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BumRushDaShow

(147,188 posts)
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 09:11 AM Feb 4

Six techies barely out of college helping Musk to slash billions from federal government: Report

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: The Independent

Monday 03 February 2025 22:46 EST


A group of six young tech industry workers, all between the ages of 19 and 24, and many with past ties to Elon Musk, are fanning out across the federal government to carry out the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)’s goals of cutting trillions from the federal budget, despite having little apparent government experience.

The group, WIRED reports, includes Akash Bobba, Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kliger, and Ethan Shaotran.

Bobba reportedly attended UC Berkeley and interned at hedge fund Bridewater Associates. Coristine, a recent high school graduate, spent time at Northeastern University, and interned at Musk’s Neuralink brain-computer interface company, according to WIRED.

Farritor, who dropped out of the University of Nebraska, interned at Musk’s SpaceX. Killian, meanwhile, served as an engineer at computerized trading firm Jump Trading, while Kliger worked at AI company Databricks, WIRED reported. Shaotran was still at Harvard as of last year, where he competed in a hackathon run by Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, according to the outlet.

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/elon-musk-doge-opm-trump-b2691611.html



11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Six techies barely out of college helping Musk to slash billions from federal government: Report (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Feb 4 OP
Kick for visibility bronxiteforever Feb 4 #1
They're not "helping slash billions" in any meaningful or helpful way--they don't even Wingus Dingus Feb 4 #2
They are following orders from someone. Irish_Dem Feb 4 #4
As a former federal supervisor who had to take procurement training BumRushDaShow Feb 4 #7
Techno Brown Shirts n/t Cheezoholic Feb 4 #3
hundreds of billions. trillions. bucolic_frolic Feb 4 #5
OR: Six techies barely out of college helping Musk ATTACK the federal government. tanyev Feb 4 #6
"to slash billions" "to recklessly destroy government programs they don't understand" Prairie Gates Feb 4 #8
Meanwhile, they are operating illegally, at the highest level, and nothing happens. Bluethroughu Feb 4 #9
What could go wrong? Ray Bruns Feb 4 #10
AFTER a review by forum hosts LOCKING Omaha Steve Feb 4 #11

bronxiteforever

(9,935 posts)
1. Kick for visibility
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 09:12 AM
Feb 4

Wingus Dingus

(8,614 posts)
2. They're not "helping slash billions" in any meaningful or helpful way--they don't even
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 09:15 AM
Feb 4

fucking know what they're looking at. They don't understand government processes and programs and funding. Any pronouncements of savings from Musk will always come with a complete, cartoonish mischaracterization of what an agency or scientist was working on, to enrage and satisfy the dumb-dumbs who voted for this.

Irish_Dem

(63,834 posts)
4. They are following orders from someone.
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 09:17 AM
Feb 4

They have no idea what they are doing in terms of US govt functioning.
And they do not care one iota about the US or American people.

BumRushDaShow

(147,188 posts)
7. As a former federal supervisor who had to take procurement training
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 09:33 AM
Feb 4

(because I was signing off on orders by my direct reports or others as a "backup" ), I was taught about what I call the "4 'A's" -

APPROPRIATIONS
APPORTIONMENT
ALLOTMENT
ALLOWANCE


The above goes from top level down to the lowest levels of funding assignments. The allowances were generally the "pots". The biggy was the "BA" (Budget Authority) funds that tend to be for general purchases and staffing, etc., whereas you might have things that are funded with "User Fees" that must be segregated from the BA money and assigned appropriately, etc.

All of this is carefully done by the fiscal people due to obvious audits that can and do happen.

If they have no idea what a "User Fee" is (and it's something that the GOP promoted as a way to NOT have "taxpayers" fund certain regulatory activities but actually have the regulated industry do so through a "fee for service" arrangement, and start "slashing" that (despite such having been codified in law and is funding FROM INDUSTRY), then they will start eating their own corporate entities.

It can be mind-numbing but also fascinating as well (I know, I'm weird ).

Cheezoholic

(2,705 posts)
3. Techno Brown Shirts n/t
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 09:15 AM
Feb 4

bucolic_frolic

(48,611 posts)
5. hundreds of billions. trillions.
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 09:18 AM
Feb 4

This is not a cost-benefit analysis. Not a recommendation. It's being done, on-the-fly. The entire support system for American life, melted away by crypto-bro-dudes.

tanyev

(45,375 posts)
6. OR: Six techies barely out of college helping Musk ATTACK the federal government.
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 09:27 AM
Feb 4

Yeehawdists.


Prairie Gates

(4,074 posts)
8. "to slash billions" "to recklessly destroy government programs they don't understand"
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 09:35 AM
Feb 4

What is this bullshit article framing?

Bluethroughu

(6,847 posts)
9. Meanwhile, they are operating illegally, at the highest level, and nothing happens.
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 09:36 AM
Feb 4

Ray Bruns

(4,943 posts)
10. What could go wrong?
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 09:46 AM
Feb 4

I look forward to our entire treasury system being hacked by foreign agents and criminals wiping out trillions of dollars sending the entire planet into a depression.

Omaha Steve

(104,392 posts)
11. AFTER a review by forum hosts LOCKING
Tue Feb 4, 2025, 12:50 PM
Feb 4

DUPE of https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143386982

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