More than 20 civil service employees resigned on Tuesday from Elon Musk's "department of government efficiency" (Doge), marking a significant blow to the tech-driven initiative aimed at streamlining the federal workforce. The mass resignation involved staffers who were originally part of an office established during Barack Obama's administration, following the troubled launch of healthcare.gov. This development presents a temporary setback for Musk and the Republican president's ambition to reshape the federal workforce under Donald Trump's administration.
The 21 staffers, who included engineers, data scientists, and product managers, submitted a joint resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Associated Press. In their letter, they expressed their refusal to utilize their technical expertise to "dismantle critical public services." They warned that many individuals enlisted by Musk to help reduce the size of the federal government were primarily political ideologues, lacking the necessary skills or experience for the task ahead.
“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the constitution across presidential administrations,” stated the 21 staffers. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.”
The office in question, known as the United States Digital Service, was established during Obama's tenure after the problematic rollout of healthcare.gov, a web portal crucial for millions of Americans to enroll in insurance plans under the Democrat's signature healthcare law.
In response to this wave of resignations, New York's Democratic governor, Kathy Hochul, extended an invitation to the recently laid-off federal workers to apply for state jobs through an online portal. In a videotaped statement, Hochul expressed her support for federal employees.
“The federal government might say: ‘You’re fired,’ but here in New York, we say: ‘You’re hired.’ In fact, we love federal workers,” said Kathy Hochul.
The mass resignation comes amid numerous court challenges aiming to halt or reverse efforts to dismiss or coerce thousands of government workers out of their jobs. The situation highlights the tension between national policies and state-level responses, with New York positioning itself as a refuge for skilled federal employees looking for new opportunities.