Approximately one in three staff members at Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has walked away from their roles, rejecting the directive to enact controversial changes. In their view, the proposed measures pose a serious threat to the country, prompting this wave of resignations as a stand against the overhaul.
“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” 21 staffers of DOGE wrote in a letter, seen by AFP on Tuesday, to White House chief of staff Susan Wiles.
“However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments,” they added.
The employees initially contributed their skills to the United States Digital Service (USDS), an agency that morphed into the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) shortly after President Donald Trump assumed office on January 20, 2025. Elon Musk swiftly emerged as the driving force behind this revamped entity, effectively taking the helm.
Musk serves as the ideological architect of DOGE, deploying a select team of staunch supporters—drawn from his vast sphere of influence—to infiltrate various government branches, where they’re tasked with drastically reducing federal personnel and budgets.
Although he doesn’t hold the official title of DOGE’s head, the trailblazing CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is unequivocally shaping its direction, even earning a spot at Trump’s first cabinet gathering on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, signaling his deep involvement in the administration’s inner circle.
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Boasting the title of the world’s wealthiest individual and a key financial ally of Trump, Musk operates without a traditional cabinet post or explicit policymaking power. Nonetheless, his roles as a “special government employee” and “senior presidential adviser” afford him remarkable leverage within DOGE’s orbit.
He brushed off the wave of staff departures with nonchalance, characterizing those who left as “relics of past politics” accustomed to working from home and unwilling to comply with Trump’s mandate for office attendance. “They’d have been sacked if they hadn’t quit,” he declared on X, his own digital domain, framing it as a natural culling.
In a revealing open letter, the exiting workers recounted a chaotic overhaul that began on January 21, marked by hurried interviews conducted by mysterious figures flashing White House visitor passes. These questioners scrutinized staff loyalty, stirred internal friction, and revealed a surprising lack of tech savvy, despite DOGE’s tech-driven mandate.
Tensions peaked on February 14, when about one-third of the USDS team was unceremoniously let go through curt, unsigned emails. The letter emphasized that these ousted employees had been pivotal in upgrading essential public systems—think Social Security, veterans’ support, tax processing, healthcare access, and emergency aid platforms—efforts now thrown into limbo by DOGE’s sweeping changes.
