DOGE workers quit, refuse to "dismantle public services" on Musk's orders

• "We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans' sensitive data, or dismantle public services," they wrote in the anonymous letter directed to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
• "We will not lend our expertise to carry out or legitimize DOGE's actions."

Zoom out: DOGE head Elon Musk and allies have reimagined the federal workforce, including through layoffs and moving to close agencies or fold them into others.

• Thousands of workers took a buyout to leave the government, while others have been fired or placed on administrative leave.

What they're saying: In the letter, the former employees said they completed 15-minute interviews on Inauguration Day with people wearing White House visitor badges.

• "Several of these interviewers refused to identify themselves, asked questions about political loyalty, attempted to pit colleagues against each other, and demonstrated limited technical ability," they wrote. "This process created significant security risks."

The workers, formerly part of the U.S. Digital Service, were integrated into DOGE on Feb. 16.

• Then-President Obama created the U.S. Digital Service in 2014 to fix problems with the Healthcare.gov portal. Since then, the agency has worked on other issues related to the federal government's technology footprint, including developing a tax filing portal to allow Americans to circumvent third-party companies and file directly with the IRS.

Between the lines: The employees who resigned on Tuesday were engineers, data scientists, product managers and an IT department head.

• "DOGE's actions — firing technical experts, mishandling sensitive data, and breaking critical systems — contradict their stated mission of 'modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity,'" they wrote.

The other side: "These were full remote workers who hung Trans flags from their workplaces," DOGE spokesperson Katie Miller wrote on X.

Are you a federal employee with a tip? You can reach April Rubin confidentially on Signal @april.04.

Read the full letter:

Go deeper: How DOGE cuts might show up in the data