Marko Elez
Marko Elez, a 25-year-old software engineer, has come under public scrutiny after being granted administrator-level access to critical U.S. Treasury payment systems as part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He has no previous experience in government occupation.[1]
Education
[edit]Marko Elez graduated from Rutgers University in 2021, where he studied software development and distributed systems.[1] His public GitHub repositories indicate a focus on machine learning, recommendation engines, and AI-driven search algorithms.[2]
Career
[edit]After graduating, Elez worked at SpaceX, where he was involved in vehicle telemetry, Starship software, and satellite systems.[3] He later joined X (formerly Twitter), focusing on search AI and software development. His work experience prior to DOGE was exclusively within Elon Musk’s companies.[4]
Department of Government Efficiency
[edit]Elez was appointed to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and subsequently given administrator-level access to the Payment Automation Manager and Secure Payment System at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (BFS).[1] His privileges allow him to modify critical financial infrastructure, despite concerns from Treasury officials and lawmakers. In early February 2025, Elez visited a Treasury facility in Kansas City, meeting with BFS staff and gaining deeper insight into the federal payment processing system.[5][6]
Treasury officials and three major federal employee unions have challenged the legality of Elez’s access, filing a lawsuit against Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for allegedly violating federal laws by granting DOGE unrestricted control over financial data[7]. Concerns remain that DOGE’s influence could allow for politically motivated financial decisions.[4]
Elez resigned from DOGE on February 6, 2025, according to the Wall Street Journal, "after he was linked to a deleted social-media account that advocated racism and eugenics."[8] Tweets from the account included “I would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth.” in June 2024 and “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool,” in July. In September 2024 before the account was deleted it tweeted “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity,” and “Normalize Indian hate.”[9][10]
See also
[edit]- United States Senate Committee on Appropriations – Standing committee of the United States Senate
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Elon Musk Associate Given Access to Treasury Payment Systems". Wired. February 4, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ "Marko Elez GitHub Profile". GitHub. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ "Elon Musk's Treasury Influence Sparks Lawsuit". The Independent. February 4, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ a b "Elon Musk's 25-Year-Old Aide Granted Access to Treasury Department Code". The New Republic. February 5, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ "Treasury Brings in Two Members from Musk's DOGE Team". Bloomberg. February 4, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ "Young Engineer at Elon Musk's DOGE Gains Access to Secret US Payment System". The Times of India. February 5, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ "Treasury Department Sued Over DOGE Payment Access". The Hill. February 4, 2025. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
- ^ Long, Katherine (February 6, 2025). "DOGE Staffer Resigns Over Racist Posts". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ Mangan, Dan; Breuninger, Kevin. "Staffer at Musk's DOGE resigns after racist social media posts exposed". cnbc.com. CNBC. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
- ^ Allyn, Bobby; Bond, Shannon. "Member of Elon Musk's DOGE team resigns after racist posts resurface". npr.org. National Public Radio. Retrieved 7 February 2025.