The Department of Government Efficiency has built a “firewall” separating Elon Musk’s team from the 200 or so legacy workers employed by what was previously called the United States Digital Service (USDS), sources tell WIRED.
Since Musk’s USDS takeover, sources claim, the original USDS staff has had very little contact with Musk’s team. A DOGE representative was expected to join several USDS meetings last week, but they did not show up. The only time legacy staff have met with recently installed personnel was a Friday meeting with DOGE’s HR chief, Stephanie Holmes, which WIRED first reported. In that meeting, Holmes was unable to provide many answers to a slew of questions related to the deferred resignations program offered to most federal employees.
“Them not showing up shows that they clearly do not give a fuck about us,” one source told WIRED. “It’s the biggest ‘fuck you’ because we wait for them to come and they don’t.”
Without new directives, USDS sources tell WIRED they’ve been operating as if things are “business as usual,” continuing work on long-term projects that have carried over from President Joe Biden’s administration.
“They don’t talk to us,” one USDS employee tells WIRED.
“As far as I can tell, they’re hiding,” says another.
The Musk team’s aloofness underscores the secrecy surrounding DOGE staff. Last week, WIRED reported that unnamed, young engineers were tasked with interviewing staff at USDS and the General Services Administration and at times reviewing code. “We’re afraid of those folks’ names getting out and their personal lives being disrupted, which is exactly what happened last week, which is really unfortunate for them,” Thomas Shedd, director of GSA’s Technology Transformation Service, said in a meeting with staff on Monday.
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Former USDS deputy administrator Ted Carstensen, the highest-ranking USDS official outside of Musk’s orbit, resigned on Thursday. He repeatedly invited members of Musk’s team, including DOGE senior adviser Steve Davis, to join staff meetings, sources tell WIRED, but they never showed. Two sources said that Carstensen was repeatedly left out of leadership meetings and felt kept out of the loop on decisionmaking. Carstensen was supposed to meet with Holmes on Wednesday, a source said, but the meeting was canceled last minute.
In a resignation email viewed by WIRED, Carstensen confirmed that Thursday would be his final day. He said that he would not be taking the deferred resignation offer that has colloquially been called “the fork” after the Fork in the Road email federal workers received last week offering them continued pay and benefits through September 30.
“This was not an easy decision for me to make as my time at the US Digital Service has been one of the best periods in my career. I believe wholeheartedly in the mission and have been inspired every day by the commitment, kindness, and intelligence of the team,” Carstensen wrote. “It was important for me to get the team to a place where everyone could choose their own path forward, which is where we find ourselves today. I hope each of you lands on the path that’s best for you, and I look forward to staying in touch and seeing where it takes you.”
Carstensen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Carstensen’s decision to refuse the “fork” deal echoes a similar sentiment held among the broader USDS staff. “There’s a strong feeling within USDS that people don’t want to take the fork because they don’t want to send the message that they’re somehow accepting or approving of the larger plan,” a USDS source said.
In an internal meeting following Carstensen’s departure, staff were told that he would not be replaced and that his responsibilities would be spread across the rest of the organization, a source said. Within the meeting, staff members lamented the state of the organization, fearing Carstensen’s departure showed that Musk and his team were in full control.
“It’s almost indisputable that USDS is in the endgame,” one person in the meeting said.
“Time to start loading into the life boats,” said another.