--- title: "Elon’s DOGE Boy Who “Resigned” Was Apparently Doing Something Very Naughty With the Treasury’s Code" description: "Did Elon Musk's DOGE boy resign because of racist tweets, or was he not allowed to make code changes to the US Treasury's payments system?" date: "2025-02-07" modified: "2025-02-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-doge-boy-resigned-treasury-code" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "doge" - "elon musk" - "government" - "the digest" --- # Elon’s DOGE Boy Who “Resigned” Was Apparently Doing Something Very Naughty With the Treasury’s Code ![Did Elon Musk's DOGE boy resign because of racist tweets, or was he not allowed to make code changes to the US Treasury's payments system?]() *\Image: LinkedIn / Futurism\* ## DOGE Whistle One of Elon Musk's lackeys at his DOGE group, Marko Elez, [unexpectedly resigned]() on Thursday after the [*Wall Street Journal* revealed]() a litany of extremely racist social media posts he'd apparently made shortly before joining the team. The exact reason for his abrupt departure remains unclear. However, as [*Wired* reports](), White House officials seem to have provided incorrect information about Elez only being given "read-only" permissions to the US Treasury codebase, hinting at the possibility that he could have been in trouble for things *other* than the egregiously racist posts linked to his departure. According to *Wired*, Elez did in fact have write access, allowing him to push unvetted and untested changes straight to the Treasury's payments system — a [nightmare scenario]() that could introduce all sorts of cybersecurity vulnerabilities and leave doors open for adversary hacker groups. In other words, given Musk's well-established leniency and penchant for [racist ideologies](), there may be far more to the story than the *WSJ*'s reporting lets on. Did Elez push code changes to a payments system responsible for a gargantuan $5.45 trillion in 2024? Put simply, it looks like Elon's DOGE boy was doing something naughty — and regardless of whether he had "permission" from Musk, he may have ended up taking the fall for it. ## Cookie Jar Adding to the ominous signs around Elez' activity and departure, the blog [*Talking Points Memo* reported this week]() that Elez had made "extensive changes" to the system before his write access was revoked on February 5. In other words, it sounds a lot like White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was either intentionally or unintentionally obfuscating the truth by [claiming that Elez only had "read" permissions](). On the same day his code-writing privileges were rescinded, a federal judge [ruled to temporarily restrict]() any DOGE staffers from making changes to the payment system in light of a lawsuit filed against DOGE, specifically singling out Elez and fellow DOGE employee Tom Krause. Lawmakers are now demanding answers following the [allegedly unlawful]() infiltration of the US government's treasure chest. "People will be held accountable for the crimes they’re committing in this coup attempt," senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who has [publicly demanded answers]() about DOGE's "illegal seizure of Americans' private data," told *Wired*. "I’m not letting up on my investigation of what these Musk hatchet men are up to." **More on Elez:** *[One of Elon's DOGE Boys Just Resigned After His Incredibly Racist Tweets Were Discovered]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()