Former staffers from a controversial US government department have testified that artificial intelligence, including ChatGPT, was used to help review and cancel federal grants, with projects referencing LGBTQ+ topics among those flagged.
The revelations emerged during sworn depositions from Justin Fox and Nathan Cavanaugh, former staffers of the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was led by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
According to reporting by The New York Times, the pair said they were tasked with rapidly cutting federal spending and used AI tools to help sift through large volumes of grant applications.
AI used to scan grants for “DEI”
Fox testified that he used ChatGPT to analyse grant descriptions and determine whether they related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) topics.
During questioning, Fox described prompting the AI with a simple instruction:
“Does the following relate at all to D.E.I.? Respond factually in less than 120 characters. Begin with ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’”
Notably, Fox acknowledged that he did not define what “DEI” meant when giving the instructions to the AI system.
Grants that referenced certain keywords — including “LGBTQ,” “BIPOC,” “tribal,” “gender,” “equality,” “immigration,” and “citizenship” — could then be flagged during the review process.
Fox also admitted compiling lists of what he described as the “craziest” or “other bad” grants during the review.
LGBTQ-related research among projects flagged
According to testimony, projects referencing LGBTQ topics were frequently identified by the AI-assisted review.
One example raised during the depositions was a grant titled “Examining experiences of LGBTQ military service.”
The project aimed to bring veterans and community members together to discuss the experiences of marginalised service members, including women, Black veterans, Native Americans, immigrants and LGBTQ personnel.
When asked why the grant had been flagged, Cavanaugh responded simply:
“Because it explicitly says LGBTQ.”
Another programme that reportedly faced cancellation focused on the legacy of HIV and AIDS activism, particularly research examining feminist and queer perspectives on prison abolition.
Fox testified that the language referencing gender and LGBTQ studies contributed to the decision to flag the grant.
Legal challenge over cancelled funding
The testimony is part of a lawsuit brought by several major academic organisations, including the Modern Language Association, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the American Historical Association.
The groups argue that the grant cancellations were unlawful and targeted research related to race, gender and LGBTQ communities.
According to the lawsuit, more than 1,400 active grants — representing over $100 million in funding — were terminated during the cuts.
Over 10 hours of deposition footage from Fox and Cavanaugh has been released publicly by the American Historical Association.
A controversial department
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was established after Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
The department was led by Elon Musk, who had previously donated an estimated $250 million to Trump’s re-election campaign.
DOGE was responsible for a series of sweeping spending cuts across government agencies, including the closure of USAID, which had been the world’s largest provider of food assistance.
The new testimony is likely to intensify scrutiny of how those decisions were made — and the role artificial intelligence may have played in reviewing public funding.
