Who is Amy Gleason, DOGE's acting administrator named by White House?

After weeks of speculation and silence, the White House announced that Amy Gleason, a former healthcare technology consultant, has been appointed as the acting administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

 

The White House has clarified that billionaire Elon Musk, despite his involvement in overseeing the initiative, does not hold the legal role of DOGE head. Gleason’s appointment came to light following repeated inquiries from reporters about the leadership of this executive-branch effort, which focuses on cost-cutting measures.

 

The White House had previously declined to name the official, an unusual move for a government agency head, until a court filing days earlier confirmed Musk has no authority over cost-cutting programs and is not a US government employee.

 

 

Who is Amy Gleason?

 

Amy Gleason, now 53, brings a diverse background in healthcare technology and government service to her role as DOGE’s acting administrator. She previously served as an official at the United States Digital Service (USDS) — an agency founded by former President Barack Obama to improve government technology — from 2018 to 2021 during Donald Trump’s first administration and into Joe Biden’s presidency.

 

The USDS was later renamed the US DOGE Service under Trump 2.0. During her tenure, Gleason collaborated with the White House on the federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic, working on projects alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

 

After leaving the USDS in 2021, Gleason spent three years in the private sector, serving as the chief product officer at two Nashville, Tennessee-based healthcare startups -- Russell Street Ventures and Main Street Health. Both companies were founded by Brad Smith, a healthcare entrepreneur who held key roles in Trump’s first administration and is also involved in the DOGE initiative.

 

Russell Street Ventures, which recently deleted its website, described itself as an innovative firm focused on launching and scaling companies serving vulnerable and underserved patient populations. Meanwhile, Main Street Health partners with rural primary care physicians to enhance value-based care through data and technology. An archived version of Main Street Health’s website notes Gleason’s leadership in technology efforts for the federal Covid-19 response. Additionally, Gleason operated her own consulting firm, Gleason Strategies, during this period.

 

Before her time in Nashville, Gleason was vice president for research at the Cure JM Foundation from 2014 to 2018, advocating for solutions to juvenile myositis — a rare autoimmune disease affecting her now-adult daughter, characterised by muscle weakness and skin rashes in children. She also co-founded and served as an executive at Care Sync, a Florida-based telehealth company, further solidifying her expertise in healthcare technology.

 

Gleason's return to government and role at DOGE

 

Gleason returned to the renamed US DOGE Service in January 2025, shortly after Trump’s second inauguration, initially as a senior adviser — a position she lists on her LinkedIn profile. Her elevation to acting administrator was announced on Tuesday (February 25), positioning her to report directly to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles under an executive order signed by Trump on January 20. In her current role, Gleason is tasked with driving the DOGE agenda of streamlining government operations through personnel reductions, contract terminations, and budgetary reductions.

 

Beyond her professional credentials, Gleason has a personal stake in improving healthcare systems. Her daughter’s struggle with juvenile myositis has fueled her long-standing advocacy for better technology and data solutions in healthcare. In a 2020 TED talk, she expressed frustration with the inefficiencies of the healthcare system and called for innovations to benefit patients and physicians — a perspective that likely informs her approach to government efficiency.