April 16, 2026
Big Balls, bigger backlash
Where the DOGE Operatives Are Now
Teen tech squad leaves busted agencies as internet yells ‘failing up’
TLDR: WIRED tracked young DOGE alumni as they landed cushy posts in government and Silicon Valley after cuts that hit hundreds of thousands of workers. Commenters rage about “failing upwards,” raise privacy fears about data misuse, and even roast WIRED’s writing—arguing whether this is reform or plain wreckage.
WIRED’s update on Elon Musk’s short‑lived “Department of Government Efficiency” — a crew of 19‑ to 24‑year‑old tech whiz kids handed big federal levers — has the comments on fire. The magazine says the group’s legacy includes more than 300,000 federal workers fired, a gutted foreign aid agency, and longer waits at Social Security. Now it’s tracking where 10 of those operatives landed as some rise inside government and others return to Silicon Valley circles. The crowd’s mood? Fury and side‑eye. One user blasts the hires as “scum... trying to destroy democracy,” while another sums it up as classic “failing upwards.” The vibe: chaos kids, bigger titles.
Privacy alarms are ringing too, with a dystopian quip about people’s Social Security and tax data getting funneled to surveillance giants. Meanwhile, meta‑drama erupts: readers dunk on WIRED’s prose (“used to write with more flair”), and archivers swoop in with receipts. The memes write themselves — “Department of Government Entropy,” “move fast and break states,” and the kicker: Big Balls energy, tiny guardrails. Love or loathe Musk’s orbit, commenters agree on one thing: DOGE didn’t vanish; its shockwaves—and its alumni—are very much still here, and everyone’s arguing over whether that’s reform or wreckage.
Key Points
- •Elon Musk formed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), staffed by young technologists, which drew controversy for disruptive actions in US agencies.
- •Although DOGE has dissolved, the article claims lasting impacts, including over 300,000 federal workers fired, USAID’s destruction, and longer SSA wait times.
- •Despite internal descriptions of DOGE as chaotic and failing to meet many goals, several members advanced to influential government roles or moved to Musk-linked private firms.
- •WIRED identified 10 former DOGE members to profile based on role changes, verifiable current work, and previously unreported moves.
- •Edward “Big Balls” Coristine joined DOGE at 19, interned at Neuralink, worked at a hacker-involved startup, operated across agencies, and is linked to National Design Studio; a whistleblower alleged he worked on an SSA engineering team.