One-third of Elon Musk’s DOGE staff resign in protest

 

A significant portion of staff at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have resigned in protest, expressing their refusal to implement changes that they believe would jeopardize the nation. 

 

In a letter addressed to White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, 21 staff members of DOGE stated that their commitment to serve the American people and uphold the Constitution had been undermined, and they could no longer honour their responsibilities. 

The employees, who were originally part of the United States Digital Service (USDS), had worked on critical government projects until the department was restructured under President Donald Trump’s administration in January, with Musk assuming a significant role in its direction.

 

Although Musk is not the official administrator of DOGE, he plays a central role in directing its operations and has been influential in pushing for cuts to federal staffing and spending. Despite lacking formal decision-making authority, Musk’s position as a “special government employee” and “senior adviser to the president” gives him considerable influence. He minimized the impact of the resignations, claiming the departing workers were political holdovers who refused to comply with orders to return to the office, labelling them as unfit for the role.

The staff who resigned described a disorganized transition process starting in January, with interviews conducted by individuals with questionable technical expertise. Tensions escalated when a third of the USDS staff were terminated via an anonymous email on February 14, with many of the dismissed employees working on vital government services such as Social Security, veterans’ services, tax filing, healthcare, and disaster relief. In their letter, the employees warned that the loss of these experts could compromise critical systems and put American data at risk.

 

The USDS was established in 2014 under the Obama administration to improve government digital services. However, under Musk’s influence, the department has shifted its focus toward reducing government staffing, and its engineers are reportedly developing new software to streamline the firing of federal employees, particularly those with stronger civil service protections. 

 

 

These developments follow an earlier email sent to two million federal workers, demanding that they justify their roles or risk termination. Many government departments have since advised their staff to disregard the DOGE-inspired email.