Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is ripping apart the federal government at the seams. They’ve decimated the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), strong-armed their way into troves of sensitive personal data, and pushed federal employees as close to quitting as possible. The people running the show, it seems, are a group of 20-somethings.
Because of their youth, these staffers have received an unexpected level of protection. Wired initially left their names out an initial report “because of their ages.” (These young employees are all above 18). When JD Vance defended a 25-year-old staffer who resigned over racist tweets, he called him a “kid.” But these aren’t kids, and they’re not worth protecting. We shouldn’t feel bad judging Musk’s far-too-young team.
The ‘kids’ tearing down the government
Back in January, Wired published a report on the nascent group’s operations. DOGE had effectively taken over the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), filling it with former X employees and Musk devotees. Two of these DOGE staffers were young, just 19 and 24, with résumés that consisted mostly of internship experiences. Wired declined to name the duo, citing their ages. The move was lambasted on X; why were these two men withheld from public scrutiny?
Why is WIRED not naming government officials—who collect taxpayer dollars!—just because they’re 21 and and probably 18 years old? pic.twitter.com/paZtnZjIjv
— Jarod Facundo (@dorajfacundo) January 29, 2025
Wired has since changed course, publishing the two staffers’ names (Akash Bobba and Edward Coristine) along with four others. The magazine’s reporting has spun out a whole new media cycle, with many online media sites scoffing at the young employees. The Daily Beast calls the six Musk’s “Goon Squad.” (People seem especially tickled by Coristine’s online nickname, “Big Balls.”)
But that coverage has resulted to equal and opposite reaction. Tech heads have been coming out of the woodwork on X to tell defensive stories about the six. After the Democrats of the House Foreign Affairs Committee posted about “broligarchs” taking control of sensitive information, one X user responded by naming these Zoomers. Musk’s response: “You have committed a crime.” The respondent’s account has since been suspended
U.S. attorney Ed Martin (who was present at the January 6 insurrection) penned a public letter to Musk, saying he would pursue legal action against anyone who “targeted” DOGE staffers publicly. Martin claimed that anyone whose actions may have “impacted” these employees’ work “may break numerous laws.” Even President Donald Trump himself came in to defend these staffers, saying that they were “smart people.” The general premise: These six staffers were unimpeachable because of their youth. Many called the naming of these six a “doxing.”
The drama spun out even further after Marko Elez, yet another young staffer working under Musk, resigned after The Wall Street Journal inquired about Elez’s connection to a since-deleted account’s racist tweets. Among scores of posts, the account posted things like “Normalize Indian hate” and “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.” But then the MAGA-verse rallied to bring him back. Sure enough, JD Vance posted on X that he didn’t “think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life.” (Mind you, Elez was 25. Are you still a “kid” if you can rent a car?)
How do we hold these ‘boys’ accountable?
The point of calling out these staffers’ ages—ostensibly, to demonstrate how little experience they have—has backfired. These “boys” are now being protected by the right, largely because of their ages. Any attempt to name them is “doxxing.” Anything they posted online is fair game, because they’re too young to know it’s wrong. But now they’re slashing through the government; if they can wield that level of power, they deserve the same level of judgment.
Don’t let the smokescreen of childishness fool you: They do have power. Coristine just gained a new role in the State Department; now, 19-year-old “Big Balls” is a senior advisor. Luke Farritor, a 23-year-old also named in the Wired report, has full access to USAID systems. 25-year-old Gavin Kliger sent the email that put USAID workers on leave.
These aren’t boys—they’re government officials. They deserve public scrutiny all the same.
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