Here’s what we know so far about who’s working on DOGE
President-elect Donald Trump tapped Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, in November.
Elon Musk is tapping a mix of old and new faces to meet DOGE’s staffing needs.
Last month, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Musk would co-lead an advisory group called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, alongside Vivek Ramaswamy.
DOGE, Trump said in his announcement, would be tasked with slashing excess regulations and trimming wasteful government spending. The commission is set to conclude its work by July 4, 2026.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that The Boring Company CEO Steve Davis and former US chief technology officer Michael Kratsios were interviewing potential hires. DOGE has hired about 10 people thus far, the outlet reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Musk’s commission is also looking to recruit software engineers, including those with experience in artificial intelligence, per Bloomberg.
Much of the group’s staffing is still unclear, including whether these are full-time roles, where they will be based, and how they will be paid.
According to a Bloomberg, DOGE is currently operating out of a SpaceX-leased office located near the White House.
In November, Musk said in an X post that DOGE employees will be involved in “tedious work” and draw zero compensation.
Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lots of enemies & compensation is zero.
What a great deal! 😂 https://t.co/16e7EKRS6i
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2024
DOGE so far: a mix of Musk and Trump staffers
Davis is no stranger to Musk’s enterprises.
The Boring Company chief holds a doctoral degree in economics from George Mason University and started out as a SpaceX engineer. Musk later handpicked Davis to run his tunneling company.
Davis was also involved in Musk’s purchase of Twitter in 2022 and played a key role in Musk’s pro-Trump super PAC, America PAC.
Joining Davis is Kratsios, who served as Trump’s top technology advisor during his first administration. Prior to joining the Trump administration, Kratsios was tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s chief of staff and a principal at Thiel Capital.
Kratsios is a managing director at Scale AI, a data labeling startup.
DOGE’s first reported hire was announced by Trump — not Musk or Ramaswamy — earlier this month.
In a Truth Social post on December 4, Trump said that Republican lawyer William Joseph McGinley will serve as the commission’s counsel.
McGinley, a former partner at the law firm Jones Day, served as Trump’s White House cabinet secretary from 2017 to 2019.
Silicon Valley appears to have figured prominently in Musk’s work on DOGE.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has reportedly been consulting Silicon Valley leaders, such as venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and Uber cofounder turned food tech entrepreneur Travis Kalanick, about his plans for the commission.
In November, the commission started an account on Musk’s social network X and said that applicants could send in their CVs via direct message.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting,” the post said.
Musk did not respond to a request for comment from B-17.
