Employees at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is closely linked to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, are making impressive salaries while working on downsizing federal agencies.
A recent report from WIRED indicates that some DOGE employees have high taxpayer-funded salaries. For instance, Jeremy Lewin, who is helping to dismantle USAID, earns over $167,000 a year. Meanwhile, Kyle Schutt, a software engineer at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, makes the top federal salary of $195,200 annually.
Another DOGE employee, Nate Cavanaugh, who is involved in the General Services Administration (GSA), earns just above $120,500, which is close to the average salary for GSA employees as per DOGE’s standards.
Although Musk acts as an advisor to President Donald Trump, he reportedly doesn’t take a salary for his role at DOGE. Musk initially said the work would be boring and that he would not be compensated, but the department’s funding has ballooned to nearly $40 million as of February 20, according to ProPublica.
Benzinga couldn’t confirm the salaries mentioned in the report, as the White House has not released details about DOGE employees’ pay or the budget. They did not respond to inquiries from Benzinga.
The DOGE initiative has been a hot topic since it began. The department has been crucial in cutting costs and restructuring, resulting in the closure of various agencies and layoffs of federal employees, such as the recent cut of the 18F tech support team. Concerns over the access to sensitive citizen data have also raised legal and ethical questions.
Even though Musk isn’t earning a salary from DOGE, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are pushing for the administration to release documents related to Musk’s potential conflicts of interest and the layoffs of federal staff.
Experts question DOGE’s claim of saving $65 billion, suggesting these figures might be exaggerated. Additionally, Musk’s idea to provide a $5,000 tax refund for Americans funded by DOGE’s savings is facing doubt. While Trump supports the idea, Congress, which controls spending, seems unlikely to back it.
Overall, the DOGE initiative remains a contentious subject, blending government efficiency efforts with significant ethical concerns and questions about transparency.
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