Nearly two dozen federal tech employees resigned from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Tuesday and warned that X owner Elon Musk had ordered them to dismantle what they described as "critical public services."
The Associated Press reports that 21 former staffers signed a joint resignation letter in which they stated that "we swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations... however, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments."
The staffers also claimed that Musk had forced them to conduct interviews with some of his minions who asked them what they believed to be inappropriate questions about their political allegiances.
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"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,” the staffers wrote. “This process created significant security risks.”
The tech workers added that "we will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans’ sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services" and that "we will not lend our expertise to carry out or legitimize DOGE’s actions.”
DOGE has already shuttered government agencies such as the United States Agency of International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau despite lacking any kind of congressional input or authorization to do so.