Musk reinstates DOGE worker who resigned after 'Normalise Indian hate', other racist posts resurfaced

Musk's move came after Vice President J D Vance batted for the reinstatement of the once-racist govt employee.

Elon Musk announced on Friday that a staff member from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) who had resigned earlier in the week amid controversy over racist and eugenicist remarks on social media has been reinstated. The decision followed public support from Vice President J D Vance, who advocated for the return of 25-year-old software engineer Marko Elez.

"He will be brought back. To err is human, to forgive divine," Musk wrote on X, responding to Vance's call for Elez’s reinstatement.

Elez had resigned after the Wall Street Journal raised questions about past social media posts linked to him, which contained racist comments. Following the WSJ report, Vance publicly supported Elez’s return, and President Donald Trump later aligned with his vice president’s stance.

“My perspective is simple: While I disagree with some of Elez’s posts, I don’t think poor social media choices should destroy a young person’s future,” Vance wrote on X. “We shouldn’t encourage journalists who aim to ruin lives. So, I say bring him back. If he fails in his role, let that be the reason to let him go.”

During a White House press briefing, Trump was asked about Vance’s statement. Initially unfamiliar with the situation, he turned to Vance for confirmation before stating, “I’m with the vice president.”

Among the posts cited by the WSJ was one from June in which Elez allegedly wrote, “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool.” Another post from September reportedly stated, “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.” A third post, also from September, referenced the significant Indian population in Silicon Valley and read, “Normalise Indian hate.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to the WSJ that Elez had resigned following the newspaper’s inquiries about the posts.

Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has been aggressively pursuing cost-cutting measures and workforce reductions across the federal government.

The controversy drew criticism from Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who is Indian American. Khanna publicly questioned whether Vance would require Elez to apologize for the “Normalize Indian hate” remark before rehiring him. “Just asking for the sake of both of our kids,” Khanna wrote on X, referencing both his own children and those of Vance, whose wife, Usha Vance, is of Indian descent and the country’s first Indian American second lady.

Vance responded dismissively: “For the sake of both of our kids? Grow up,” he wrote.

“Racist internet trolls, while offensive, don’t endanger my children,” Vance continued. “What does? A culture that refuses to show grace to those who make mistakes and encourages elected officials to act like petty children.”

Musk also conducted a poll on X asking followers whether Elez should be reinstated. Seventy-eight per cent voted in favor, while 22 per cent opposed the move. Additionally, Musk criticized the WSJ journalist behind the report, calling for the reporter’s immediate dismissal.

(Disclaimer: This article has been written by a generative AI tool and has been edited and reviewed by the DH Web Desk)