Members of Elon Musk’s secretive team reviewing federal agencies for cuts are refusing to reveal their full names to civil servants, federal employees say.
Several government workers who have been interviewed by Musk’s team about their work say the billionaire’s representatives declined to give their surnames and refused to answer any questions themselves, according to the New York Times. The lack of transparency surrounding the work of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency is only adding to mounting anxiety within the federal workforce, the report says.
Musk’s aides described the meetings with civil servants as “one-way interviews,” according to the Times. Some federal workers who have been interviewed were reportedly asked what they are working on and which of their colleagues should be fired.
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“My impression was not one of support or genuine understanding but of suspicion, and questioning,” one General Services Administration staffer wrote in a message to colleagues about the interview process, according to the report.
Trump and his allies have taken over what was previously the United States Digital Service, now renamed the United States DOGE Service, which is being run by Musk and his team with the aim of radically reducing government expenditure.
DOGE has already taken over the Office of Personnel Management, the government’s human resources agency, which contains sensitive data including social security numbers.
It’s also gained access to the Treasury’s payment system which distributes trillions of dollars of government spending. Treasury officials say that any mistakes in managing these systems could lead to damaging consequences as severe as a federal default.
Musk has already targeted USAID, the federal agency that distributes foreign aid, for closure.
“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” he posted on X on Monday.
Musk, the world’s richest man, has brought about 40 people into government to carry out the work around the clock, even moving beds into offices near the White House to allow his team to sleep there and work on weekends, according to the Times.
The team includes several youngsters—including a teenager—none of whom have experience in government work. Some have previously worked or interned at Musk’s companies X or SpaceX.
Musk has previously lashed out at people online who identify members of the team, accusing people posting on X of undefined “crimes” for mentioning their names.
At least five people who have previously worked with Musk reportedly now have formal roles at the Office of Personnel Management, which runs the government’s personnel database, sources told the Times.
Last week, the agency sent emails to about two million federal workers inviting them to resign, using the same “Fork in the Road” subject line as an email previously used by Musk to fire employees in his takeover of Twitter in 2022.
Musk has also been seen visiting the General Services Administration, which manages billions of dollars worth of federal properties, with his son “X Æ A-12″ and a nanny, where he talked with the agency’s administrator about cutting half of its expenditure.
Members of the civil service have taken to using encrypted messaging apps to try and understand what is going on, expressing shock about the speed and breadth of Musk’s actions.
