Marko Elez, a young member of Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, has stepped down after being connected to a racist social media account, sparking debate over social media conduct and the agency's future.
Controversy Erupts in Musk's New Government Unit After Resignation Linked to Racist Posts
Controversy Erupts in Musk's New Government Unit After Resignation Linked to Racist Posts
A staff member from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency resigns as backlash grows over offensive social media activity.
A young member of Elon Musk's newly established Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) has resigned following revelations linking him to a now-deleted social media account that espoused racist views. Marko Elez, 25, previously affiliated with Musk's SpaceX, faced intense scrutiny after media outlets reported his connection to incendiary posts advocating racism and eugenics.
On Friday, the White House confirmed Elez's resignation, but reasons were not disclosed. Musk acknowledged the situation, inciting a poll on the platform X, which he owns, where he asked his followers if he should reinstate the staff member who apparently made "inappropriate statements via a now-deleted pseudonym." One of the controversial posts from the pseudonymous account read, "Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool," garnering significant media attention.
The account linked to Elez reportedly made a series of inflammatory remarks, including, "You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity," in September, and "Normalize Indian hate," later that month. All posts from the account have since been removed.
As of Friday morning, over 385,000 people had participated in Musk's poll regarding Elez's potential re-hire, although he was not mentioned by name. To date, 78% of voters have expressed support for Elez's return. In a response to a user's comment about discussing the "racist stuff" with Elez, Musk acknowledged that it was "not cool."
Vice President JD Vance commented on the situation, stating that while he disagreed with some of Elez's posts, he does not believe that juvenile social media activity should define a young person's future. He also expressed support for bringing Elez back.
Elez's resignation occurs in the backdrop of increasing examination of Doge, the cost-cutting advisory group initiated by Trump, which has quickly become influential during his second term. Musk and his administration have been engaged in a rapid effort to reduce the federal workforce.
However, progress has been hampered; on Thursday, a U.S. judge blocked one of Musk's initiatives, which aimed to incentivize voluntary resignations among federal employees this month. Additionally, Musk is advocating for dismantling USAID, the agency responsible for international development, with the majority of its workforce—approximately 10,000 employees—set to be placed on administrative leave by midnight Friday, impacting many personnel stationed overseas.
