Twenty-one senior technologists at the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) resigned Tuesday, denouncing systemic dismantling of critical public services under Elon Musk's leadership. The former United States Digital Service (USDS) employees claimed in a scathing open letter that DOGE's actions directly contradict its mandate to modernize federal technology.
We refuse to legitimize the compromise of core government systems or Americans' sensitive data,stated the group, which included the department's IT director and multiple engineers. Their resignation follows Musk's abrupt February 14 termination of one-third USDS staffers during the agency's transition to DOGE.
The letter reveals explosive allegations:
- Unidentified officials conducted 15-minute interviewswearing White House badges post-inauguration
- Mass February layoffs preceded Musk's push for office returns
- Ongoing system breakdowns amid rushed DOGE restructuring
Musk dismissed the resignations on X:
These were Democratic holdouts resisting workplace modernization. Exit was inevitable.
Analysts note the crisis exposes deeper tensions. USDS, created in 2014 to overhaul government efficiency through tech upgrades, became DOGE under Trump's final executive order. Critics argue the rebrand enabled political purges masked as bureaucratic reform.
As federal cybersecurity systems face unprecedented threats, this mass exodus of institutional knowledge raises alarms. The resigning technologists managed critical infrastructure across Social Security, healthcare.gov, and immigration databases. Their departure coincides with DOGE's controversial X platform migration - a move cybersecurity experts call unprecedentedly risky.