Elon Musk continues to take what Axios describes as a "wrecking ball" to the federal bureaucracy, with the US Agency for International Development now on the chopping block. In recent days, Musk and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency also gained access to a sensitive system that controls federal payments. While the moves are part of Musk's long-stated promise to slash government spending on behalf of President Trump, what may be surprising to many is the team of young engineers assisting Musk. From an investigation at Wired:
- The outlet "has identified six young men—all apparently between the ages of 19 and 24, according to public databases, their online presences, and other records—who have little to no government experience and are now playing critical roles in Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency ..." They hold what the magazine calls "nebulous" job titles at DOGE such as "expert," and at least one appears to still be in college.
"What we're seeing is unprecedented in that you have these actors who are not really public officials gaining access to the most sensitive data in government," Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, tells Wired. "We really have very little eyes on what's going on. Congress has no ability to really intervene and monitor what's happening because these aren't really accountable public officials. So this feels like a hostile takeover of the machinery of governments by the richest man in the world." The full Wired story details the six, including Edward Coristine, who appears to be a recent high school graduate, and Luke Farritor, who made headlines in 2023. (Read it here.)
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