During the three weeks since President Donald Trump took office, the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) accessed the Treasury's payment system managing the U.S. budget and liquidated the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as commenced layoffs at the Ministry of Education. However, apart from the fact that the head of DOGE is Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, little has been revealed about the members of DOGE itself.
In response, Business Insider reported on the 11th (local time), citing White House records, that "currently, about 30 people are working in the DOGE office at the White House." According to Business Insider, DOGE members are largely composed of individuals with experience in the fields of technology, finance, law, and politics. Twenty DOGE employees work as volunteers in their 20s and 30s.
The largest group of employees at DOGE works in the technology sector. Some are veteran software engineers. Kyle Schutt, 37, who is affiliated with DOGE, earned his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech and served as Chief Technology Officer at a company called "AI Interview Software." Luke Pariter, 23, a SpaceX intern, also worked last year under Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal.
There are also individuals close to Musk. Aerospace engineer Steve Davis leads the Boring Company owned by Musk. Jen Balazadia, Musk's secretary, is also employed at DOGE. According to The New York Times (NYT), Balazadia has also been named at the Ministry of Education.
Some DOGE employees have backgrounds in corporate finance and management. Kendall Lindeman, 24, graduated in 2022 from the University of Tennessee's business program and worked for about two years at McKinsey. He then moved to Russell Street Ventures, a health industry investment company operated by DOGE executive Brad Smith. Smith had previously worked at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services during Trump's first administration.
A person named Adam Ramada, 35, also comes from the finance sector. Ramada was an investor in a company that acquired equity in SpaceX last year and was a venture capitalist active in Miami. He also donated over $1,000 to the Republican fundraising committee last year. One of Ramada's companies, "Spring Tide Capital," invested in "Impulse Space," which was founded by former SpaceX employees and has a contract with SpaceX.
DOGE includes at least five lawyers, most of whom come from conservative Supreme Court clerks. One of them, Austin Raynor, 36, is a lawyer who served as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and worked as a deputy attorney general during Trump's first term. He also supported the elimination of birthright citizenship for Trump in a TV appearance last November.
Among the personnel affiliated with DOGE, there is only one individual who has worked in politics. Chris Young, who Musk hired last summer as an advisor for voter recruitment, is that person. Chris Young served as the chief political advisor for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade association representing pharmaceutical companies. Previously, he was the national field director for the Republican National Committee.
Business Insider noted, "As three weeks have passed since Trump's second term began, the composition of DOGE employees is becoming clearer."