Two employees from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) testified on Jan 23. The two defended their use of OpenAI to cut any organization’s funding associated with DEI. Justin Fox and Nathan Cavanaugh stated they used ChatGPT to decide which organizations went against Trump’s executive order to remove DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). DOGE canceled more than 1,400 active grants, amounting to $100 million in funding.
Trump’s executive order “directs that the U.S. government will not base Foreign Service recruitment, hiring, promotion, or retention decisions on an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, nor embed discriminatory equity ideology within any element of the Foreign Service.”
Fox and Cavanaugh used ChatGPT to go through thousands of organizations’ funding. The AI was prompted: “Does the following relate at all to DEI? Respond factually in less than 120 characters. Begin with ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’” There was no definition of DEI given to the AI system.
Fox compiled what he believed to be the “craziest” grants. He used key words that included “LGBTQ,” “BIPOC,” “Tribal,” “ethnicity”, “gender,” “equality,” “immigration,” “citizenship” and “melting pot.”
Fox explained that any grants associated with the LGBTQ community could be flagged for cancellation. He said grants “Promoting an LGBTQ study, offering a stipend for research on gender fluidity,” stood out in the review process.
The Modern Language Association, the American Council of Learned Societies and the American Historical Association filed a motion against DOGE. The organizations state that DOGE “Unlawfully terminated grants connected to scholarships on race, gender, and LGBTQ+ communities.” They added that the organization has violated the Federal Equal Protection Clause, the Fifth Amendment and the Federal Records Act.
DOGE’s impact on LGBTQ+ programs and grants
DOGE has affected many organizations in North Carolina. Several grants for the LGBTQ+ community have been impacted negatively and many grants that revolve around universities and federal agencies supporting Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) were terminated.
Locally, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) has been impacted by DOGE, which canceled $200 million in funds that were associated with immunization efforts, infectious disease monitoring, and substance use disorder services.
HEALTH ISSUES IMPACTED
According to the NC DHHS, in 2024, 79 percent of North Carolinians aged 15- 29 had chlamydia.
Ahead HIV, a national data collection tool for HIV cases, counted that about 1,357 people in 2024 received an HIV diagnosis. Of those diagnoses, 81.7 percent of those people receive medical care. In Mecklenburg county 273 out of 100,000 people were diagnosed with HIV. Though HIV and STD transmissions have fluctuated, the people in need of testing and medication could be affected by DOGE’s actions.
Nationally, a grant for an LGBTQ+ inclusive teen pregnancy prevention program for transgender boys was defunded. The grant focused on creating programs that focused on inclusive sexual health education. The program claims that “data suggests that AFAB trans-identified youth may be less likely to use condoms when having sex with people who have penises…” The grant hoped to create access to inclusive sexual education, condoms, and sexual health around the nation. With $620,000 striped from funding, it will be difficult for the grant to prosper.