Amy Gleason, a relatively unknown figure with a background in health care technology and prior service in the Trump administration, has been named the acting administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency.
The White House announced Gleason’s appointment on Tuesday. DOGE is currently focused on urging government agencies to reduce their budgets through staff reductions and contract cancellations.
While Elon Musk and his associates support DOGE’s cost-cutting initiatives, the White House maintains that Musk is advising President Trump in this area, rather than being an employee of DOGE.
The identity of DOGE’s leader had been unclear, despite an executive order from Trump requiring the appointment of an administrator reporting to the White House. A government lawyer admitted not knowing who held the position, and the White House press secretary had previously declined to comment.
According to Karoline Leavitt, “Career officials and political appointees are involved in the daily operations of DOGE.”
Gleason, aged 53, previously worked at the United States Digital Service (now the US DOGE Service) from 2018 to 2021, as stated on her LinkedIn profile, contributing to the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
She rejoined the agency in January after Trump’s return to office. Neither DOGE nor Gleason have yet responded to requests for comment.
Following Musk’s involvement and expressing concern about the potential dismantling of public services, over 20 former members of the digital service resigned, submitting a letter of protest on Tuesday.
Between her government roles, Gleason was the “chief product officer” at two Nashville-based health care startups, Russell Street Ventures and Main Street Health, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Both companies were established by Brad Smith, a health care entrepreneur who also held significant health care positions in the first Trump administration and is currently involved with the DOGE initiative.
Russell Street Ventures’ website, which has recently been removed, described the company as “an innovative healthcare firm focused on launching and scaling companies that serve some of the nation’s most vulnerable and underserved patient populations.”
Main Street Health focuses on offering data and resources to primary care physicians in rural areas, enabling them to succeed in value-based care.
Although Gleason’s biography has been removed from Main Street Health’s website, an archived version indicates that she “spearheaded technology efforts for the federal COVID-19 response” and collaborated on projects with the CDC and CMS.
Gleason also runs a consulting firm called Gleason Strategies, as noted on her LinkedIn profile.
Gleason is a long-time advocate for finding a cure for juvenile myositis, a rare autoimmune condition affecting children, including her now-adult daughter.
She has openly discussed her concerns regarding the health care system’s handling of such rare diseases in a and has advocated for technological and data-driven improvements to benefit both patients and doctors.
From 2014 to 2018, she served as vice president for research at the Cure JM Foundation and co-founded Care Sync, a Florida-based telehealth company, according to her LinkedIn profile.
—Foley reported from Iowa City, Iowa.
