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This post is going to be long but it’s important. One of the least-discussed developments in the Trump administration is the creation of the National Design Studio (NDS). On the surface, it was presented as a project to modernize government websites and improve the user experience. But a closer look shows it has become much more than a web design office.
Created by executive order in August 2025, NDS was placed inside the White House rather than an individual federal agency. It reports directly to the White House Chief of Staff and was given authority to coordinate digital projects across the federal government through the administration’s “America by Design” initiative.
The office is led by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, who previously worked with DOGE. As DOGE began winding down, many of its engineers and staff were reassigned throughout the federal government, with several moving into NDS. Reporting has identified former DOGE personnel, including Greg Hogan and Akash Bobba, as part of the studio, and Edward Coristine (“Big Balls”) has also been associated with the office.
NDS’s public mission is to redesign government services, but its portfolio has expanded well beyond appearance. It has built or redeveloped websites for passport applications, prescription drug programs, children’s investment accounts, and preview versions of Vote. gov and Login. gov (two systems connected to voter registration and identity verification).
According to a Guardian investigation published today, several of these services route through White House-controlled infrastructure rather than remaining solely under the agencies Congress originally assigned to manage them.
The same investigation also reported that NDS websites used commercial visitor-tracking software and that the office’s funding, staffing, and contracting are unusually hidden. Searches of the federal spending database reportedly show little public information about how the studio is funded or which outside vendors are involved. The White House has said “NDS personnel comply with all applicable legal requirements” and that the office’s goal is simply to improve how Americans interact with government services.
This represents an important structural shift a White House office staffed by former DOGE engineers is increasingly responsible for building and operating digital infrastructure that was traditionally developed and managed by individual federal agencies. As the administration continues expanding digital identity and election-related initiatives, NDS is becoming more and more involved. NDS needs oversight now!
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