Edward Coristine, a former employee of the controversial initiative known as Doge, has resigned from his position earlier this week. At only 19 years old, Coristine was considered one of the youngest players on the team. This team was referred to as Elon Musk’s famous “department of government efficiency.” His leaving presents an interesting change in the tide of Doge. This group has been under fire since its inception.
During her time, Coristine showed extreme loyalty to Musk. For all his commitment, he didn’t have a deep understanding of how government worked. Just a month ago, he was one of two aides from Doge helping lead the charge for the adoption of artificial intelligence in federal agencies. This effort sought to cut red tape, and it sent shivers down the spines of many a public servant.
Prior to his time at Doge, Coristine likely toiled away at the SSA. That experience would have provided his office with an excellent look under the hood of its operations. Now, though, he will bring this new role back to the SSA, which has an opportunity to use his unique perspective to make government work better and more efficiently.
The Doge initiative’s attention over the past few months can be attributed to its highly hawkish boiler room tactics. Although Elon Musk dropped out of the project in May, the coalition continued to aggressively pursue their vision. Collectively, their actions created unprecedented and damaging disruptions throughout every federal department. Notably, Doge attempted to penetrate multiple government systems and push for drastic measures related to gun regulations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Russell Vought, Trump’s budget chief and a hardliner nationalist, has been the chief enforcer of this vision to radicalize the civil service reform. Under his leadership, Doge sought to minimize gun control. He called for deep reductions in government spending, potentially putting the jobs of thousands of DOT workers at risk.
Stephen McGraw, an SSA official, painted an upbeat picture about Coristine’s new position.
“His work will be focused on improving the functionality of the Social Security website and advancing our mission of delivering more efficient service to the American people,” – Stephen McGraw
The ramifications of Coristine’s switch from Doge to the SSA are yet to be seen. His experience with Doge’s initiatives could serve as a playbook or warning to those currently trying to navigate the often-bumpy road to modernizing government services. Federal agencies are dealing with the muddled shoals of work left in their wake by prior administrations. People like Coristine will be important in helping climate-proof our policies in the coming years.