Quick summary
• Elon Musk reinstated Marko Elez, a DOGE staffer who resigned after racist and eugenicist social media posts surfaced.
• Elez’s posts included calls to repeal the Civil Rights Act, advocacy for Indian hate, and claims he was “racist before it was cool.”
• Vice President J.D. Vance led the push for Elez’s return, dismissing the posts as “stupid social media activity.”
• Trump supported Elez’s reinstatement, telling reporters, “I’m with the vice president.”
• Musk attacked Wall Street Journal reporter Katherine Long for exposing Elez, demanding she be “fired immediately.”
• Critics, including Ibram X. Kendi and Rep. Ro Khanna, condemned the decision as an example of white privilege and government-sanctioned racism.
• Elez’s reinstatement raises serious concerns about white nationalist influence in Trump’s administration and DOGE’s role in federal governance.
In a decision that has sparked outrage among civil rights advocates and critics of the Trump administration, Elon Musk has reinstated Marko Elez, a 25-year-old staffer at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), after his resignation last week due to resurfaced racist and eugenicist social media posts.
Elez, who had access to sensitive government financial data, was initially forced to resign following a Wall Street Journal investigation that revealed his history of promoting white nationalist views. However, Vice President J.D. Vance and President Donald Trump defended Elez, dismissing his posts as trivial. Musk, echoing their sentiments, reinstated Elez on Friday, claiming, “To err is human, to forgive divine.”
Elez’s reinstatement has reignited concerns about the normalization of white nationalism within the federal government. The Wall Street Journal report highlighted multiple racist and xenophobic posts made by Elez on X (formerly Twitter), including:
• “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool.”
• “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.”
• “Normalize Indian hate.”
• Advocating for the repeal of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and eugenics-based immigration policies.
• “I would not mind at all if Gaza and Israel were both wiped off the face of the Earth.”
Many of these posts were made within the past year, raising serious concerns about why someone with such views was given high-level government access.
Despite widespread condemnation, Trump officials rushed to Elez’s defense. Vice President J.D. Vance dismissed the posts as “stupid social media activity” and called for Musk to reinstate Elez, stating:
“Here’s my view: 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.”
Trump, when asked about the controversy during a White House press conference, aligned himself with Vance’s stance. “I’m with the vice president,” Trump said.
Shortly after, Musk confirmed Elez’s return to DOGE in a post on X, stating:
“He will be brought back. To err is human, to forgive divine.”
Rather than address concerns about his staffer’s history of racism, Musk launched an aggressive attack on the journalist who reported on Elez’s social media history. Musk demanded that Katherine Long, the Wall Street Journal reporter who unearthed the posts, be fired.
“She’s a disgusting and cruel person,” Musk wrote on X, falsely accusing Long of doxxing Elez.
This mirrors the Trump administration’s long-standing hostility toward journalists, with Musk using his influence to target reporters who expose white nationalism in his inner circle.
Elez’s return to DOGE raises major concerns about the security and vetting of federal employees under Trump’s administration. DOGE staffers have access to Treasury Department systems and handle vast amounts of government data. Critics have warned that allowing someone with documented white nationalist and eugenicist beliefs access to such sensitive systems is dangerous.
The reinstatement also exemplifies the normalization of extremist rhetoric within Trump’s government. As Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) pointed out, Vance’s defense of Elez contradicts his own family background, writing:
“Are you going to tell him to apologize for saying ‘Normalize Indian hate’ before this rehire? Just asking for the sake of both of our kids.”
Vance, whose wife is Indian American, dismissed the criticism, responding:
“For the sake of both of our kids? Grow up.”
Historians and civil rights advocates have called out the double standard applied to Elez. Antiracist historian Ibram X. Kendi pointed out:
“For White men: Boys will be boys. Don’t ruin his life. For Black boys: Zero tolerance for misbehavior. Try him as an adult.”
“To be racist is to treat White adults like kids and Black kids like adults. To be antiracist is to treat all adults like adults and all kids like kids.”
Elez’s reinstatement, despite clear evidence of his extremist views, further proves how Trump and his allies are actively protecting and promoting far-right ideologies within government institutions.
Musk also attempted to use social media to justify Elez’s reinstatement, conducting a poll on X asking users whether Elez should be brought back. The poll resulted in 78% “yes” votes—an expected outcome given Musk’s overwhelmingly right-wing audience on the platform.
The poll provided Musk with a veneer of public support, but it does not change the fundamental concerns:
• Why was Elez hired in the first place?
• Why was he reinstated after openly espousing white nationalist rhetoric?
• How does his presence in DOGE impact federal governance and national security?
The reinstatement of Marko Elez represents yet another example of the Trump administration’s tolerance for—and even encouragement of—white nationalist ideology.
From Musk’s aggressive defense of racist rhetoric to Trump and Vance’s dismissal of Elez’s posts as insignificant, this controversy highlights how the far-right is systematically embedding extremist figures into the U.S. government.
With DOGE rapidly expanding under Musk, the reinstatement of Elez sends a chilling message: in Trump’s America, racism, eugenics, and white nationalist rhetoric are not just tolerated but actively defended.
COMMENTS