Some personnel at Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are reportedly receiving substantial taxpayer-funded salaries from the federal entities they are dismantling, as uncovered by WIRED.
Jeremy Lewin, an employee at DOGE responsible for the dismantling of USAID, has also contributed to DOGE’s initiatives involving the National Institutes of Health and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. According to WIRED’s confirmation, Lewin earns a salary of just over $167,000 per year and is based in the Office of the Administrator within the General Services Administration (GSA).
Kyle Schutt, a software engineer working at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, reportedly has an annual salary of $195,200 through the GSA, where he is positioned in the Office of the Deputy Administrator. This amount represents the pinnacle of what any “General Schedule” federal employee can earn each year, inclusive of bonuses. The GSA’s compensation and benefits portal states, “You cannot be offered more under any circumstances.”
Nate Cavanaugh, a 28-year-old tech entrepreneur who has taken on a prominent internal responsibility interviewing GSA staff as part of DOGE’s efforts at the agency, is reportedly compensated at a rate of just over $120,500 annually. According to DOGE’s official website, the average employee at GSA earns $128,565 and has been employed at the agency for about 13 years.
When Musk began the recruitment process for DOGE in November, he described the undertaking as “tedious” and stated that “compensation is zero.” Previously reported by WIRED, the recruitment campaign relied partially on a cohort of engineers linked to Peter Thiel and was conducted on platforms like Discord.
Since Trump’s inauguration in January, DOGE has conducted significant layoffs within the GSA, including the recent closure of 18F, the agency’s unit focused on enhancing technology efficiency. Additionally, it has formulated plans to sell off over 500 government structures.
Despite Musk’s claims that DOGE operates with “maximum transparency,” it has yet to publicly disclose its expenditure or salary scales. Funding for DOGE was reported to have reached approximately $40 million as of February 20, as indicated by a recent ProPublica report. The White House did not respond to inquiries regarding the salary ranges for DOGE staff or how their budget is managed to compensate them.
Certain members of the DOGE team, including Musk himself, are classified as “Special Government Employees” (SGEs), holding advisory roles that are restricted to a 130-day work period. These positions may be paid or unpaid, and SGEs receiving salaries above a specific grade must file financial disclosure documents; however, volunteers are exempt from this requirement. Unlike standard federal employees, this classification permits them to continue receiving external salaries and in some instances, they may not be obligated to disclose conflicts of interest. Other notable SGE personnel linked to DOGE includes Katie Miller, a senior aide, who has maintained her previous public relations responsibilities. Reports indicate that her firm represents clients like Apple and a golf league financed by Saudi investments, according to the Wall Street Journal.
