I was racist before it was cool: DOGE Staffer's past haunts Musk's initiative

Marko Elez, a staffer for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has resigned after racist and eugenic social media posts surfaced, sparking controversy and raising questions about vetting processes. The posts, made on a now-deleted X account, targeted Indian tech workers and advocated for discriminatory policies, leading to his swift departure.

Racist Posts Trigger Resignation

Social media posts advocating racism and eugenics lead to the DOGE staffer's departure.

Marko Elez, a 25-year-old programmer working with Elon Musk's DOGE, resigned after The Wall Street Journal revealed his connection to a social media account promoting racism and eugenics. The account, linked to Elez, featured posts such as "Normalize Indian hate," targeting Indian workers in Silicon Valley, and "You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity". The account also posted "Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool".

DOGE and Trump's Cost-Cutting Initiative

Elez was part of Musk's team focused on reducing government spending under the Trump administration.Elez was a key staffer in DOGE, an initiative led by Elon Musk under President Donald Trump's administration, aimed at slashing government spending and reducing the federal workforce. He was one of two temporary appointees connected to DOGE at the Treasury Department who had been granted access to a highly sensitive system that processes trillions of dollars in payments annually. Prior to his resignation, Elez had been approved by a federal judge to access the U.S. Treasury's payment system.

Controversy and White House Response

The resurfacing of racist posts led to inquiries and a confirmed resignation from the White House.The resurfacing of Elez's social media posts prompted an inquiry from The Wall Street Journal, leading to his resignation. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed his departure. The incident has raised concerns among lawmakers and former federal employees regarding the vetting process for Musk's DOGE appointees.

Elez's Background and Previous Work

Before joining DOGE, Elez had a background in computer science and worked with Musk at SpaceX and X. Marko Elez studied computer science at Rutgers University and co-founded Unimetrics.io, a company focused on connecting high school students with college application mentors. He worked with Musk at SpaceX, including on projects related to Starlink satellites, and at X, where he focused on artificial intelligence