Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been hit by mass resignations as more than 20 civil service employees resigned on Tuesday, saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.” A group of civil service employees in the US have announced their resignations in the latest sign of discord within the administration of President Donald Trump. The 21 employees issued a joint letter to DOGE leadership, which was also obtained by media outlets including The Associated Press.
“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by news agency AP. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.”
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The employees also warned that many of those enlisted by Musk to help him slash the size of the federal government under President Donald Trump’s administration were political ideologues who did not have the necessary skills or experience for the task ahead of them. The federal workers, mostly software engineers and product managers, were once part of the US Digital Service, which was renamed DOGE when Musk launched his initiative from within the White House. The Musk-led unit has laid off thousands of workers and moved to dismantle entire agencies in a slash-and-burn campaign to reduce the size of government.
“We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardise Americans’ sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services,” they explained. “We will not lend our expertise to carry out or legitimise DOGE’s actions.”
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They also denounced the layoffs that have been visited upon the DOGE staff. Earlier this month, about 40 staffers in the office were laid off — a drastic cut, according to Tuesday’s resignation letter. The letter-writers warned that such sudden, steep declines in the workforce would undermine the White House’s ability to handle technology-based projects.
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“Anyone who thinks protests, lawsuits, and lawfare will deter President Trump must have been sleeping under a rock for the past several years,” Leavitt said. “President Trump will not be deterred from delivering on the promises he made to make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the hardworking American taxpayers.”
Musk posted on his social media site X that the story was “fake news” and suggested that the staffers were “Dem political holdovers” who “would have been fired had they not resigned.”
All the staffers who tendered their resignations on Tuesday y held senior roles at such tech companies as Google and Amazon and wrote in their resignation letter that they joined the government out of a sense of duty to public service.
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Trump’s empowerment of Musk upended that. The day after Trump’s inauguration, the staffers wrote, they were called into a series of interviews that foreshadowed the secretive and disruptive work of Musk’s’ Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
“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 wrote in their letter. “This process created significant security risks.”
“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 states. “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.”
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21 DOGE employees quit
In the resignation letter- the former staffers- engineers, data scientists, and product managers- highlighted their commitment to the American people but said they could no longer stand by as the Trump administration started mass firings in the federal workforce.“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by news agency AP. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.”
ALSO READ: Elon Musk's 13th child row: Ashley St. Clair plotting to 'trap' tech billionaire? What you need to know
The employees also warned that many of those enlisted by Musk to help him slash the size of the federal government under President Donald Trump’s administration were political ideologues who did not have the necessary skills or experience for the task ahead of them. The federal workers, mostly software engineers and product managers, were once part of the US Digital Service, which was renamed DOGE when Musk launched his initiative from within the White House. The Musk-led unit has laid off thousands of workers and moved to dismantle entire agencies in a slash-and-burn campaign to reduce the size of government.
“We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardise Americans’ sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services,” they explained. “We will not lend our expertise to carry out or legitimise DOGE’s actions.”
ALSO READ: Mysterious bruise on Trump's right hand sets social media buzzing; White House intervenes
Massive turmoil at DOGE
The resignations are the latest fallout from Trump’s scorched-earth approach to downsizing and reshaping the federal workforce. The employees who resigned on Tuesday were part of the Digital Service before it became DOGE. They warned that their office had been visited by individuals wearing White House visitors’ passes, who interrogated employees about their political leanings and work experience. Some made statements that indicated they had a limited technical understanding. Many were young and seemed guided by ideology and fandom of Musk — not improving government technology.They also denounced the layoffs that have been visited upon the DOGE staff. Earlier this month, about 40 staffers in the office were laid off — a drastic cut, according to Tuesday’s resignation letter. The letter-writers warned that such sudden, steep declines in the workforce would undermine the White House’s ability to handle technology-based projects.
ALSO READ: Starbucks is shaking up its drinks menu amid layoffs. Here's a list of what it's removing and why: 10 points
White House responds
In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was dismissive of the mass resignation.“Anyone who thinks protests, lawsuits, and lawfare will deter President Trump must have been sleeping under a rock for the past several years,” Leavitt said. “President Trump will not be deterred from delivering on the promises he made to make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the hardworking American taxpayers.”
Musk posted on his social media site X that the story was “fake news” and suggested that the staffers were “Dem political holdovers” who “would have been fired had they not resigned.”
All the staffers who tendered their resignations on Tuesday y held senior roles at such tech companies as Google and Amazon and wrote in their resignation letter that they joined the government out of a sense of duty to public service.
ALSO READ: It wasn't love at first sight for Elon and Trump. When Musk reportedly called US President 'f***ing moron'
Trump’s empowerment of Musk upended that. The day after Trump’s inauguration, the staffers wrote, they were called into a series of interviews that foreshadowed the secretive and disruptive work of Musk’s’ Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
“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 wrote in their letter. “This process created significant security risks.”
“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 states. “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.”
