1. United States
2. Ariz.
3. Letter

"National Design Studio" needs oversight now! The National Design Studio (NDS) 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. 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. 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. 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. These are frankly terrifying developments that raise significant concerns. 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. I am very concerned about this structural shift in a White House office staffed by former DOGE engineers, one that 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 becomes scarier. NDS needs oversight now!