Is there trouble afoot at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)?
In the opening weeks of the second Trump presidency, Elon Musk’s dubiously constitutional government agency took a sledgehammer to the executive branch while making questionable claims about how much money it saved.
More recently, Musk sent an email to government employees, asking them to provide answers about what they do in their jobs. The email, which mirrors a tactic used by Musk when he took over Twitter/X, has led to widespread confusion inside the government, with some agencies telling their employees not to reply.
Now, there is a report of trouble inside DOGE.
BREAKING:
(AP) More than 20 civil service employees resigned Tuesday from Elon Musk’s DOGE, saying they refused to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.” pic.twitter.com/XXb9hBc3XA
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) February 25, 2025
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According to the Associated Press, 21 employees of DOGE have written a letter announcing their resignations, stating that they refuse to “dismantle critical public services.”
“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the employees said in their letter. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.”
The employees worked for what was formerly known as the United States Digital Service, which was converted into DOGE under one of Trump’s early executive orders. All formerly worked at major tech companies, per the AP story, and had joined the government with a “sense of duty.” DOGE had laid off about 40 staffers from the former Digital Service in the early going of the new administration.
Also, according to the letter, personnel who did not give their names grilled them on their personal politics, while some “made statements that indicated they had a limited technical understanding.”
This is what courage looks like. While so many stayed silent, these people took a stand. We need more of that—right now.
📌21 civil service employees resigned from DOGE pic.twitter.com/cUgevDT2al
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) February 25, 2025
“Several of these interviewers refused to identify themselves, asked questions about political loyalty, attempted to pit colleagues against each other, and demonstrated limited technical ability,” the staffers said. “This process created significant security risks.”
The letter added that among those who were let go were people working on important matters.
“These highly skilled civil servants were working to modernize Social Security, veterans’ services, tax filing, health care, disaster relief, student aid, and other critical services,” the resignation letter said, per the AP. “Their removal endangers millions of Americans who rely on these services every day. The sudden loss of their technology expertise makes critical systems and American’s data less safe.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
