Elon Musk’s right-hand man tried to stage a bizarre coup after being told to leave the government — ignoring the order and “bluffing” his way into continuing to do his old job, according to a new report.
Steve Davis' departure from the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency wasn't just messy — it was downright odd, according to Politico.
After the White House announced on May 29 that the operational head of DOGE was following Elon Musk out of Washington, Davis apparently decided he wasn't going anywhere — and continued as if nothing had happened.
The situation became so problematic that in June, the White House Presidential Personnel Office had to contact DOGE leads across government and White House liaisons to explicitly tell staffers that Davis was no longer an employee and to "cease all communication with him."
But Davis wasn't having it. Acting as if he'd never left, he continued reaching out to staffers for DOGE updates and making requests. He even led a DOGE meeting on the sixth floor of the General Services Administration a full week after his supposed departure, announcing a "DOGE 2.0" that would be more collaborative with Cabinet secretaries, Politico reported.
"He was at the GSA running the meeting like it was business as usual," one person familiar with the events told reporters.
The spectacle made DOGE employees deeply uncomfortable. Several staffers privately questioned Davis' authority to run DOGE as a non-government employee.
"A lot of people got uncomfortable," one source said. "So many people received that message from the White House and I think that bothered them, that Steve was continuing to tell everybody that everything is normal and to act like he is still involved in running the show."
Some got in touch with DOGE general counsel Austin Raynor, who said Davis no longer worked for the government.
Davis then dispatched a trio of allies—GSA Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian, Josh Gruenbaum, and Anthony Armstrong—to assess people's loyalty and installed them as DOGE's new leadership, Politico reported.
"They claimed authority from [Vice President] JD Vance and [chief of staff] Susie Wiles but actually did not and do not have it—they were bluffing," a second source revealed.
The purge came swiftly. On June 7, Davis removed those he deemed disloyal from Signal group chats without explanation. DOGE used its GSA control to push out Shea, while three others who questioned Davis' authority faced pressure but managed to stay at their agencies.
A senior Trump administration official denied the loyalty assessment claims, with White House spokesman Harrison Fields insisting the administration has "yielded more than $170 billion in savings for the American people."
But the damage was done. Exhausted by weeks of intrigue that began with Musk's public rupture with Trump, many DOGE members resigned on their own, while others were fired after White House aide Sergio Gor reminded Cabinet secretaries they had full discretion over DOGE personnel.
