The People of Elon Musk's Doge Universe

Elon Musk's Expanding Influence in Government

For decades, Elon Musk has cultivated a network of companies that function as both a training ground for emerging engineers and a testing environment for his core team.

This interconnected system – comprising Silicon Valley technology leaders, experienced personnel from companies like Tesla and SpaceX, and a new generation of programmers and software developers – is now interacting with the U.S. federal government.

A Network of Connections

The numerous individuals currently employed by, or providing counsel to, Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency – established under former President Trump – demonstrate more than just Musk’s talent for attracting skilled professionals.

These individuals represent a tangible illustration of Musk’s extensive reach within the technology sector.

TechCrunch undertook an investigation to identify and verify the roles of Musk’s representatives within the U.S. government.

A key focus was mapping the relationships between these individuals and tracing their entry into Musk’s professional sphere.

The reporting uncovered new information regarding the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its personnel.

Additionally, an xAI-powered chatbot was discovered on a website subdomain linked to DOGE, hosted on the site of a prominent Musk supporter.

Following initial publication, TechCrunch learned of cybersecurity staff reductions at CISA within DOGE.

Further investigation confirmed additional associates connected to Musk and working within DOGE, including a former venture capitalist now employed by the Social Security Administration.

This article has undergone several updates since its original publication on February 18, 2025.

Methodology

TechCrunch conducted interviews with individuals who have collaborated with Musk and DOGE staff.

Publicly available data and open-source resources, including historical internet records and chat logs, were utilized to corroborate reporting.

The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine was also employed to access archived versions of websites that are no longer accessible online.

Court records, financial transactions, prior media coverage, and previous TechCrunch reporting were also consulted.

All individuals mentioned were contacted for comment.

When direct contact information was unavailable, TechCrunch reached out to known representatives, including those associated with the Trump administration.

A White House spokesperson provided a statement in response to a request for comment.

The statement, delivered “on background,” is published here in its entirety as no restrictions were placed upon its use.

“DOGE is actively pursuing President Trump’s pledge to enhance government accountability, efficiency, and responsible management of taxpayer funds.

Those spearheading this effort alongside Elon Musk are operating in full adherence to federal regulations, possessing the necessary security clearances, and functioning as employees of the relevant agencies, not as external consultants.

The operations of DOGE may be perceived as disruptive by those entrenched within the federal bureaucracy who resist change.

While change can present challenges, it is essential and aligns with the mandate supported by over 77 million American voters,” the statement read.

Below, you will find details about the individuals involved in the DOGE network, categorized as follows: Musk’s inner circle, senior leaders, operational staff, and advisors, some of whom are also involved in recruitment for DOGE.

If you possess additional information regarding DOGE, please contact TechCrunch securely.

Inner Circle

Elon Musk

Role: DOGE Lead, Unpaid “Special Government Employee”

Qualities such as gravitas, intense focus, ambition, and a willingness to embrace risk define Elon Musk’s character.

Observers of Elon Musk, as well as those who admire him, have frequently cited these characteristics as explanations for his trajectory – from a newcomer arriving in the United States to a globally recognized figure of immense wealth and influence, and now an advisor to President Donald Trump.

However, a key element often overlooked is Musk’s capacity to attract highly skilled individuals to commit to “the mission.”

The existence of multiple, interconnected, and evolving missions – encompassing sustainable transportation and energy, traffic solutions, interplanetary expansion, and the preservation of open dialogue – is not a hindrance.

According to five sources with extensive experience at Tesla who requested anonymity when speaking with TechCrunch, the primary incentive has consistently been Musk’s framing of a clear “us versus them” dynamic.

Previously, “them” represented local regulatory bodies, the media, or established automotive manufacturers. Currently, those collaborating closely with Musk on his latest endeavor through the Department of Government Efficiency face a new adversary: bureaucratic inefficiency and waste.

Musk has openly discussed government agencies that, in his view, should be “eliminated.” Simultaneously, his companies have benefited from government contracts and financial incentives. Data from USASpending.gov reveals that SpaceX has secured over $20 billion in contracts from NASA, the Department of Defense, and other federal entities.

The White House has stated that Musk serves as an unpaid special government employee. A filing dated February 17th indicated that Musk holds a position as a White House employee and functions as a senior advisor to the President. According to an executive order issued by the Trump administration, DOGE is a temporary governmental organization with authorities scheduled to expire in July 2026.

In April, Musk publicly indicated a shift in focus towards his own companies, particularly Tesla, leading him to scale back his involvement with DOGE. Nevertheless, he also expressed the possibility of continuing his work with the department throughout the remainder of Trump’s second term.

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Steve Davis

Role: Long-time Musk insider

Steve Davis is a trusted and long-standing confidant of Elon Musk. He initiated his career at SpaceX as an early employee in 2003, following the completion of a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Stanford University, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

In 2016, Musk appointed Davis to lead his newest and ambitious project: an underground transportation system known as The Boring Company. Under Davis’s leadership, The Boring Company secured substantial funding and constructed several short “Tesla tunnels” in Las Vegas. However, the company has also abandoned previously announced tunnel projects in cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Davis is known for his assertive negotiation skills, and Musk brought him to Twitter to assist with the acquisition and subsequent restructuring. During this period, Davis and his family reportedly resided in a temporary bedroom within the company’s headquarters. A 2023 lawsuit filed against Twitter by former employees alleged that Davis stated, in effect, “we don’t have to follow those rules,” in response to a request for permits to install a restroom for Musk.

Davis has been a member of the board of advisors for the Atlas Society, an organization centered on the philosophy of Ayn Rand, as per Bloomberg. He is currently assisting Musk in reducing government personnel, a concept Rand once identified as the “worst part” of the “producers’ burden.”

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Nicole Hollander

Role: X employee

Nicole Hollander gained public recognition following Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in early 2022.

The George Washington University graduate and former employee of real estate developer JGB Smith (according to her LinkedIn profile) was a key member of the controversial Twitter transition team that dramatically altered the company and reduced its workforce. As part of this transition, Hollander and Steve Davis moved into the company’s headquarters with their infant, as documented in a civil lawsuit filed in 2023.

The lawsuit, brought by several former Twitter employees against X Corp., the entity under Musk’s control, stated that Hollander was not employed by any of Musk’s companies at the time.

Hollander’s relationship with Davis – and her current position at X – has maintained her connection to Musk’s inner circle. Her role within DOGE lacks a publicly disclosed title. However, Wired reported in late January that Hollander possesses high-level access to federal agencies and an official government email address.

Wired further reported that Hollander is working at the GSA, where she inadvertently oversaw the disclosure of a classified CIA facility.

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Brian Bjelde

Role: Senior Advisor, Office of Personnel Management

Brian Bjelde is a dedicated veteran of Elon Musk’s endeavors, having spent 21 years at SpaceX, where he was employee number 14 and continues to contribute today. He began as an avionics engineer but has spent the last decade leading the company’s human resources department.

In a 2014 Reddit “ask me anything” session, Bjelde stated that SpaceX “strives to avoid limiting our thinking except by the constraints imposed by the laws of physics.”

In 2024, several former employees filed a lawsuit against SpaceX and Musk alleging sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. The complaint details an instance where Bjelde participated in a video for the space company involving a staff member playfully spanking him – intended as lighthearted humor – and his involvement in the termination of employees who voiced concerns about the company’s culture in 2022.

Prior to SpaceX, Bjelde spent a year at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory after earning a master’s degree in astronautical engineering from the University of Southern California.

Currently, Bjelde serves as a senior advisor at OPM within DOGE.

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Amanda Scales

Role: Chief of Staff, Office of Personnel Management

Amanda Scales is not directly employed by DOGE, but currently holds the position of chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management, the federal government’s primary human resources department, as indicated in an OPM memo.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Scales previously worked in talent acquisition at Musk’s company, x.AI, until January 2025. She also has experience in human resources and talent at San Francisco-based venture capital firm Human Capital, and at Uber. Scales graduated from the University of California, Davis in 2012 with degrees in psychology and economics, as per her LinkedIn profile.

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Branden Spikes

Role: Head of IT at X; Former DOGE Operative

Spikes currently serves as the head of IT at X, beginning in February 2025, according to his LinkedIn profile. Previously, he stated in his X bio that he had “most recently” worked for DOGE. Spikes recently confirmed to journalist Brian Krebs that he worked for DOGE for two months in Washington, D.C. “to help save [the country] from certain bankruptcy.”

Spikes is a long-term Musk associate, highlighting on his LinkedIn profile that he was the fourth hire at SpaceX and among the initial employees at PayPal. Krebs reported that Spikes’ former wife is married to Musk’s cousin.

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Senior Personnel

Jehn Balajadia

Position: Long-standing assistant to Mr. Musk.

According to Jehn Balajadia’s LinkedIn profile, her association with the Musk organization began in 2017, initially as an operations coordinator at The Boring Company.

However, LinkedIn records may not always accurately portray roles—and their changes—within Mr. Musk’s companies. By 2018, Balajadia had assumed the position of executive assistant to the CEO’s office, responsible for managing Mr. Musk’s schedule and frequently those of his family, as reported by interactions between a TechCrunch journalist and SpaceX personnel at the time.

Currently, Balajadia holds a position within DOGE. The New York Times reports her listing in the Education Department’s employee directory.

The book “Breaking Twitter” details an instance where Balajadia reportedly described her role as being dedicated to “supporting” Mr. Musk, and she frequently accompanies him on his travels. Following Mr. Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, Balajadia was appointed chief of staff, and she personally delivered termination notices to several Twitter executives, as documented in Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon Musk.

Prior to her work with Tesla, Balajadia gained experience at Red Bull, NBCUniversal, and Walt Disney.

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Riccardo Biasini

Position: Senior Advisor to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management.

Riccardo Biasini became involved with Mr. Musk’s ventures in 2011, joining Tesla as an engineer after earning his master’s degree in automotive engineering from the University of Pisa, Italy.

Throughout his five years at Tesla, Biasini concentrated significantly on Autopilot, the company’s advanced driver-assistance system, as detailed in a Medium post he authored. He spearheaded the development of traffic-aware cruise control and other driver-assistance features, and later took charge of the architecture governing the controls, safety, and functional behavior of the electric propulsion system.

Biasini departed Tesla in 2016 to join Comma.ai, where he focused on developing automated lateral and longitudinal controls for the startup’s self-driving car system. He subsequently became VP of quality and, in 2018, was named CEO following George Hotz’s resignation from the leadership position.

In 2019, Biasini returned to work for Mr. Musk as the director of electrical and software engineering at The Boring Company.

Within DOGE, Biasini serves as senior advisor to the director of the Office of Personnel Management, as indicated in a lawsuit filed against the OPM in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, referencing his title on an OPM document concerning a “Privacy Impact Assessment for Government-Wide Email System.”

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Amy Gleason

Position: Acting DOGE Administrator.

Amy Gleason is currently serving as the acting DOGE administrator, as confirmed by the White House, effectively making her the official leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, despite Elon Musk’s significant influence.

The White House verified Gleason’s appointment to TechCrunch. Previously, Gleason was with the U.S. Digital Service—now DOGE—from October 2018 to December 2021, according to her LinkedIn profile. She also held the position of chief product officer at Russell Street Ventures from December 2021 to November 2024.

Gleason, who was on vacation in Mexico when informed of her appointment, reports directly to the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, as outlined in the executive order establishing DOGE.

President Trump has consistently identified Musk as leading DOGE. While Gleason has refrained from public statements since her appointment, she was legally compelled to respond to inquiries regarding DOGE’s function and whether it qualifies as a government agency subject to Freedom of Information laws.

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Michael Russo

Position: Senior Advisor to the Commissioner and former Chief Information Officer, Social Security Administration.

Michael Russo, a seasoned technology leader, began his tenure as the chief information officer at the Social Security Administration in early February, overseeing the agency’s IT infrastructure and information security.

In late March, Scott Coulter, a DOGE associate, replaced Russo as the SSA CIO, as noted on the agency’s website. Russo then transitioned to a role as senior advisor to the Social Security Administration’s Commissioner.

During his short time as CIO, Russo, who is aligned with DOGE, reportedly granted access to several DOGE personnel at the agency, including Akash Bobba and Coulter, as alleged in a lawsuit filed by unions representing agency workers and a source familiar with personnel matters. Several other DOGE staffers were listed as direct reports to Russo in the department’s staff directory, this source indicated.

Prior to this, Russo served as the chief technology officer at ecommerce company Shift4 and held a senior director position at cloud provider Oracle, led by Larry Ellison, a close supporter of President Trump.

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Christopher Stanley

Position: Former DOGE staffer with an unspecified role at the White House.

Stanley commenced his work for Mr. Musk in October 2022, joining the “core transition team” at Twitter following Mr. Musk’s acquisition, as indicated on his LinkedIn profile. A widely circulated photograph shows Stanley at Twitter headquarters alongside colleagues who were not dismissed or did not resign after Mr. Musk’s takeover.

Stanley held an unspecified position at the White House, according to The New York Times, and has alluded to working within the Trump administration on his X account. He “returned to the private sector” in February, as stated by an OPM spokesperson.

On the day of President Trump’s inauguration, Stanley was photographed with Matthew and Andrew Valentin, brothers convicted in connection with the January 6th events, who were later pardoned by President Trump. Stanley posted on X that he was “on the ground to ensure this was executed.” Paul Ingrassia, the Trump administration’s Department of Justice liaison, also posted on X that the Valentin brothers were the first January 6th prisoners to be released.

Currently, Stanley is the head of security engineering at X and the principal security engineer at SpaceX, according to his website. His LinkedIn profile also lists him as the chief information security officer at X Payments, a payment service that Mr. Musk intends to launch as part of his vision for X as an “everything app.”

Before joining Mr. Musk’s organizations, Stanley operated his own cybersecurity firm, Stanley Networks, and worked as a contractor for the state of Kentucky, including at Kentucky health provider Baptist Health.

TechCrunch discovered an xAI-powered chatbot on a DOGE-related website subdomain on Stanley’s website, titled the “Department of Government Efficiency AI Assistant,” which states its purpose is to “assist government personnel in identifying and eliminating waste, improving efficiency, and streamlining processes using a first principles approach.”

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Worker bees at DOGE

Akash Bobba

Role: Expert, Office of Personnel Management

DOGE engineer Akash Bobba is, according to Wired, currently a student at the University of California, Berkeley. Records indicate the New Jersey native completed high school in 2021. The specifics of his path to DOGE remain unclear, though he possesses some experience within the technology sector.

Bobba previously held internships at Meta and Palantir, as he stated in a now-deleted podcast interview with Aman Manazir. He also gained professional experience at Bridgewater Associates.

As of February 2025, Bobba’s website linked to a segment of a YouTube video – “How Tech Billionaires Plan to Destroy America” – featuring Elon Musk’s statement, “I’m not just MAGA. I’m dark gothic MAGA.”

Internal OPM documentation, as reported by Wired, designates Bobba as an “expert” who directly reports to Amanda Scales, the OPM’s chief of staff.

A lawsuit filed by union representatives alleges Bobba also has a presence at the Social Security Administration, operating under the agency’s chief information officer, Michael Russo. The lawsuit further suggests Bobba was sworn into his position remotely, an atypical procedure, indicating at least partial remote work for DOGE.

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Edward Coristine

Role: Special Government Employee

Edward Coristine, formerly an intern at Neuralink and known online by the handle “bigballs,” is a key member of the DOGE team and the youngest known aide to Elon Musk, at 19 years of age, as confirmed by TechCrunch.

Since arriving in Washington, D.C., Coristine has been involved in accessing federal systems across multiple government departments, including the Office of Personnel Management, SBA, GSA, USAID, the State Department, Homeland Security, and FEMA. Reports also indicate Coristine has physical access to facilities at CISA, the U.S. cybersecurity agency.

Prior to his involvement with DOGE, Coristine operated several companies – DiamondCDN and Packetware – from his family home in New York, both offering DDoS protection services.

Coristine’s employment at DDoS mitigation firm Path Network ended in June 2022 following allegations of “leaking proprietary company information” during his tenure, according to Path CEO Marshal Webb. Coristine, using the handle “Rivage” on Discord, maintained he had not acted in violation of his contract.

Around May 2024, Coristine began working for Elon Musk’s Neuralink. He is also a student of mechanical engineering and physics at Northeastern University, with an expected graduation date of 2028.

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Scott Coulter

Role: Chief Information Officer and former IT Specialist, Social Security Administration

Scott Coulter is a DOGE staff member currently serving as the chief information officer at the Social Security Administration. He was initially listed as an IT specialist in the agency’s staff directory as of mid-February, according to sources familiar with the matter. Coulter succeeded Michael Russo in March 2025.

Before joining DOGE, Coulter led Cowbird Capital, a New York investment fund established in 2018, which held approximately $171 million in assets as of March 2024, as indicated in a regulatory filing.

Both Coulter and Cowbird Capital were mentioned in court documents related to the Twitter v. Musk lawsuit in 2022 during Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, though the reason for their inclusion remains unclear.

Coulter did not respond to a request for comment sent to his official government email address.

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Marko Elez

Role: Special Government Employee, U.S. Treasury

Since joining DOGE, Marko Elez has become a central figure in legal challenges concerning DOGE’s access to sensitive federal systems. Now employed by the U.S. Treasury, Elez has access to the payment systems responsible for distributing roughly $6 trillion in federal funds, including Social Security benefits and tax refunds.

Elez is named in a lawsuit contesting DOGE’s access and is designated as a “special government employee.” He previously held broad data access privileges within the department’s systems, which were later restricted by a federal court. He collaborates closely with Tom Krause, another DOGE staffer and senior Treasury employee. A February 11 court filing identifies Elez as the sole DOGE staff member with access to payment systems.

Prior to his government service, the 25-year-old Rutgers University graduate worked at SpaceX, focusing on vehicle telemetry, Starship, and satellite software, according to an archived version of his website. Elez later contributed to search AI development at Musk’s social media company X, as shown in an archived copy of his website. He does not have prior government experience listed.

On February 6, Elez briefly resigned from his DOGE position following the surfacing of racist posts from his social media accounts by The Wall Street Journal. He was reinstated after Musk conducted a poll on X regarding his rehiring, as reported by a Washington Post reporter on February 18.

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Luke Farritor

Role: Senior Advisor, DOGE

Luke Farritor is identified as a senior advisor in employee directories for several U.S. government departments, including the State Department, USAID, and the Department of Energy. He also requested access to data held by Medicare, Medicaid, and the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.

Before entering government service, Farritor, 23, was a student at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and gained recognition for deciphering ancient Roman scrolls, earning a $700,000 prize. He was also selected for the 2024 Thiel Fellowship, an annual award from billionaire Peter Thiel. An archived version of his website states he assisted Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross with “investing a large, multistage VC fund and running AI Grant.” (Neither Friedman nor Gross responded to a request for comment.)

Farritor interned at Elon Musk’s Starlink in mid-2022 and subsequently worked at SpaceX from May 2022 to July 2023, contributing to “several mission-critical projects” leading up to Starship Flights 1 and 2, according to his website.

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Gautier ‘Cole’ Killian

Role: DOGE “Volunteer”; Federal Detailee

Gautier “Cole” Killian is described as a DOGE “volunteer” who was assigned as a “federal detailee” at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in early February. A federal detailee is typically a government employee temporarily assigned from another agency.

Killian studied math and computer science at McGill University in Canada and participated in McGill’s AI team from 2021 to 2022. His personal website was removed from the internet in late 2024, according to its DNS records.

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Gavin Kliger

Role: Special Advisor to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management

Gavin Kliger, an alumnus of the University of California, Berkeley, currently works at Databricks and joined the DOGE team earlier in 2025.

His LinkedIn profile lists him as a special advisor to the director of the OPM, according to Reuters. However, much of Kliger’s online presence, including his X account, has been removed from the internet, even from the Wayback Machine, which archives webpages.

A copy of Kliger’s resume obtained by TechCrunch reveals a prior internship at Twitter in mid-2019.

An email sent to USAID staff indicates Kliger also possesses a USAID email address and is listed in the CFPB’s staff directory, according to the CFPB’s union.

ProPublica reported in May that government ethics attorneys advised Kliger that he held stock in companies prohibited for federal employees, potentially creating conflicts of interest. Court records show Kliger participated in agency layoffs, including those of the lawyers who had warned him about these ethical concerns.

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Tom Krause

Role: Special Government Employee, U.S. Treasury; CEO, Cloud Software Group

Tom Krause is a special government employee and a senior DOGE staff member within the U.S. Treasury. He simultaneously serves as the chief executive of Cloud Software Group, a private company owning several tech firms, including Citrix, a former public company now privately held.

Bloomberg reports that Krause oversaw job cuts at Citrix that employees deemed critical to the company’s product security. Cloud Software Group stated it inherited existing vulnerabilities at Citrix and faces increasing cybersecurity threats, asserting that security has improved since the buyout and meets industry standards.

Prior to leading Cloud Software, Krause, 47, was an executive at Broadcom and previously ran a consultancy firm.

While working at the Treasury as one of Musk’s DOGE representatives, Krause has collaborated closely with Marko Elez, another senior Treasury employee.

Financial disclosures obtained by Politico in May revealed Krause holds hundreds of thousands of dollars in shares of various financial, banking, and tech companies, including those providing services to the Treasury unit he oversees.

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Jeremy Lewin

Role: DOGE Staffer

Jeremy Lewin is a DOGE staff member assigned to the General Services Administration, which manages the federal government’s procurement and logistics, as reported by Bloomberg. Lewin reportedly was unable to gain access to a secure GSA area, prompting a superior to request a security clearance from the CIA.

Lewin, 27, is a Harvard Law School graduate who previously worked at the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, alongside U.S. Second Lady Usha Vance, according to The Handbasket.

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Aram Moghaddassi

Role: DOGE Operative

Moghaddassi is part of a DOGE team assigned to the U.S. Department of Labor and is among the staffers DOGE intends to place at the U.S. Treasury, according to The New York Times.

Moghaddassi has worked for at least three of Musk’s companies: X and Neuralink, as reported in multiple media outlets. An archived copy of his X account from 2023 indicates he also previously worked on AI at Tesla.

Moghaddassi appears to be in his twenties. In 2019, he was a sophomore at the University of California, Berkeley, studying applied math and computer science, as stated on the Santa Fe Institute’s website.

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Nikhil Rajpal

Role: DOGE Staffer

Nikhil Rajpal studied computer science and history at the University of California, Berkeley, and served as president of the libertarian student political group, Students for Liberty.

Archived snapshots of his website show Rajpal worked at Twitter from 2016 until before Musk’s acquisition. He may have initially connected with Musk prior to this, reportedly contributing to a redesign of a Tesla console.

As a representative of DOGE, Rajpal works at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and uses a DOGE email address.

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Kyle Schutt

Role: DOGE Technologist

Schutt is a technologist with a history in Republican politics and recent ties to political operations led by Elon Musk. Reports indicate he has access to systems at FEMA.

TechCrunch has viewed Schutt’s since-deleted GitHub profile, revealing his work at Outburst Data. Security researchers have identified Outburst Data as hosting parts of DOGE’s website and other Musk-related sites, including his America PAC political fundraiser. DNS records confirm the DOGE-named subdomain.

404 Media reported on February 14 a vulnerability allowing anyone to edit DOGE’s website.

Schutt also serves as the chief technology officer at Revv, an online fundraising platform widely used by the Republican Party, and is a co-founder of Virginia-based software company KAMM.

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Ethan Shaotran

Role: DOGE Staffer

Ethan Shaotran, 22, a California native, is a DOGE staff member and a student at Harvard University, expected to graduate in 2025. Shaotran was publicly linked to Musk in September 2024 as a runner-up in a hackathon hosted by Musk’s AI company, xAI.

Shaotran previously founded Energize.ai, though its website is currently unavailable. He also developed several iPhone apps, including a Donald Trump-themed running game called “Donald Dash.”

Reports indicate Shaotran has a working GSA email address and requested access to a decade’s worth of GSA data. He also has access to email systems at the Department of Education and the department’s back-end website.

As of March 12, 2025, Shaotran was temporarily detailed to the Office of the Postmaster General at the U.S. Postal Service, according to a Freedom of Information request.

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Thomas Shedd

Role: Director of Technology Transformation Services, GSA; Chief Information Officer, Department of Labor.

Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer, now directs the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS), a unit focused on designing and building digital services for the federal government.

Since Shedd’s appointment, the GSA disbanded its 18F division of specialist technology consultants, who worked on projects like the IRS’s free tax-filing system.

Several staffers also reportedly resigned after Shedd gained access to parts of Notify.gov, a system sending mass text messages during emergencies, containing personal information of registered Americans.

As of mid-March, Shedd was also appointed as the chief information officer at the Department of Labor, concurrently with his role as GSA’s technology director. Shedd reportedly intends to reduce the agency’s workforce by 30%.

Prior to federal government service, Shedd worked at Tesla for eight years, according to the GSA, focusing on software for vehicle and battery factories. His prior government experience, if any, is unclear, but he has stated his goal is to run TTS like a “startup software company,” including utilizing AI to analyze government contracts, as reported by Wired magazine.

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Jordan Wick

Role: DOGE Staffer

Jordan Wick is a DOGE staff member assigned to the General Services Administration, which oversees federal procurement and logistics, as reported by Bloomberg. Wick reportedly failed to secure access to a secure GSA area, leading a superior to lobby the CIA for a clearance.

Wick, 27, is a Harvard Law School graduate who previously worked at the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, alongside U.S. Second Lady Usha Vance, according to The Handbasket.

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Christopher Young

Role: DOGE Staffer

Young is a DOGE staffer working at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, per Bloomberg Law.

Young is described as a “top Republican field operative” hired as Musk’s political advisor in 2024, according to The New York Times. He has been involved in Republican politics since at least 2007, as indicated on his LinkedIn profile.

ProPublica has reported that Young earns up to $1 million annually as a political advisor to Musk while simultaneously working to dismantle the federal regulator and its consumer protection rules.

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Aides and Advisors

Marc Andreessen

Role: Unofficial Advisor to DOGE

Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreesen Horowitz, doesn't hold a formal position with DOGE. However, reports from The Washington Post indicate he has functioned as a crucial facilitator in identifying and attracting talent to the organization.

Andreessen has playfully described his involvement as that of an “unpaid intern” supporting DOGE’s initiatives.

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George Cooper

Role: DOGE Recruiter

Cooper, an engineer at Palantir, contributed to DOGE’s recruitment process during late 2024, as detailed by Wired. His LinkedIn profile shows he earned a bachelor’s degree in both computer science and business from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania in 2019.

Cooper actively sought to bring colleagues from Palantir into DOGE, believing them to be “the most exceptional people I know,” as expressed in a message reviewed by Wired.

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Vinay Hiremath

Role: DOGE Recruiter

Hiremath, aged 32, is recognized as the co-founder of Loom, a video recording startup acquired by Atlassian in 2023 for $975 million. According to a post on his personal website, titled “I am rich and have no idea what to do with my life,” Hiremath dedicated approximately one month in late 2024 to making numerous recruiting calls for DOGE.

He noted being quickly integrated into DOGE-related Signal groups and immediately assigned tasks. While acknowledging the “extremely important” nature of DOGE’s work, Hiremath ultimately resigned to prioritize personal matters, foregoing a planned relocation to Washington, D.C. in favor of a trip to Hawaii.

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Anthony Jancso

Role: DOGE Recruiter

Jancso, a former software engineer at Palantir, also participated in DOGE’s recruitment efforts in late 2024, according to Wired. He co-founded Accelerate SF in 2023, an initiative focused on leveraging engineering expertise to address challenges facing San Francisco through the application of AI. TechCrunch reports that Jancso graduated from University College London in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in economics; his exact age is not publicly available.

Jancso himself was recruited to DOGE by Steve Davis, president of The Boring Company.

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Michael Kratsios

Role: DOGE Recruiter

Bloomberg reported that Kratsios played a key role in staffing DOGE in late 2024, including conducting interviews with potential candidates. Previously, Kratsios served as managing director of Scale AI and as the Chief Technology Officer of the United States during President Trump’s initial term. His LinkedIn profile also indicates he was a principal at Thiel Capital, a venture capital firm established by Peter Thiel, from 2014 to 2017.

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Katie Miller

Role: DOGE Advisor & Spokesperson

Katie Miller functions as an advisor to DOGE, appointed during the Trump administration, and also serves as its spokesperson. She previously held a position within the first Trump administration and is married to Stephen Miller, Trump’s former deputy chief of staff. Additionally, Miller is a member of a presidential advisory board concerning intelligence-related issues.

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If you are employed by the federal government or possess further information regarding DOGE, and wish to contact TechCrunch, please securely get in touch.

This article was originally published on February 18, 2025, and will be updated as new information becomes available.