A jaw-dropping deposition is shedding new light on how the Trump administration’s controversial DOGE initiative decided which federal research grants deserved to live — and which would be wiped out.
The answer? Apparently… vibes.
Under oath, DOGE staffer Nathan Cavanaugh admitted that he and another colleague personally labeled several academic grants as the “craziest” they had seen — and canceled them despite having no experience in grant review, federal research funding, or scholarly peer review.
When pressed on why one research project was targeted, Cavanaugh didn’t point to fraud, waste, or flawed methodology. His reason? The project mentioned “feminist and queer insights.” That alone was enough.
Another grant examining the experiences of marginalized military veterans — including women, Black service members, Native Americans, immigrants, and LGBTQ troops — was also flagged and canceled. Why? Because the description “explicitly says LGBTQ.”
That was the entire explanation.
When the lawyer conducting the deposition asked Cavanaugh whether he had any background in scholarly peer review or grant evaluation, the answer was simple: “No.”
The attorney then asked whether it was appropriate for a twenty-something with no experience reviewing federal grants to make sweeping decisions that could destroy researchers’ careers and cut off funding for academic work.
Cavanaugh’s response? He saw nothing wrong with it. He argued that someone could make those decisions simply by being “well-informed” from reading books.
The lawyer then asked the obvious follow-up question: Which books? Cavanaugh’s answer? “There were no books.”
And the irony gets even sharper.
Earlier in the deposition, Cavanaugh insisted he had no regrets about people losing income and research funding because the cuts were meant to reduce the federal deficit. When asked if those actions actually reduced the deficit, he admitted they did not.
So to recap: federal research grants were canceled by people with no expertise, no training, no peer review experience, and apparently no research to guide their decisions — simply because certain projects mentioned LGBTQ issues or feminism.
And the people making those calls say they see absolutely nothing wrong with that. That’s why so many people are finally realizing that MAGA actually stands for “Morons Are Governing America.”Get The Full, Details. .
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
