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By Monica Sager and Gabe Whisnant
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Elon Musk on Friday announced that he will bring back Marko Elez, a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staff member who resigned from a Treasury Department position after his social media posts promoting racism and eugenics were exposed by The Wall Street Journal.
Why It Matters
DOGE, a nongovernmental task force led by Musk, President Donald Trump's billionaire ally, is working to cut wasteful federal spending. The department has been granted access to "sensitive Treasury data," including Social Security and Medicare customer payment systems, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
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Musk has been working as a "special government employee," a White House official told the AP. He does not receive a paycheck for his work.
What To Know
Musk made this announcement on his social media platform, X, formerly Twitter, following Vice President JD Vance's urging, and later on Friday, Trump's endorsement of the rehiring at a news conference.
"He will be brought back," Musk wrote on X in response to Vance's post. "To err is human, to forgive divine."
Elez resigned on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Journal. He announced his exit after the Journal reported that a social media account linked to him had promoted racism and eugenics.
"Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool," the X account connected to Elez posted in July, according to the Journal's review of archived posts.
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X account @nullllptr, a play on a key word in the C++ programming language, reportedly advocated for repealing the Civil Rights Act and backed a "eugenic immigration policy."
@nullllptr was deleted from X in December. The account previously had the username @marko_elez, and the user described themselves as an employee of Musk's SpaceX and Starlink.
The user posted in June, "I would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth."
The President and Vice President on Marko Elez
Vance had posted earlier on Friday that while "I obviously disagree with some" of Elez's posts, he believes "stupid social media activity" should not "ruin a kid's life."
"We shouldn't reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever," Vance posted. "So I say bring him back. If he's a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that."
Trump was asked his thoughts during a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
"I don't know about the particular thing, but if the vice president said that, did you say that?" Trump said looking out to the crowd. "I'm with the vice president."
Trump also was questioned on whether he gave Musk guidelines on what he can examine within the federal government.
"Just about everything, we're going to go through everything," Trump said. "I've instructed him to check out education, to check out at the Pentagon, which is the military. Sadly, you're going to find some things that are bad."
Social Security, however, "will not be touched," Trump added. "It will only be strengthened."
Who Is Marko Elez?
Elez graduated from Rutgers University in 2021 with a degree in computer science.
During his sophomore year, he cofounded a company that connected high schoolers with mentors who could help with their college applications.
He then worked on search AI for Musk at SpaceX, Starlink and X.
The Daily Beast reports that Elez has wiped most of his online presence, including his LinkedIn page. That said, so have other DOGE staffers who have been identified recently.
Democratic Response to DOGE
On Monday, top Democrats called out the "unelected shadow government" that has been "conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government."
"We are pulling the fire alarm," Senator Patty Murray of Washington said.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, unveiled a new bill called "Stop the Steal," which they say is "to prevent unlawful meddling in the Treasury Department's payment systems and protect Americans across the country."
The bill was introduced in response to DOGE gaining access to the U.S. Treasury payment system, which is responsible for 1 billion payments per year totaling $5 trillion. It includes sensitive information involving bank accounts and Social Security payments.
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"Whatever DOGE is doing, it's not democracy," Schumer said. "You don't have a small group of select people who have little experience of the branches of government, have access to these records and ability to cut funding."
Representatives Maxwell Frost of Florida, Jasmine Crockett of Texas and Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island posted a video of themselves at the Treasury Department later in the day asking "to be let in to provide oversight on behalf of our constituents."
Representative Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts also shared a video of her chanting with a crowd: "Elon Musk has got to go."
On Friday, during the Democratic Women's Caucus, Representative Shontel Brown said "Elon Musk isn't finding waste. He's blocking spending he doesn't personally agree with."
What People Are Saying
Bill Kristol, director of Defending Democracy Together, on X: "Racism and eugenics in DOGE world? Color me shocked."
Tom Bonier, CEO of the Tara Group, on X: "I'm shocked that the guy who gave a nazi salute would hire back the racist tweet guy."
Musk, on X: "Obviously, @DOGE is trying to STOP your tax dollars from being stolen for WASTE and FRAUD. @RepJeffries wants that to continue."
Murray, at a news conference Monday: "Make no mistake, Trump and Musk have absolutely zero, zero legal authority to hold up any legal payments that are law ... It is up to Republicans, who are the majority in Congress who are passing these nominations, who are sitting silently by while Elon Musk goes into departments, into agencies and takes your information. It is up to them to decide whether they want to get out the fire hoses or sit in the fire."
What Happens Next
The "Stop the Steal Act" will be introduced in the House and Senate. According to Schumer, the Senate will have "shadow hearings" and consult with whistleblowers.
This is a developing story and will be updated with further information.
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