The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been quietly deploying artificial intelligence tools, including software from Palantir, to audit federal grants, job descriptions, and applications for alignment with recent executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and what officials term “gender ideology.” This practice, ongoing since March 2025, has occurred without public acknowledgment from either HHS or Palantir.
AI-Driven Audits and Funding Shifts
The initiative focuses on enforcing Executive Order 14151, which aims to eliminate DEI-related policies from federal programs, and Executive Order 14168, defining sex as an “immutable biological classification.” The AI tools flag content referencing DEI, “equity,” or “gender identity” for further review. Palantir earned over $35 million from HHS during the first year of the second Trump administration for this work, although financial disclosures do not explicitly mention these ideological audits.
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within HHS is central to this effort, using Palantir’s software to identify “position descriptions that may need to be adjusted.” Credal AI, founded by former Palantir employees, also assists ACF in reviewing grant applications. The AI system generates initial flags, which are then manually assessed by ACF program staff.
Broader Impact on Federal Funding and Research
The implementation of these executive orders has already had significant repercussions. The National Science Foundation (NSF) began flagging research containing DEI-related terms, like “inclusion” or “underrepresented,” for review. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) halted research involving LGBTQ+ populations, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) removed an LGBTQ youth service line from the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Across the NSF and National Institutes of Health, nearly $3 billion in grant funds were either frozen or terminated by year-end. Layoffs affected workers across agencies, including the Department of Education and NASA, sometimes regardless of their direct involvement in DEI-related positions. NASA, for example, purged mentions of women, indigenous people, and LGBTQ individuals from its website.
Private Sector Compliance and Palantir’s Growth
Facing potential funding cuts, over 1,000 nonprofit organizations have rewritten their mission statements to avoid language associated with DEI. Even organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children removed references to transgender people from their public materials, despite their increased vulnerability to sexual abuse.
Meanwhile, Palantir’s revenue from federal contracts has surged. The company earned over $1 billion in net payments during the second Trump administration’s first year, compared to approximately $808 million the previous year. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has become a major Palantir client, awarding the company an additional $30 million to develop tools for tracking and deporting individuals.
Palantir’s software, including the Investigative Case Management System (ICM) and Enhanced Leads Identification & Targeting for Enforcement (ELITE) app, integrates data from HHS and other sources to create detailed profiles on potential enforcement targets. Despite internal employee concerns regarding ethical implications, Palantir continues to defend its work with ICE.
The current trend demonstrates a systematic effort to enforce ideological alignment within federal funding and research, relying heavily on AI-driven surveillance and enforcement mechanisms. The long-term consequences for scientific inquiry, social programs, and individual rights remain to be seen.
