GAO Finds Gaps in Ethics Oversight for DOGE Personnel in EOP

The Government Accountability Office identified 206 Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) personnel who held positions in the Executive Office of the President from January 20, 2025, through January 31, 2026. Among them were 27 special government employees, four described as DOGE leaders, and the remainder serving at the U.S. DOGE Service or the White House Office. At least 128, including one special government employee, had separated from their EOP positions by January 31, 2026.

EOP officials told GAO that DOGE personnel receive the same ethics and records-management training as other staff, but the office did not provide training records or financial disclosures. Consequently, GAO could not verify whether all DOGE personnel completed the required training or filed disclosures.

Nine executive agencies supplied data on 64 DOGE personnel who were also assigned to those agencies. Of those, 49 completed ethics training, 18 completed records-management training, and 38 filed financial disclosures. Agencies indicated that 28 of the identified detailees should have completed these activities with their home agencies, while six agencies reported that none of their staff met GAO's scoping criteria. Ten agencies failed to provide the requested information.

The Office of Government Ethics, which oversees executive-branch ethics, said its responsibilities concerning DOGE personnel are limited. It has not reviewed an EOP ethics program since 2023 and has no plans to review the USDS program in the next four years because the temporary organization within USDS terminated on July 4, 2026.

GAO conducted the review after executive orders in January and February 2025 tasked DOGE with federal-workforce reform and spending reductions. The findings highlight gaps in confirming ethics training and financial-disclosure compliance for DOGE staff, including special government employees who may have significant outside financial interests.