Vice President J.D. Vance wants to rehire a staffer with Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency who quit after his openly racist social media posts were exposed.
President Donald Trump, asked about Vance’s support, said he didn’t know about “that particular thing" but agrees with the vice president.
“But if the vice president said that — did you say that? I’m with the vice president,” Trump told reporters Friday.
Marko Elez, a 25-year-old programmer, posted his support for a “eugenic immigration policy” and called to “normalize Indian hate,” among other racist statements uncovered by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
“Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool,” Elez posted on his X account in July, according to WSJ’s review of archived posts.
The vice president has now suggested that Musk should “bring him back” while Musk and his allies demand that the WSJ fire the reporter who discovered his posts and spread baseless accusations that she “doxxed” Elez — or published personal information without permission — by reporting on his social media presence.
“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,” said Vance, whose own social media diet has included accounts with white nationalist views, according to an analysis by The Independent.
“We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever. So I say bring him back,” Vance wrote on X. “If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that.”
Musk said the journalist should be “fired immediately.” He also posted a poll asking his followers whether to “bring back” Elez after he made “inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym.”
Musk and his DOGE cohort are seeking to dismantle entire government agencies and have commandeered the Office of Personnel Management and demanded access to payment systems, including the Department of Treasury, as part of the Trump administration’s threats to make visceral funding cuts across the government.
The world’s wealthiest man controlling the levers of government is facing significant legal pushback and protests across Washington, D.C., and from members of Congress.
Two unions representing federal employees are suing the Treasury Department, which is accused of violating federal privacy laws by handing over access to Musk’s team.
