Elon Musk said Friday that he will bring back a DOGE staff member who resigned after it was found that the staffer had previously made racist remarks online.
"To err is human, to forgive divine," Musk said in a repost to X of a post from Vice President JD Vance that also supported the staffer's reinstatement.
The staff member, 25-year-old Marko Elez, resigned from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Thursday after The Wall Street Journal reported that he had made comments online that included supporting racism and eugenics. The White House confirmed to NBC News that Elez had resigned.
Earlier Friday, Vance said that he would support the rehiring of a DOGE staff member who resigned after it was found that he had previously made racist remarks online.
Vance made the comments on X, reposting a poll from DOGE head Elon Musk asking if the staff member should be brought back.
“I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life,” Vance wrote. “We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever.”
“So I say bring him back,” Vance continued. “If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that.”
President Donald Trump, when asked about Vance’s response during a press conference, said, “I’m with the vice president.”
Here’s my view:
I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life.
We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever.
So I say bring him back.
If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of… https://t.co/OgG6Z3hKPE
— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 7, 2025
A Vance spokesperson declined to elaborate on the post.
The Wall Street Journal said it reviewed archived posts from a deleted X account used by Elez in which he posted messages such as “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool” and, “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.” “Normalize Indian hate,” he wrote in another post. NBC News has not seen or verified those posts.
The Journal reported that the posts were made by an account, @nullllptr, that previously went by @marko_elez, and that the account said they were an employee at SpaceX and Starlink, matching Elez’s experience posted on his personal website.
A text message and phone call to a number associated with Elez were not immediately returned, and he did not comment to the Journal.
Vance’s comments come as Musk’s DOGE has embarked on a wide-ranging effort to slash the government’s workforce. The Trump administration has also sought to eliminate roles focused on social justice initiatives.
Elez was one of a cadre of young Musk hires who joined DOGE as part of what Musk has said is an effort aimed at “dismantling the radical-left shadow government.” That has included tech-focused personnel with no government experience, some of whom have left behind considerable social media footprints.
Gavin Kliger, another DOGE staffer, was reported by Rolling Stone to have previously reposted content from Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist who has dined with President Donald Trump.
Kliger did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent via LinkedIn and email.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., posted on X asking Vance if he'd tell Elez to apologize for his anti-Indian post, noting that both their families' children share Indian heritage. Vance's wife, Usha, is the daughter of Indian immigrants.
Are you going to tell him to apologize for saying "Normalize Indian hate" before this rehire? Just asking for the sake of both of our kids. https://t.co/7NY8m93hJa
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) February 7, 2025
NBC News' Henry J. Gomez, Peter Alexander and Katherine Doyle contributed.
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