A significant shake-up has hit the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as nearly one-third of its staff have resigned in protest, citing concerns over drastic policy changes under the influence of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The workers, who initially served under the United States Digital Service (USDS) before it was transformed into DOGE following President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, submitted a formal letter to White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, declaring their inability to uphold their commitments.
“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the letter, signed by 21 staffers, read. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.”
Musk, a top Trump donor and unofficial adviser to the president, has been driving changes at DOGE, with his loyalists placed across government agencies to push for major reductions in federal staffing and spending. While Musk does not hold a formal ministerial role, he has been designated as a “special government employee” and is set to attend Trump’s first cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Responding to the resignations, Musk dismissed the departing staff as “political holdovers” who refused to return to in-person work as mandated by Trump. “They would have been fired had they not resigned,” Musk stated on X, the social media platform he owns.
The letter from the resigning staffers detailed a chaotic transition period, including interviews by unnamed individuals wearing White House visitor badges, political loyalty tests, and the abrupt termination of about one-third of USDS employees via anonymous emails on February 14. Many of these dismissed workers had been involved in modernizing critical government services, such as Social Security, veterans’ benefits, tax systems, healthcare, and disaster relief platforms.
“Their removal endangers millions of Americans who rely on these services every day,” the letter warned, adding that the loss of technology expertise could compromise critical systems and sensitive data.
In a further shake-up, DOGE is reportedly developing software to streamline mass layoffs of federal employees, particularly those with civil service protections. Thousands of probationary workers have already been dismissed since Trump’s inauguration, with the new software expected to accelerate the process.
Despite mounting criticism, Musk and his allies remain committed to their restructuring efforts, signaling further upheaval in the federal workforce in the coming months.
