A day after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) received "read-only" access to a federal payment system, a staffer resigned after reports connected him with a social media account replete with racist and eugenicist language.
The Wall Street Journal published some of his old posts where Marko Elez had maligned Indian H-1B visa holders and urged repealing the Civil Rights Act.
Social Media Scandal Forces Elez to Step Down
The controversy erupted when journalists discovered an old X (formerly Twitter) account allegedly belonging to Elez.
According to WSJ, the account, originally under the handle @marko_elez before being changed to @nullllptr, contained inflammatory statements, including a post claiming, "99% of Indian H1Bs will be replaced by slightly smarter LLMs, they're going back don't worry guys."
Other posts from the account advocated for reinstating eugenic immigration policies, sparking widespread backlash.
Elez's Involvement in DOGE and Musk's Government Reform
Before his resignation, the 25-year-old staffer was at the center of DOGE actions in the Treasury Department. He was among a list of staff members issued administrator-level clearance to federal payments systems, raising doubts about whether this will have any imbalance in how the government spends its funds.
DOGE is an offshoot group organized by Elon Musk's supporters, which had been pushing aggressively to slash budgets and scrap DEI programs from all federal agencies.
Among the targeted agencies were USAID and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, both of which suffered major cuts in funding.
Racist Language Among Trump Appointees
Elez's departure is the latest in a trend of Trump administration staff resignations connected to racist or extremist ideologies, per The Verge. Just last week, it was announced the administration hired Darren Beattie, a former Trump speechwriter who was canned in 2018 for giving a speech to a conference connected to white nationalists.
Beattie, now a proponent of anti-DEI policies, has gone on record criticizing diversity initiatives because they make governments less efficient.
This consists of a provocative statement in his blog post as follows: From October, this is what he posted:
"Competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work. Unfortunately, our entire national ideology is predicated on coddling the feelings of women and minorities, and demoralizing competent white men."
The Rising Extremist Right in Digital Politics
This reveals the growing trend of young right-wing figures who have been engaging with extremist ideologies online.
Political analyst John Ganz described this as the "groyperfication" of conservative staffers—an online culture where young right-wingers embrace racist and eugenicist rhetoric.
Another post on the account linked to Elez further entrenched the ideology: "Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool."
DOGE and the Treasury Department's Next Move
Elez may have resigned, but the impact of DOGE on the federal government remains a concern. Critics argue that the organization's efforts to dismantle DEI initiatives will have long-lasting effects on civil rights programs and minority communities.
The controversy surrounding Elez is unlikely to be the last, as scrutiny over DOGE's operations continues to grow. To clear things up as soon as possible, Elon Musk needs to step up to address the situation.
