SpaceXAI Lawyer's Nonprofit Pays Fed Workers
Original: A Mysterious Nonprofit Run by SpaceXAI’s Top Lawyer Is Paying the Salaries of Government Workers
Why This Matters
Opaque tech-industry funding of federal staff blurs public/private accountability lines.
A WIRED investigation found at least two National Design Studio staffers are employed by the America by Design Foundation, a nonprofit apparently run by SpaceXAI general counsel James Burnham, raising accountability questions.
After Elon Musk exited DOGE in spring 2025, several operatives landed at the National Design Studio (NDS), a unit nested inside the Executive Office of the President and led by Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia, now the US chief design officer. NDS was created in August 2025 under the "America by Design" executive order, tasked with redesigning government websites and services—it has since launched TrumpRx and RealFood.gov.
WIRED found that at least two NDS staffers, Amittai Groot and John Cafazza, are actually employed by the America by Design Foundation, a recently formed nonprofit apparently controlled by James Burnham—a former DOGE member and current general counsel of SpaceXAI, Musk's AI-space company. Who funds the foundation and how much money it holds remains unknown.
NDS appears to be using the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, a law allowing specialists from universities and nonprofits to work in government for up to two years, as a hiring workaround—similar to the "special government employee" mechanism DOGE used to sidestep standard vetting and disclosure rules. Other DOGE alumni at NDS include 19-year-old engineer Edward "Big Balls" Coristine (now head of engineering), Akash Bobba, and Zachary Terrell.
"The fact that we wouldn't know who is employing and paying these people is troubling in any context," said Don Moynihan, a University of Michigan public policy professor.