Washington: The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has employed six young engineers, including Indian-origin Akash Bobba, despite their limited experience in government affairs, according to a report by WIRED on February 3.
Akash attended UC Berkeley as part of the prestigious Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology program, and has experience working as an intern at tech giants Meta and Palantir, as well as at the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.
Bobba is listed in internal government records as an "expert" at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), directly reporting to Amanda Scales, the new chief of staff who was previously involved in hiring at Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, the report said.
Apart from Akash Bobba, the other five professionals are Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kliger, and Ethan Shaotran. Some of these individuals hold working emails from the General Services Administration (GSA) and OPM, despite not having prior government experience.
The DOGE initiative has already sparked controversy, with reports that some of its personnel attempted to improperly access classified information at the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Top security officials who blocked the attempt were subsequently placed on leave, news agency Reuters reported. The Associated Press later reported that DOGE personnel had indeed accessed classified material.
Critics argue that the presence of young, relatively inexperienced individuals in key government positions raises concerns about regulatory capture and oversight.
"This is unprecedented in that you have individuals who are not really public officials gaining access to the most sensitive data in government," Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, said. "Congress has no real ability to intervene or monitor what's happening."
(With the input of agencies)
