Elon Musk announced on Friday his decision to re-employ a staff member from the Department of Government Efficiency who had recently resigned amid controversy surrounding his social media activity, which included racist comments. Musk made the announcement on his platform, X, stating that Marko Elez would be rehired after Vice President JD Vance advocated for his return. Following Vance’s stance, former President Donald Trump also voiced his support for the vice president’s position.
Marko Elez stepped down the day before after it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that the 25-year-old DOGE staffer had links to a deleted X account that had previously posted statements such as “I was racist before it was cool” and “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.” Further scrutiny revealed a post from September that read, “Normalize Indian hate.” Notably, the vice president’s wife, Usha Vance, comes from Indian immigrant roots, adding a personal layer to the controversy.
Vance took to X, emphasizing that Elez deserved to be reinstated and criticized “journalists who try to destroy people.” He mentioned that while he disagreed with some of Elez’s remarks, he believed that foolish social media behavior should not condemn a young person’s future. Trump echoed Vance’s sentiments during a press conference, voicing his support for Elez’s return to his position.
Shortly after these endorsements, Musk affirmed on X that Elez would indeed be welcomed back, quoting, “To err is human, to forgive divine.” The White House had not confirmed the rehiring at the time of Musk’s announcement, although earlier in the day, they had acknowledged Elez’s resignation.
Vance specified that Elez should only remain dismissed if he was genuinely unfit for the job or a negative influence on the team. Attempts to reach Elez for comment went unanswered on Friday.
This incident marked a challenging week for DOGE, as Elez was one of two employees involved in a significant issue concerning unauthorized access to the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment system, leading to legal disputes and judicial limitations on their access. The Wall Street Journal’s investigation uncovered a deleted account under the handle @nullllptr, affiliated with an employee known to be linked to Musk’s companies, including SpaceX and Starlink, which previously went by the name @marko_elez. Additionally, Elez had indicated on his personal website archives that he worked for both SpaceX and on various Starlink projects, in addition to his role at X.
