Gavin Kliger
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Gavin Kliger is an American software engineer, currently serving as special adviser to the director for information technology of the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and within the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).[1][2]
Education and career
[edit]Kliger attended UC Berkeley, graduating in 2020.[3] Kliger's LinkedIn lists him as later working as a software engineer at LinkedIn and Databricks.[3]
On February 2, 2025, Wired reported Kliger was among a group of 19- to 24-year-old engineers to be appointed to Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).[3][4][5] The same day, Kliger posted an article in his online newsletter titled "Why DOGE: Why I gave up a seven-figure salary to save America".[6][7]
Before 1:00 AM on February 3, 2025, Kliger sent an email from a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) email address to all USAID employees ordering them to work from home, and not to come into the office.[8][9][10] Kliger has no prior experience at the agency or in government. The move was criticized by USAID personnel and Democratic politicians, including Senator Chris Coons, who described the Trump administration as "trying to gut the agency altogether."[9][1]
In the context of his employment by the government concerns have been raised about his amplification of extremist viewpoints including reposting content from white supremacist Nick Fuentes and misogynistic social media influencer Andrew Tate.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Ward, Michael R. Gordon, Ken Thomas and Alexander. "Trump Administration Closes USAID Headquarters". WSJ. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Demirjian, Karoun; Wong, Edward (February 3, 2025). "USAID Staff Told to Stay Home After Elon Musk Says Trump Wants to Close It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ a b c Elliott, Vittoria. "The Young, Inexperienced Engineers Aiding Elon Musk's Government Takeover". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ Townsend, Chance (February 3, 2025). "Elon Musk's DOGE takeover is reportedly being spearheaded by young college grads". Mashable. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ Anonymous (February 3, 2025). "Elon Musk Is Permanently Deleting Government Agencies". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ Kliger, Gavin (February 3, 2025). "Why DOGE". The Weekly Byte. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ Henderson, Cameron (February 3, 2025). "Musk signs up university-aged team to dismantle foreign aid". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ Wong, Edward; Green, Erica L.; Demirjian, Karoun; Crowley, Michael (February 2, 2025). "Top Security Officials at Aid Agency Put on Leave After Denying Access to Musk Team". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ a b Schwartz, Felicia (February 3, 2025). "US aid agency HQ closed after Elon Musk reveals plan to 'shut it down'". Financial Times. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ Anonymous (February 3, 2025). "Elon Musk Is Permanently Deleting Government Agencies". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ Alper, Alexandra; Satter, Raphael. "Staffer with Elon Musk's DOGE amplified white supremacists online". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved February 7, 2025.