The Payroll Shell Game: Following the Money from SpaceXAI to the National Design Studio
AI-generated image · US National Wire
A deep dive into the America by Design Foundation reveals a complex web of nonprofit funding and 'on loan' personnel designed to bypass federal hiring hurdles.
In the world of fintech and payments, we always follow the fee to see who is actually capturing the value. When applying that same lens to the federal government's current operational structure, as *Wired* first reported, the money trail leads to a curious intersection of private AI interests and public governance.
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**Opinion: The Governance Arbitrage**
From my perspective as a markets analyst, what we are seeing here isn't just a hiring quirk; it looks like a sophisticated payroll shell game. By utilizing a nonprofit as a conduit for salaries, the administration is effectively shifting the cost of governance onto private balance sheets while bypassing the transparency and oversight inherent in the federal hiring process. If the 'nonprofit' is funded by interests tied to the very companies benefiting from government redesigns, we aren't looking at public service—we're looking at a corporate capture of the state's operating system.
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According to a detailed investigation by *Wired*, the National Design Studio (NDS)—the successor agency to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—is utilizing a recently formed nonprofit called the America by Design Foundation to pay the salaries of government workers.
**The SpaceXAI Connection**
*Wired* reports that the America by Design Foundation appears to be run by James Burnham. Burnham is not only a former member of DOGE but currently serves as the general counsel for SpaceXAI, the artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk. While the foundation is providing the payroll for certain NDS members, *Wired* notes that it remains unclear who is funding the foundation or the total amount of capital it holds.
**The 'On Loan' Mechanism**
The NDS, which is nested within the Executive Office of the President and led by Airbnb cofounder and U.S. Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia, is reportedly using the Intergovernment Personnel Act to bring in specialized staff. This law allows individuals from nonprofits or universities to work in government for up to two years.
*Wired* identified two specific individuals who are employed by the America by Design Foundation but have been detailed to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM):
* **Amittai Groot:** A former IT cybersecurity expert at the Social Security Administration. Documents reviewed by *Wired* show Groot began employment with the America by Design Foundation in April 2026 and was detailed to OPM part-time from May 5, 2026, to September 30, 2026. * **John Cafazza:** A senior product designer at NDS who previously held a design role at Trump Media & Technology Group, the company that owns Truth Social. *Wired* reports his government term is listed as part-time, running from May 7, 2026, to May 7, 2028.
Both men reported to Christina Bonarrigo, who served as OPM's chief of staff until last month and currently serves as the chief of staff at NDS, per her LinkedIn profile.
**The DOGE Pipeline**
The transition from DOGE to NDS has been seamless for several key operatives. *Wired* names several individuals who have spanned both organizations:
* **Edward “Big Balls” Coristine:** An early core engineer for DOGE who entered government at age 19 and now serves as the head of engineering for NDS. * **Akash Bobba:** A young engineer whose work has touched multiple government agencies. * **Zachary Terrell:** He currently serves as the chief technology officer for the Department of Health and Human Services.
Many of these operatives entered government as "special government employees," a designation *Wired* notes allows individuals to work in government for 120 days a year without the full federal hiring process or standard transparency disclosures.
**The Deliverables and the Risks**
The NDS has been tasked with redesigning government services and websites. *Wired* reports that the group has already launched TrumpRx and RealFood.gov. Their most recent project is America.gov, an AI-driven site intended to consolidate services like passport renewal and tax filing. Edward Coristine explicitly attributed work on America.gov to Amittai Groot in a post on X.
However, this rapid, privately-funded deployment has raised alarms. *The Guardian* previously noted that websites designed by the NDS used commercial tracking software for visitors, which appeared to be a violation of the 1974 Privacy Act. *The Guardian* notes the code was removed during their reporting process.
**The Regulatory Gap**
Critics argue that this model undermines the civil service. Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, told *Wired* that the lack of transparency regarding who employs and pays these workers is "troubling," particularly given the revolving door between the private and public sectors.
Similarly, Erie Meyer, who served as chief technologist of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the Biden administration, told *Wired* that while she used IPAs for AI expertise in 2021, those roles were not intended to be at the core of an agency or to replace the duties of federal employees.