Investigative Report Uncovers High Salaries at DOGE
Despite Elon Musk’s repeated claims that employees at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) work without pay, new findings reveal that several key figures are receiving six-figure, taxpayer-funded salaries.
DOGE, the cost-cutting advisory group Musk leads under President Donald Trump, has staffers on the federal payroll via the General Services Administration (GSA). Among them is Jeremy Lewin, responsible for dismantling USAID, earning more than $167,000 annually. Kyle Schutt, a software engineer embedded within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, receives $195,200—the highest possible salary for a federal employee. Additionally, Nate Cavanaugh, a 28-year-old entrepreneur spearheading DOGE’s GSA restructuring, takes home $120,500.
These findings, uncovered by WIRED, contradict Musk’s previous statements. As recently as last November, Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy publicly stated that DOGE positions were unpaid, describing the work as “tedious” and purely voluntary.
DOGE’s Expanding Budget Raises Ethical Questions
Despite initial claims of operating at minimal cost, the investigation found that DOGE’s budget has surged to $40 million. Furthermore, the recruitment page now openly advertises “full-time, salaried positions” for engineers and other specialists.
“It does seem worth understanding what these employees are being paid,” said Don Moynihan, a public policy professor at the University of Michigan, in an interview with WIRED. “Especially if they are earning significantly more than experienced technologists who were laid off, given that many DOGE hires lack relevant experience.”
Meanwhile, Musk—whose personal fortune exceeds $350 billion—remains an unpaid DOGE staffer. However, his companies have collectively received $38 billion in federal funding over the past two decades, per a report from The Washington Post.
As Musk continues advocating for transparency in government spending, critics argue that DOGE itself lacks transparency, raising concerns about obvious conflicts of interest within the agency.
