A group of 21 staffers have resigned in protest of Doge’s aggressive downsizing of public services under Elon Musk’s leadership, citing concerns over mass firings and political interference.
“We took an oath to serve the American people and uphold the Constitution, regardless of administration,” the staffers stated in a joint resignation letter obtained by the Associated Press. “It has become clear that we can no longer fulfill that duty.”
The resigning employees warned that many of Musk’s appointees tasked with restructuring the federal workforce under Donald Trump’s administration were political operatives lacking the expertise needed for such a monumental task.
According to the letter, federal employees were subjected to workplace visits from individuals wearing White House visitor passes, who allegedly questioned them about their political views, job history, and even their colleagues. The staffers also condemned the sweeping layoffs initiated by Doge.
The departure of engineers, data scientists, and product managers poses a temporary setback for Musk and the Republican-led effort to reshape the federal government through large-scale job cuts. This comes as legal challenges seek to block or overturn attempts to force out thousands of government workers.
Musk dismissed reports of the resignations as “more fake news” in a post on X, but appeared to confirm the departures at the same time.
“These were Democratic political holdovers who refused to return to the office,” Musk wrote. “They would have been fired anyway.”
Doge employee Katie Miller mocked the resigning staffers in a separate X post, claiming, “These were remote workers who had Trans flags in their home offices.”
Meanwhile, Amy Gleason has been named acting administrator of Doge.
The departing staffers had been part of what was formerly the U.S. Digital Service, an initiative launched during Barack Obama’s administration in response to the troubled rollout of healthcare.gov, the federal health insurance marketplace.
In response to the federal job cuts, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has invited displaced federal employees to apply for state positions through a dedicated hiring portal.
“The federal government might say, ‘You’re fired,’ but here in New York, we say, ‘You’re hired,’” Hochul said in a recorded statement. “We welcome federal workers with open arms.”
