Олексій Дзюба That's Life 4 February 2025, 08:10

“Musk and his young team.” Journalists identified 19-24-year-old developers who are helping the billionaire “absorb” government institutions

Most of which are associated with the companies of an American entrepreneur.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is assisted in his work by inexperienced 19-24-year-old developers, writes Wired.

The publication identified six young assistants to Elon Musk. At least two have ties to Musk's longtime partner, Peter Thiel, co-founder and chairman of the analytics firm and government contractor Palantir.

Musk’s aides have virtually no government experience and now play important roles in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). All of the developers have obscure positions at DOGE, and at least one works as a volunteer.

Here are their names — Akash Bobba, Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kliger, Ethan Shaotran. None of the developers responded to requests for comment from journalists.

“What we’re seeing is unprecedented in that they’re not actually government employees, but they’re getting access to the most sensitive data in the government. Congress has no way to really intervene and monitor what’s going on because these aren’t really accountable government employees. It looks like a hostile takeover of the government machinery by the richest man in the world,” says Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan.

Bobba, Coristine, Farritor, and Shaotran reportedly currently have GSA work email addresses (the US federal agency responsible for procurement, government building management, transportation, and IT infrastructure — ed.) and GSA Level A clearances.

That means they have access to all physical facilities and IT systems. The new teams can bypass normal security clearance protocols to access the agency's classified information, as the Trump administration has already granted temporary security clearances to unvetted individuals.

CNN reported on Sunday that DOGE employees attempted to improperly access classified information and security systems at the U.S. Agency for International Development, and that senior USAID security officials who thwarted the attempt were subsequently placed on leave. The Associated Press reported that DOGE employees did indeed have access to classified materials.

Musk, who finds time for video games and posts on X (Twitter), said his DOGE department works 120 hours a week.

The Washington Post estimated that Musk invested about $288 million in Trump's victory.