DOGE staffer advised on cuts to Justice Dept grants, document and source say

WASHINGTON, April 29 (Reuters) - A member of Elon Musk's U.S. Department of Government Efficiency helped steer the Justice Department's April termination of more than $811 million in grants, including funding for Trump administration priorities such as aid to crime victims and police, according to a document and a person familiar with the matter.

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Makecha created the list without consulting program managers at the department's Office of Justice Programs, its largest grant-making arm, though he had questioned employees about the grant process, according to interviews with grantees and others with knowledge of the process.

The list was not initially provided to managers of the grant programs, many of whom learned about the cuts from grantees who received termination letters, according to multiple grantees and others with knowledge of the process.

A White House official told Reuters that all of Makecha's actions were approved by DOJ leadership. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment and Makecha did not respond to requests for comment.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has said she authorized cuts to programs that did not align with President Donald Trump's priorities to assist law enforcement, combat violent crime, protect children and support victims of violence and sexual assault.

But many of the terminated grants appeared to align with those priorities, and some cuts were quickly reversed after Reuters reported on them.

Tapped by Trump to carry out a massive campaign of government cuts, Musk's DOGE has moved at great speed, in some cases causing chaos within the government, and in others firing then rehiring the same workers.

The Intercept previously reported that Makecha started doing work on the grant programs in late March.

'VERY CONFUSING AND VERY SAD'

The DOJ has restored at least seven of the grants that were cut, including funding for pet-friendly domestic violence shelters and crisis hotlines.

But the majority remain terminated, and grantees have 30 days to appeal.

One terminated grant, $8.3 million to the National Policing Institute, funded rural police departments and district attorneys' offices, including many in regions where Trump has had strong support. It helped pay for automated license plate readers, violent crime investigators and programs to combat child sexual abuse, according to a list seen by Reuters.

Police Chief Justin Holliday of Lyons, Kansas, said his department just started using grant funds to pay for the new Rice County Child Advocacy Center, where the executive director conducted forensic interviews of child sex abuse victims.

Braeley Hammeke, that director, said Rice County has a population of about 10,000 and the center has received referrals for 28 kids since it opened in November.

"I feel that the work we do falls in line with all of the priorities," said Hammeke. "It's very confusing and very sad."

Funding was also cut for a police officer embedded in the district attorney's office in Union County, Oregon. That officer has been the only person working on homicide cold cases and negligent homicide investigations against drug dealers for fentanyl overdoses, said District Attorney Kelsie Davis McDaniel.

"We were really optimistic that this funding would continue in the future," she said.

The National Policing Institute declined to comment, saying it did not know DOJ's rationale.

In an April 23 post on X, Bondi touted examples of "wasteful grants," including a $2 million grant to fund "national listening sessions of individuals with lived experience." DOGE later shared her post, saying "Great work."

That $2 million grant trained prosecutors to investigate child abuse in juvenile detention facilities, youth correctional facilities or group homes, according to Makecha's list. The listening sessions allowed prosecutors to hear directly from youth abuse victims.

The Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, which won the award, did not respond to requests for comment.

DOJ employees have been flooded with calls and emails from cut-off grant recipients, some of whom have already had to fire employees, one person briefed on the matter told Reuters.

Staff were provided a script for speaking with grantees who may get "confrontational," a copy seen by Reuters showed.

Since then, the DOJ's Office on Community Oriented Policing Services started soliciting applications for new grants. One solicitation said that local governments that mandate COVID-19 vaccines in schools, promote gender ideology or have "failed to protect public monuments" from vandalism would not be eligible.

Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Peter Eisler; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman

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