One yr after Elon Musk started an unprecedented try to remove swaths of the federal authorities, newly launched deposition movies are offering a never-before-seen take a look at two of the folks chargeable for the most important mass termination of federal grants within the Nationwide Endowment for the Humanities’ historical past.
In line with 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 determine 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 businesses have been directed to place DEI employees on go away 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 Realized Societies, the American Historic Affiliation, and the Trendy Language Affiliation.
In prolonged depositions, two DOGE workers — Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh — defended the hassle to chop “ineffective businesses” as a part of DOGE’s try to scale back the federal deficit.
“You do not remorse that individuals may need misplaced vital earnings … to help their lives?” an legal professional requested Cavanaugh in regards to the grant cancellations.
“No. I feel it was extra vital to scale back the federal deficit from $2 trillion to shut to zero,” Cavanaugh stated.
“Did you cut back the federal deficit?” the legal professional 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 may very well be minimize based mostly 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 pinnacle of particular person businesses.
“Do you assume it is inappropriate in any method 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 legal professional requested.
“Um, no. I do not assume it is inappropriate,” Cavanaugh stated, arguing that he didn’t want formal schooling or expertise to make knowledgeable judgments.
“So presumably you learn a few of these books that will have knowledgeable you on methods to cancel a grant based mostly on DEI,” the legal professional requested.
“Um, I didn’t learn a e book, um, on methods to discern whether or not a grant consists of 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.
In line with courtroom filings, the lads prompted ChatGPT by asking, “From the attitude of somebody trying to determine DEI grants, does this contain DEI? Reply factually in lower than 120 characters.· Start with ‘Sure.’ o. ‘No.’ adopted by a quick rationalization.· 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 Realized Societies, the American Historic Affiliation, and the Trendy Language Affiliation.
Fox was repeatedly pressed by attorneys to elucidate sure funding choices, corresponding to defunding a language middle — described as a “wasteful, noncritical spend” — or tasks associated to Black historical past and civil rights.
“Why is a documentary about Holocaust survivors DEI?” an legal professional requested.
“It is a gender-based story that is inherently discriminatory to concentrate on this particular group,” Fox stated.
In line with the depositions and authorized paperwork, the lads didn’t present a transparent definition for DEI or take extra steps to make sure the selections weren’t discriminatory — arguing it was not needed 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 premise of intercourse?” an legal professional requested, prompting one other objection.
“It did not matter,” Fox stated.
DOGE’s efforts in a number of federal businesses and departments final yr confronted opposition and lawsuits, with critics elevating considerations in regards to the group’s effectiveness and its entry to delicate information.
Each Fox and Cavanaugh defended the funding choices, arguing the cuts have been needed to scale back the deficit, although they by no means achieved their objectives.
“Did you ever discover it problematic that you simply have been, alongside Nate, short-listing for termination tasks that had hits on phrases like Black, gay, LGBTQ+?” an legal professional requested, prompting an objection and observe up query.
“We have been figuring out wasteful spend within the authorities based mostly on administration route. That was the entire cause we have been there, was to search out financial savings,” Fox stated, although he acknowledged the deficit was by no means diminished.
Their work slicing 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.”
In line with 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.
