DOGE bros have a new role — making an AI-powered site for Trump that handles basic government services

Former Department of Government Efficiency staffers, including 20-year-old Edward Coristine, are developing an AI-powered government services site called America.gov that is set to launch by the end of September, The Washington Sun reported Thursday. The site, built by the White House's National Design Studio under Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, will feature a chatbot interface for filing tax returns and renewing passports, replacing the Direct File program the Trump administration canceled in November 2025. Former Direct File deputy Merici Vinton warned that "in a moment where the public is already skeptical about AI in government, this could undo trust instead of building it.

DOGE bros have a new role — making an AI-powered site for Trump that handles basic government services Some Trump administration officials reportedly hope that America.gov will help boost Republican congressional candidates in the midterm elections - Bookmark Former members of Elon Musk's controversial Department of Government Efficiency https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/doge-trump-musk-government-employees-b3051310.html — including one known as “Big Balls” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/elon-musk-doge-edward-coristine-b2697352.html — are reportedly developing a new government services website for the public that will be powered by artificial intelligence. The planned America.gov site is set to be unveiled by the end of September, with some Trump administration officials hopeful it will give Republican congressional candidates a talking point to boost their campaigns ahead of the crucial midterm elections https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/gas-prices-midterm-elections-trump-iran-war-b3049971.html , The Washington Sun https://www.washingtonsun.com/trump-white-house/trump-aides-ai-takeover-america-gov-passport-direct-file reported Thursday. The site is slated to feature a chatbot interface and allow users to perform tasks that include filing tax returns and renewing passports, the Sun said, citing unidentified current and former officials familiar with the plans. The tax-filing feature would essentially replace a free online program, called Direct File, that the Biden administration launched in March 2024 for the 2023 tax-filing season. The Trump administration canceled Direct File in November 2025. “There’s a real need for simple, integrated services. We actually built one, Direct File, and people loved and trusted it, but it took careful work,” former Direct File deputy Merici Vinton told the Sun . “Then DOGE killed it.” Vinton, now a senior fellow at the progressive Center for American Progress think tank, also noted the complexities of the tax code and warned, “In a moment where the public is already skeptical about AI in government, this could undo trust instead of building it.” Neither the White House, Treasury Department, State Department nor General Services Administration immediately returned inquiries Thursday from The Independent . The Sun said the White House declined to comment for its report. The America.gov website is being developed by the White House's National Design Studio, led by Airbnb co-founder and former DOGE official Joe Gebbia, according to the Sun . Other National Design Studio projects, including the TrumpRx and Trump Gold Card websites, suffered from early accessibility problems, the outlet said. The America.gov team reportedly includes 20-year-old Edward Coristine, a college dropout and early DOGE staffer who made headlines in part due to his “Big Balls” nickname. Coristine — whose father, Charles Coristine, is CEO of the LesserEvil snack company — also had a limited work history that reportedly included getting fired from a cybersecurity internship for allegedly leaking inside information to a rival company. Officials are considering using the federal Login.gov identity-verification website for access to America.gov, which would be overseen by the General Services Administration, according to the Sun . Another former DOGE official, Sam Corcos, is reportedly involved in Login.gov and was recently given several roles at the GSA. Musk initially claimed DOGE would cut as much as $2 trillion in government spending, but its online “Wall of Receipts” listed only $215 billion in estimated savings before the ad hoc government agency was shut down in July. Last month, the Government Accountability Office said that it couldn't verify 96 percent of DOGE's reported savings and that DOGE's claim of having saved $110 billion on contracts, grants and leases was artificially inflated because some leases “were already in process for termination.” Another GAO report released Tuesday also said a DOGE-inspired drive to reduce the federal workforce paid government employees about $9.5 billion not to work, with $6.7 billion going to people who eventually retired or resigned. Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has also criticized a move by Musk, who has an estimated net worth of $939 billion, to effectively shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, which had a budget of about $40 billion a year. “The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” Gates told the Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/bdd9bb89-ac3c-4043-9ca4-bc7efbd41fed?syn-25a6b1a6=1 last year. Musk called Gates a “huge liar” in response to the accusation. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments comments-area