DOGE Staffers Used ChatGPT to Flag Museum HVAC Grant as DEI

According to court documents, DOGE employed ChatGPT to review federal humanities grants for DEI content. The AI tool identified a $349,000 HVAC grant for a museum as DEI.

The screening appears in a lawsuit that claims DOGE violated First Amendment and equal-protection rights by cutting NEH grants.

DOGE’s Money Saving Mandate

DOGE began as a White House advisory body rather than a formal agency on Trump's first day in office. Musk acted as its de facto head until his departure in May 2025.

As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.

The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 29, 2025

As of November 2025, DOGE ceased functioning as a centralized entity, per OPM director Scott Kupor.

How the ChatGPT Screening Worked

Per a spreadsheet submitted as evidence, DOGE employees Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh instructed ChatGPT to evaluate NEH proposals for DEI relevance. They subsequently followed the chatbot's assessments.

North Carolina's High Point Museum requested funds to replace an old system that protects its collections. ChatGPT noted the upgrade would accommodate more visitors and labeled the application DEI.

DOGE terminated the grant. Museum director Edith Brady informed Fortune that the institution regained approximately 70% of the award via a termination clause.

Of the 11 HVAC-related proposals DOGE reviewed, only two were marked as DEI. The second one was from Vermont's Shelburne Museum, which sought assistance with climate-related structural hazards. ChatGPT flagged it for discussing environmental sustainability in heritage preservation.

Letting AI Do The Work

This wasn't an isolated incident. DOGE assessed 1,163 NEH grant proposals via ChatGPT, marking 1,057 as DEI and approving only 42. The reductions eliminated about half the agency's yearly budget.

Acting NEH chairman Michael McDonald remarked that many of the targeted projects were innocuous regarding DEI promotion. This indicates that deficit reduction, not ideological bias, partially motivated the cancellations.

Four organizations, such as the American Historical Association and the Authors Guild, have filed a lawsuit over the cuts. The case could determine if delegating DEI decisions to an AI chatbot passes legal examination.