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More than 20 civil service staffers working on Elon Musk’s government efficiency project resigned Tuesday over fears that slash-and-burn tactics are dismantling “critical public services,” according to a new report.
A resignation letter signed by 21 staffers and shown to The Associated Press also says people working on Mr. Musk’s team are ideologues who don’t have the skills to cut federal spending and payroll properly.
“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the staffers wrote. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.”
Mr. Musk said the workers were Democratic loyalists who would not have lasted on the team.
“More fake news from Associated Propaganda. These were Dem political holdovers who refused to return to the office,” he wrote on X. “They would have been fired had they not resigned.”
The letter is the latest crick in Mr. Musk’s effort through the Department of Government Efficiency.
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Mr. Musk said he’s saving taxpayers billions of dollars and removing do-nothing workers.
Yet mass firings have sparked lawsuits and hand-wringing among some GOP lawmakers, who say the layoffs are haphazard and might harm critical services.
Others have said the team needs to operate with more compassion for federal workers.
Mr. Musk is undeterred by the criticism.
He says President Trump won the election with a mandate to right-size the federal bureaucracy and ensure that people on the federal payroll are productive.
Mr. Musk has directed federal workers to return to physical offices and ordered all employees to list five things they got done in a recent week.
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The second directive sparked confusion among managers who say they have the final say over tasks.
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