Musk says DOGE staffer who resigned over racist tweets "will be brought back"

Driving the news: Elez, 25, was one of Musk's key lieutenants within DOGE. He received access to U.S. Treasury payments a day before resigning, when the Journal contacted the Trump administration about his connection to the deleted social media account that made the racist posts.

• The account associated with Elez also advocated for repealing the Civil Rights Act and supported a "eugenic immigration policy."
• Musk posted a poll Friday asking whether he should bring Elez back, with 78% of respondents voting "yes" at time of writing.
• Vance responded to the poll by saying "I obviously disagree with some of Elez's posts, but I don't think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid's life," adding: "I say bring him back."

Zoom in: Elez worked for Musk's SpaceX, Starlink and X, per the Wall Street Journal. He focused on artificial intelligence.

• On Wednesday, Department of Justice lawyers agreed to give Elez and one other employee "read-only" access to Treasury data. Federal employees' unions had sued to stop DOGE's access to confidential data.
• The White House did not respond to Axios' request for comment about Elez's resignation on Thursday.

Between the lines: Elez's reinstatement comes as Reuters reports that another DOGE employee, Gavin Kliger, has shared white supremacist content on social media.

• Kliger, a computer scientist, reposted content from white supremacist Nick Fuentes and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate.

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This story was updated with the news that Musk intends to bring Elez back.