Elon Musk-Led DOGE's Marko Elez, Who Had Treasury Payment Access, Resigns Over Racist Social Media Posts

The Department of Government Efficiency staff member, Marko Elez, resigned following revelations of his involvement with a racist social media account. This news comes in the wake of a legal dispute involving Elez’s access to sensitive Treasury Department data.

What Happened: Elez, a former SpaceX employee and a Rutgers University graduate, resigned from his position at DOGE after his connection to a racist social media account was exposed, reported The Wall Street Journal.

The account, now deleted, was known for promoting racism and eugenics, with posts such as “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool,” and “Normalize Indian hate,” referring to the significant presence of Indian professionals in Silicon Valley.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed Elez’s resignation after The Wall Street Journal questioned the White House about his connection to the account. Elez, who had access to the Treasury Department’s central-payments system, had been in the midst of a legal dispute over access to sensitive taxpayer information and systems used by the Treasury Department to process trillions of dollars in payments annually.

Earlier on Thursday, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that Elez could retain access to the department's payment systems but imposed restrictions on data sharing. Elez resigned later that day.

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Why It Matters: Elez’s resignation comes amidst concerns about his access to sensitive Treasury Department data. A federal judge had restricted the handling of sensitive Department of Treasury data amid concerns over access granted to allies of Musk leading a government review. This decision followed a lawsuit filed by labor unions arguing that DOGE, led by Musk appointees, could compromise financial records.

Earlier, it was reported that Elez, a 25-year-old engineer, had been granted extensive access to critical U.S. Treasury Department payment systems, raising alarm among government officials and cybersecurity experts.

The recent events surrounding Elez’s resignation and his access to sensitive data highlight the ongoing concerns about the influence and access of Musk’s appointees within the federal government.

Musk, an avid supporter of Dogecoin DOGE/USD, now heads the Department of Government Efficiency, which shares its acronym with the cryptocurrency.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Dogecoin traded nearly 2.9% lower at $0.25, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Photo: iQoncept via Shutterstock

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Shivdeep Dhaliwal