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Musk recruited young DOGE army through online chat groups and Discord servers, report claims

Musk recruited young DOGE army through online chat groups and Discord servers, report claims

Yahoo10-02-2025

Elon Musk's team used Discord and other online chat groups to help recruit staff for the Department of Government Efficiency, according to a report.
Young software engineers reached out to prospective DOGE candidates using chat groups associated with SpaceX interns and former Palantir employees as well as a Discord server associated with a military artificial intelligence program, Wired reported. Messages obtained by the magazine offer the first insights into the recruitment process for the highly scrutinized outside-of-government agency.
Some of the engineers involved in the recruiting process are associated with the data analytics company Palantir, which was co-founded by Peter Thiel, a billionaire Donald Trump supporter and Musk ally.
The engineers posted in the online groups, hoping to find someone willing to work in Washington, D.C. for six months and who had interest in cutting federal spending by a third, messages obtained by the outlet show. They often posted in a chat group and asked interested individuals to reach out to them via direct message.
One of the three engineers involved in DOGE recruiting is Anthony Jancso, a former Palantir employee, Wired reported. He was reportedly brought on by Steve Davis, who has helped Musk's cost-cutting efforts at SpaceX, the Boring Company and X and was tapped to lead recruitment efforts at DOGE, Bloomberg reported in December.
A November 26, 2024 message — from the same username Jansco uses for X — said DOGE was looking for 'hardcore engineers.'
'Helping the Dept. of Government Efficiency team find hardcore engineers,' the message reads. 'Send your GitHub/LinkedIn to @DOGE on X and your X handle to me in DM if you're interested or know someone who is, could help get them into the pipeline.'
The message was posted in a Discord server linked to the Space Force Generative AI Challenge, which its website describes as an 'eight-week combination of AI crash course and problem-solving hack-a-thon that engaged 350-plus participants.'
Weeks later, a message from the same username posted a recruiting message in a Palantir alumni chat group, Wired reported.
'I'm helping Elon's team find tech talent for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the new admin,' the message read. 'This is a historic opportunity to build an efficient government, and to cut the federal budget by 1/3. If you're interested in playing a role in this mission, please reach out in the next few days.'
Two profiles with different handles posted in the Palantir alumni group and the Discord server for SpaceX interns with similar messages, emphasizing the job would span six months — likely referring to the 130-day period that 'special government employees,' like Musk, are allowed to work.
Jansco's X profile says he previously worked at Palantir and co-founded Accelerate SF, which aims to incorporate AI tools into government infrastructure. Jordan Wick, another Accelerate SF co-founder, has a DOGE email address, according to Wired.
Wick was part of the team that had been given access to the Treasury Department's payment systems, sources told the outlet. On Saturday, a federal judge temporarily blocked DOGE from accessing the government systems. In retaliation, Musk called on the judge to be 'impeached.'
This order was hardly the first obstacle Musk's government efficiency team has faced in its first few weeks.
In a separate case, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration's efforts to slash the U.S. Agency for International Development by thousands. The effort has been publicly backed by Musk, who has baselessly called the agency primarily responsible for providing global humanitarian assistance a 'criminal organization.'
The team has also experienced some internal turmoil. A staffer at DOGE quit after his history of racist social media posts was exposed, including offering support for 'eugenic immigration policy' and calling to 'normalize Indian hate.' Musk said he plans on rehiring him, a move Vice President JD Vance supported.
The tech billionaire wrote on X last week: 'We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper.'
The Independent has reached out to Accelerate SF, Wick, Jansco, and the White House for comment.

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House GOP approves first batch of DOGE cuts
House GOP approves first batch of DOGE cuts

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

House GOP approves first batch of DOGE cuts

House Republicans voted on Thursday to claw back billions of dollars in federal funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid, locking in the first set of slashes made by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The chamber approved the legislation — known as a rescissions package — in a 214-212 vote, greenlighting $9.4 billion in cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which DOGE went after earlier this year, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funnels dollars to NPR and PBS. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hailed the package as a large step forward in the GOP's quest to bringing down the $36 trillion — and growing — deficit. 'Today's House passage of this initial rescissions package marks a critical step toward a more responsible and transparent government that puts the interests of the American taxpayers first,' Johnson said in a statement after the vote. 'It is just one of the ways Republicans are codifying DOGE's findings and putting taxpayer dollars to better use.' Despite the emphasis on the legislation, passage was not a sure thing: A handful of Republicans, largely moderates, voiced concerns with the package in the days leading up to the vote, taking issue with cuts to public broadcasting, slashes to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) — first established during the George W. Bush administration — and the overall effort undermining Congress's authority. But in the end, only four GOP lawmakers joined all Democrats in voting 'no,' giving the package enough support to squeak through the chamber. The bill's fate in the Senate, however, remains unclear. A cohort of Republicans have aired qualms with some of the provisions in the measure — namely cuts to public broadcasting — prompting questions about whether the package will ever make it to President Trump's desk for signature. In accordance with the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the bill is subject to a simple majority in the Senate, meaning Republicans can only afford to lose three of their own and muscle it through the chamber, assuming all Democrats vote no. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said the body is unlikely to turn to the issue until July, after the party finishes its work on its 'big, beautiful bill' of tax cuts and spending. 'We'll do reconciliation first so I would expect that rescissions package probably will be a July timeframe,' Thune said, adding that the Senate 'could' tweak parts of the legislation when it comes to their hands. For now, however, the successful vote marks a win for Johnson, who brought skeptical Republicans on board to pass the bill, and hardline conservatives, who upped the pressure on leadership to codify the DOGE cuts amid their deficit concerns. And it came at an interesting moment for the Republican Party: Trump and Elon Musk, the brainchild behind DOGE, had a fierce falling out last week, which began with the billionaire criticizing his marquee bill and quickly devolved into personal insults. The two have since begun showing signs of a potential détente. Musk earlier this week said he had 'regret' for some of his social media posts about Trump that 'went too far,' and the two spoke by phone, according to multiple reports. Trump is seeking to claw back $8.3 billion in foreign aid as part of the request, targeting dollars for items like migration and refugee assistance that the administration says support activities that 'could be more fairly shared with non-U.S. Government donors,' USAID efforts they say have been used to 'fund radical gender and climate projects,' and development assistance they argued 'conflict with American values' and 'interfere with the sovereignty of other countries,' among other rescissions. The administration also calls for eliminating funding for the United Nations Children's Fund, U.N. Development Program and the U.N. Population Fund under the proposal, as well as the World Health Organization and 'portions of the U.N. Regular Budget for the U.N. Human Rights Council and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.' The plan additionally calls for rescinding $535 million in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides some funding to NPR and PBS, in both fiscal 2026 and 2027. The proposed $1.1 billion clawback for public broadcasting funds has sparked concern from Republicans in both chambers, who have sounded alarm over what the cuts would mean for local stations and those in rural communities. However, Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), a spending cardinal and co-chair of the Public Broadcasting Caucus, has pushed the administration to reconsider the proposed rescissions to public broadcasting programs. 'You ask yourself, well, is it easier for the national people to raise money, or is it easier for the affiliate in Reno or wherever?' Amodei said to reporters this week, while also saying, 'Of the total funding that was pre-funded for 26 and 27 we've been told 70 percent of that gets passed through to local TV stations.' Other Republicans, however, have suggested that lawmakers could make further changes to protect local stations after the bill passes if needed, and some have argued that stations could also raise funding from outside sources. Paula Kerger, the president and CEO of PBS, knocked the cuts to public broadcasting after the vote. 'The fight to protect public media does not end with this vote, and we will continue to make the case for our essential service in the days and weeks to come,' she said. 'If these cuts are finalized by the Senate, it will have a devastating impact on PBS and local member stations, particularly smaller and rural stations that rely on federal funding for a larger portion of their budgets. Without PBS and local member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis.' While the special rescissions process has not been frequently used in the last two decades, Trump also tried to use the maneuver to yank back funds in his first term without success, despite Republicans having control of the House and Senate at the time. Republicans are optimistic history won't repeat itself as they navigate their first trifecta in years. '[Trump's] done this before, and they've got a great team, I think, in place,' House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole said last week. 'They've thought about these things a lot in the time in between His first and his second term.' 'And there's no question, the President has much more influence inside the Republican Party than he had during his first term,' he added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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