Vice President JD Vance and Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are defending former staffer Marko Elez, who resigned following the discovery of racist and extremist social media posts linked to him.
Elez, 25, was a key figure in Musk’s inner circle and had access to $5 trillion in Treasury payment systems before stepping down. His resignation came just hours after The Wall Street Journal published a report revealing past posts from a deleted X (formerly Twitter) account that allegedly belonged to him.
The posts, which sparked widespread backlash, included racist remarks, support for eugenics, and calls for repealing the Civil Rights Act. Some of the reported statements included:
• “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.”
• “Normalize Indian hate.”
• “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool.”
• A comment on the Israel-Palestine conflict stating, “I would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth.”
Despite the controversy, Musk took to social media to question Elez’s resignation, asking his followers in a poll if he should be reinstated.
“Bring back @DOGE staffer who made inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym?”
Vice President JD Vance echoed Musk’s sentiments, arguing that social media activity shouldn’t ruin Elez’s career.
“I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life.”
“We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever. So I say bring him back. If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that.”
The White House confirmed Elez’s resignation but did not specify whether further investigations into his conduct or government access would follow.
Elez, a Rutgers University graduate with a background in computer science and artificial intelligence, previously worked across Musk’s ventures, including SpaceX, Starlink, and X.
With VP Vance and Musk both defending Elez, the controversy is far from over. The question now is whether Elez could be reinstated—or if the backlash will prevent any return to government work.
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