February 8, 2025
Elon Musk rehired a former Division of Authorities Effectivity staffer who had beforehand resigned after racist and pro-eugenics social media posts linked to him got here to mild
On Feb. 7, Elon Musk introduced his determination to rehire a former Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) staffer who had beforehand resigned after racist and pro-eugenics social media posts on a X account linked to the previous staffer got here to mild.
In keeping with USA Right this moment, Musk’s determination got here after Trump’s Vice President JD Vance voiced his disapproval of the results to 25-year-old software program programmer Marko Elez’s actions on social media, and was later supported by Trump.
A number of of Elez’s offensive statements embrace: “Only for the file, I used to be racist earlier than it was cool,” “Normalize Indian hate,” and “You would not pay me to marry exterior of my ethnicity.”
Of word, Vance’s spouse, and the mom of his kids, Usha Vance, is the daughter of Indian immigrants.
Vance repeatedly infantilized Elez, referring to the 25-year-old man, as a child.
Vance and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) obtained right into a spat on X over the proposed rehiring of the DOGE staffer.
“Are you going to inform him to apologize for saying ‘Normalize Indian hate’ earlier than this rehire? Simply asking for the sake of each of our youngsters,” Khanna stated on X.
“For the sake of each of our youngsters? Develop up. Racist trolls on the web, whereas offensive, don’t threaten my youngsters. You already know what does? A tradition that denies grace to individuals who make errors. A tradition that encourages congressmen to behave like whiny kids,” Vance wrote in reply to Rep. Khanna.
Vance continued, “I don’t fear about my youngsters making errors, or growing views they later remorse. I don’t even fear that a lot about trolls on the web. You already know what I do fear about, Ro? That they’ll develop as much as be a US Congressmen who engages in emotional blackmail over a child’s social media posts. You disgust me.”
“Right here’s my view: I clearly disagree with a few of Elez’s posts, however I don’t assume silly social media exercise ought to damage a child’s life,” Vance stated on Feb. 7. “We shouldn’t reward journalists who attempt to destroy folks. Ever. So I say carry him again. If he’s a foul dude or a horrible member of the workforce, hearth him for that.”
Trump was requested for his view of Vance’s feedback at a press convention on the White Home, and after initially indicating that he didn’t know what the reporters have been referring to earlier than asking Vance if he made the feedback in query.
After Vance replied within the affirmative, Trump then said that “I’m with the vice chairman.”
In keeping with White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt, and opposite to the claims of Vance, Elez resigned after reporters for The Wall Avenue Journal requested him concerning the social media posts linked again to him.
Musk, in the meantime, appeared to point on social media that he desires the reporter who uncovered the posts to be fired.
Musk replied beneath a publish that appeared to come back from a right-wing conspiracy theorist that Katherine Lengthy, a reporter on the WSJ, ought to be fired instantly.
In keeping with The Wall Avenue Journal, Elez was additionally a central determine in a authorized struggle over DOGE’s entry to delicate taxpayer data and methods utilized by the Treasury Division to course of trillions of {dollars} in funds per yr.
On Feb. 6, a U.S. District Courtroom Choose dominated that Elez may maintain his entry to the division’s cost methods, however imposed limitations on his capability to share the info. Afterward that day, Elez resigned from DOGE.
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