Founder’s Shocking Departure: Sahil Lavingia Reveals Why He Left DOGE After Only 55 Days | TechCrunch

Sahil Lavingia recently shared his brief experience with a project called DOGE, an initiative during Trump’s presidency. His diary offers insights from his 55 days with this temporary government team.

Lavingia is known for his role at Pinterest and as the founder of Gumroad, a site for creators to sell their work. He joined DOGE as a software engineer for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in March. He was surprised to find the VA, which employs about 473,000 people, had strict rules about layoffs. Contrary to his expectations, the organization showed a degree of efficiency he didn’t anticipate.

As a volunteer, Lavingia was tasked with identifying unnecessary contracts and potential layoffs. He quickly realized factors like seniority and veteran status played a big role in decisions, often overshadowing performance.

Lavingia described DOGE’s role as advisory—like a consultancy—but noted they had no real authority. Decisions were ultimately made by agency heads appointed by Trump, who used DOGE as a scapegoat for unpopular choices. This echoed comments made by Elon Musk, who called DOGE Washington D.C.’s "whipping boy" for difficult decisions.

Lavingia initially supported Bernie Sanders in 2016, hoping to create meaningful code for the government. However, he found himself limited in what he could achieve. Although he worked on projects to enhance a chatbot and other tools, larger ambitions like improving the disability claims process never materialized.

Despite being allowed to open-source some of his tools, he wished for better organization within DOGE. He noted a lack of sharing knowledge among engineers, making it feel like each person was starting fresh.

On Day 55, he was unexpectedly let go after discussing his work with Fast Company. Reflecting on his time, he noted the government, while slow, did function. He found it had fewer inefficiencies than he expected, though more streamlined decision-making would be beneficial.

Lavingia’s journey illustrates the challenges of modernizing large government agencies. While fresh tech expertise is valuable, simply sending in Silicon Valley volunteers may not be the ideal solution.

As for insights on vital governmental changes, a recent survey showed that 63% of Americans feel that technology adoption in government services could lead to better public service delivery. This perspective highlights the ongoing discussion about the balance between innovation and established processes within large organizations.

For more on the complexities of government modernization initiatives, you can explore resources from the Pew Research Center.

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