=March 8, 2026 |newspaper=Wired}}</ref> As a DOGE operative, Kliger was deployed across multiple federal agencies including USAID, the CFPB, the IRS, the USDA, the USAGM, and the FTC.<ref>{{cite news |date=February 27, 2025 |title=The People Carrying Out Musk's Plans at DOGE |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/27/us/politics/doge-staff-list.html |access-date=March 8, 2026 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> At the Department of Defense, he oversaw the launch of GenAI.mil and contributed to the Drone Dominance Program before being named Chief Data Officer in March 2026.<ref name="auto2">{{cite news |date=March 6, 2026 |title=Pentagon Taps Gavin Kliger as CDO Amid AI Push |url=https://govciomedia.com/pentagon-taps-gavin-kliger-as-cdo-amid-ai-push/ |access-date=March 8, 2026 |newspaper=GovCIO Media}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/>

== Education and career == Kliger attended UC Berkeley, graduating in 2020.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |last=Elliott |first=Vittoria |title=The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover |url=https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-government-young-engineers/ |access-date=February 3, 2025 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> Kliger's LinkedIn lists him as later working as a software engineer at Databricks.<ref name=":1" />

On February 2, 2025, ''Wired'' reported Kliger was among a group of 19- to 24-year-old engineers to be appointed to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Townsend |first=Chance |date=February 3, 2025 |title=Elon Musk's DOGE takeover is reportedly being spearheaded by young college grads |url=https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-doge-college-student-takeover |access-date=February 3, 2025 |website=Mashable |language=en}}</ref> The same day, Kliger posted an article in his online newsletter titled "Why DOGE: Why I gave up a seven-figure salary to save America".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Henderson |first=Cameron |date=2025-02-03 |title=Musk signs up university-aged team to dismantle foreign aid |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2025/02/03/musk-university-aged-team-dismantle-foreign-aid/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kliger |first=Gavin |date=2025-02-03 |title=Why DOGE |url=https://weeklybyte.substack.com/p/why-doge |url-status=unfit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250203031909/https://weeklybyte.substack.com/p/why-doge |archive-date=February 3, 2025 |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=The Weekly Byte}}</ref>

Before 1:00 AM on February{{nbsp}}3, 2025, Kliger sent an email from a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) email address to all USAID employees ordering them to work from home, and not to come into the office.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Wong |first1=Edward |last2=Green |first2=Erica L. |last3=Demirjian |first3=Karoun |last4=Crowley |first4=Michael |date=February 2, 2025 |title=Top Security Officials at Aid Agency Put on Leave After Denying Access to Musk Team |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/us/politics/usaid-official-leave-musk.html |access-date=February 3, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Felicia |date=February 3, 2025 |title=US aid agency HQ closed after Elon Musk reveals plan to 'shut it down' |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e95a1a1b-32f1-430c-89eb-799f9fd05af0 |access-date=February 3, 2025 |work=Financial Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Anonymous |date=February 3, 2025 |title=Elon Musk Is Permanently Deleting Government Agencies |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/trump-elon-musk-deleting-government-agencies-usaid-1235254897/ |access-date=February 3, 2025 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> Kliger has no prior experience at the agency or in government. The move was criticized by USAID personnel and Democratic politicians, including Senator Chris Coons, who described the Trump administration as "trying to gut the agency altogether."<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |first1=Michael R. |last1=Gordon |first2=Ken |last2=Thomas |first3=Alexander |last3=Ward |title=Trump Administration Closes USAID Headquarters |url=https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-administration-shutters-usaid-headquarters-db3fac7e |access-date=February 3, 2025 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref>

On February 6, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) staff were told by email that DOGE members (including Kliger) entered the agency building and would require access to CFPB data, systems, and equipment.<ref name="DOGE-inside-CFPB">{{Cite magazine |last=Kelly |first=Makena |title=DOGE Is Now Inside the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau |url=https://www.wired.com/story/doge-access-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-data/ |access-date=2025-03-15 |magazine=Wired |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> Kliger was warned about potential conflicts of interest arising from his stock portfolio containing a number of companies which would potentially benefit from any mass layoffs at the CFPB and advised to divest from those positions. Kliger declined to divest his positions,<ref name= "Pearson" /> including ones where divestment would be mandatory for a CFPB employee.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pearson |first1=Jake |title=A DOGE Aide Involved in Dismantling Consumer Bureau Owns Stock in Companies That Could Benefit From the Cuts Gavin Kliger helped oversee mass firings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while holding stock in companies that experts say likely stand to benefit from dismantling that agency — a potential violation of federal ethics laws. |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/doge-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-gavin-kliger-stock |website=propublica.org |publisher=Pro Publica |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref> Kliger was accused of yelling at CFPB staff he kept for a 36-hour shift.<ref name="DOGE-goon-accused">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-19 |title=DOGE Goon Accused of Screaming at Workers on 36-Hour Shift |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/doge-goon-accused-of-screaming-at-federal-workers-on-36-hour-shift/ |access-date=2025-04-19 |work=The Daily Beast}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Schwartz |first1=Leo |title=Court filings describe DOGE-led, scream-filled, 36-hour mass layoff scramble at consumer protection agency |url=https://fortune.com/article/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-doge-elon-musk-layoffs-rfi-court-filings-firings/ |website=fortune.com |publisher=Fortune |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref> A mass firing in mid April attempted to reduce the bureau's headcount by approximately 86%, but it has been halted in court.<ref name="cfpbLawReview1">{{cite web |last1=Willis |first1=Chris |last2=Jackman |first2=Stefanie |last3=Kim |first3=James |last4=Silverman |first4=Jesse |last5=Sommerfield |first5=Lori |title=CFPB Implements Mass Layoffs: Union Files Emergency Motion to Show Cause |url=https://www.consumerfinancialserviceslawmonitor.com/2025/04/cfpb-implements-mass-layoffs-union-files-emergency-motion-to-show-cause/ |website=Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor |access-date=7 May 2025 |date=18 April 2025}}</ref><ref name="cfpbLawReview2">{{cite web |last1=Willis |first1=Chris |last2=Jackman |first2=Stefanie |last3=Kim |first3=James |last4=Silverman |first4=Jesse |last5=Sommerfield |first5=Lori |title=Appeals Court Blocks CFPB Layoffs Pending Further Review |url=https://www.consumerfinancialserviceslawmonitor.com/2025/04/appeals-court-blocks-cfpb-layoffs-pending-further-review/ |website=Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor |access-date=7 May 2025 |date=29 April 2025}}</ref> Kliger conducted the mass layoffs, which included the ethics lawyers who warned him against financial conflicts of interest.<ref name= "Pearson" >{{Cite web| last = Pearson| first = Jake| title = DOGE Aide Who Helped Gut CFPB Was Warned About Potential Conflicts of Interest| work = ProPublica| access-date = 2025-05-08| date = 2025-05-07| url = https://www.propublica.org/article/cfpb-gavin-kliger-doge-conflict-of-interest-consumer-financial-protection-bureau}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Marcus |first1=Josh |title=DOGE bro helped fire ethics lawyers who warned him over his $715,000 in banned company stocks: report |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/doge-musk-cfpb-stock-gavin-kliger-b2746740.html |website=independent.co.uk |publisher=The Independent |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref>

In February 2025, Kliger began working at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), where he worked directly with Secretary Brooke Rollins to carry out the DOGE agenda.<ref name="auto">{{cite news |last=Alfred |first=Mark |date=July 25, 2025 |title=How A 25-Year-Old DOGE Staffer Set Policy at USDA |url=https://www.notus.org/trump-white-house/doge-gavin-kliger-us-department-of-agriculture-climate-policy |access-date=March 9, 2026 |newspaper=NOTUS}}</ref> Court documents revealed that USDA officials drafted agency-wide guidance directing staff to identify and terminate climate-related grants at Kliger's direction, with a policy lead emailing the agency's deputy chief financial officer to ask whether a draft "encapsulate[d] what Gavin is looking for." Kliger approved the guidance with revisions and pushed the agency to exceed an initial target of $120 million in climate grant cuts, while also suggesting AI tools he was developing could be deployed to accelerate the review process across agencies.<ref name="auto"/> By March 2025, USDA had terminated over $1.2 billion in federal awards. The USDA subsequently cancelled all grants under its Food for Progress foreign aid program in May 2025, terminating awards affecting agricultural development projects in multiple countries, as part of broader DOGE-directed spending cuts at the agency.<ref>{{cite news |last=Douglas |first=Leah |date=May 14, 2025 |title=US farm agency cancels Food for Progress food aid grants |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-farm-agency-cancels-food-progress-food-aid-grants-2025-05-14/ |access-date=March 9, 2026 |newspaper=Reuters}}</ref>

In February 2025, Kliger became the first DOGE representative to arrive at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). On the same day, President Trump confirmed the review at an Oval Office press conference, saying of DOGE: "The Internal Revenue Service will be looked at like everybody else... They're doing a helluva job."<ref>{{cite news |date=February 13, 2025 |title=DOGE Staff Begins Audit of the IRS, Trump Confirms |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/top-musk-staffer-goes-irs-examine-operations-sources-say-2025-02-13/ |access-date=March 9, 2026 |newspaper=Reuters}}</ref> Kliger served as the lead DOGE representative at the IRS for a 120-day detail, subsequently joined by fellow DOGE member Sam Corcos.<ref>{{cite news |last=Duehren |first=Andrew |date=February 21, 2025 |title=I.R.S. Bars Musk Ally From Seeing Personal Information |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/politics/irs-doge-gavin-kliger.html |access-date=March 9, 2026 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> During his tenure, the IRS workforce was reduced by approximately 25,000 employees through layoffs, voluntary buyouts, early retirements, and attrition — a roughly 25% reduction — according to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 2025 |title=Snapshot: IRS Workforce Reductions |url=https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USTREASTIGTA/bulletins/3d7e916 |access-date=March 9, 2026 |publisher=Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration}}</ref> Despite the scale of the reductions, the National Taxpayer Advocate's mid-year report to Congress found the 2025 filing season to be "one of the most successful filing seasons in recent memory," with the IRS processing nearly 141 million individual income tax returns.<ref>{{cite web |date=2025 |title=National Taxpayer Advocate Issues Mid-Year Report to Congress |url=https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/national-taxpayer-advocate-issues-mid-year-report-to-congress |access-date=March 9, 2026 |publisher=Internal Revenue Service}}</ref> Kliger and Corcos also developed plans to modernize IRS data infrastructure, including a proposed API to integrate the agency's databases.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Makena |date=April 2025 |title=DOGE Is Planning a Hackathon at the IRS |url=https://www.wired.com/story/doge-hackathon-irs-data-palantir/ |access-date=March 9, 2026 |newspaper=Wired}}</ref> His detail ended on April 17, 2025.<ref>{{cite web |date=February 7, 2025 |title=Detailing agreement from OPM to IRS for Gavin Kliger |url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26028809-mou-20250219-opm-irs-gavin-kliger/ |access-date=March 8, 2026 |publisher=DocumentCloud}}</ref>

Around March 1, 2025, Kliger was detailed to the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) and was spotted inside Voice of America headquarters by sources who informed Axios.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 16, 2025 |title=Trump guts Voice of America and other government-funded media |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/03/16/trump-guts-voice-america-rf-europe |access-date=March 8, 2026 |newspaper=Axios}}</ref> His presence came approximately two weeks before the Trump administration placed over 1,000 USAGM employees on administrative leave on March 15, effectively shutting down Voice of America for the first time since its founding in 1942. The dismantling of USAGM prompted multiple federal lawsuits; in May 2025 the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a preliminary injunction that had ordered USAGM to restore employees and reinstate grant funding to Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Widakuswara v. Lake|vol=No. 25-5144|reporter=D.C. Circuit|date=May 3, 2025|url=https://savevoa.com/documents/DC-Circuit-ruling-050325.pdf|access-date=March 8, 2026}}</ref> In March 2026, a federal judge ruled that actions taken by USAGM senior advisor Kari Lake in a leadership capacity had violated federal law, voiding the staff reductions she oversaw.<ref>{{cite news |date=March 7, 2026 |title=U.S. judge voids 2025 actions taken by Kari Lake as Voice of America CEO, including job cuts |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/us-judge-voids-2025-actions-taken-kari-lake-voice-america-ceo-job-cuts-rcna262277 |access-date=March 8, 2026 |newspaper=NBC News}}</ref>

In April, Kliger began work at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gold |first1=Ashley |title=Scoop: DOGE staffers move into FTC office |url=https://www.axios.com/pro/tech-policy/2025/04/04/doge-staffers-move-into-ftc-office |website=axios.com |publisher=Axios |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Feiner |first1=Lauren |last2=Heath |first2=Alex |title=DOGE has arrived at the FTC |url=https://www.theverge.com/news/643674/doge-members-spotted-ftc-elon-musk |website=theverge.com |publisher=The Verge |access-date=9 May 2025}}</ref>

Beginning in December 2025, Kliger joined the Department of Defense's DOGE team, where he contributed to the launch of GenAI.mil, the department's official enterprise AI platform, which reached one million unique users within two months of its launch.<ref name="auto2"/> He contributed to the Drone Dominance Program, which focused on rapidly fielding American-made, one-way attack drones to the military.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}} On March 6, 2026, the Department announced Kliger's appointment as chief data officer, a role described as placing him at the center of the Department's most ambitious AI efforts, focused on day-to-day alignment of AI projects and direct coordination with frontier AI laboratories.<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Alper |first1=Alexandra |last2=Satter |first2=Raphael |date=March 6, 2026 |title=Pentagon taps former DOGE official to lead its AI efforts |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/pentagon-taps-former-doge-official-lead-its-ai-efforts-2026-03-06/ |access-date=March 8, 2026 |newspaper=Reuters}}</ref> His appointment came days after the Department designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk, following Anthropic's refusal to permit unrestricted military use of its Claude AI model for autonomous weapons and mass surveillance applications.<ref>{{cite news |last=Britzky |first=Haley |date=March 7, 2026 |title=Pentagon's new chief data officer to push 'AI capabilities to warfighters' |url=https://breakingdefense.com/2026/03/pentagons-new-chief-data-officer-to-push-ai-capabilities-to-warfighters/ |access-date=March 8, 2026 |newspaper=Breaking Defense}}</ref>

== Personal life == In the context of his employment by the government, concerns have been raised about his amplification of extremist viewpoints including reposting content from white supremacist Nick Fuentes and misogynistic social media influencer Andrew Tate.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alper |first1=Alexandra |last2=Satter |first2=Raphael |title=Staffer with Elon Musk's DOGE amplified white supremacists online |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/staffer-with-elon-musks-doge-amplified-white-supremacists-online-2025-02-07/ |website=reuters.com |publisher=Reuters |access-date=7 February 2025}}</ref> The Daily Beast described his online presence as that of an edgelord.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fiallo |first1=Josh |date=February 18, 2025 |title=Meet the Gen-Z DOGE Minion Set to Access Taxpayers' Secrets |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/meet-the-gen-z-doge-goon-gavin-kliger-who-is-set-to-access-taxpayers-secrets/ |access-date=2025-02-18 |website=The Daily Beast |publisher=}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kliger, Gavin}} Category:Living people Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni Category:21st-century American engineers Category:American software engineers Category:United States Office of Personnel Management Category:21st-century American businesspeople Category:American businesspeople in information technology Category:Year of birth missing (living people)