Few figures in the modern era have so effectively dismantled entrenched ideologies within institutions as Elon Musk. His tenure at Twitter (now X) offers a blueprint for what President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under Musk’s leadership, could achieve across the federal bureaucracy. Nowhere is this potential more vividly illustrated than in the parallels between Twitter’s former Trust & Safety Department and the GSA’s Technology Transformation Service (TTS), particularly its 18F subdivision.
Both entities became overrun by ideological zealots who prioritized advancing their progressive agendas over fulfilling their core missions. At Twitter, Trust & Safety morphed into an enforcement arm of radical gender ideology, ostracizing dissenters and wielding bans and suspensions as weapons. Similarly, at 18F, the focus on “lived experiences” over technical skill turned the agency into a safe haven for activists more interested in advancing DEI dogma than solving real-world IT challenges. Musk’s experience in untangling this ideological morass at X positions him perfectly to clean house within federal IT and beyond.
Twitter vs. 18F: Parallel Failures of Mission
Under its previous leadership, Twitter’s Trust & Safety team was notorious for its ideological bias. Ostensibly tasked with making the platform safe for users, the department instead became a bastion of progressive orthodoxy. It was staffed largely by members of the LGBTQ community, particularly the transgender community or those in the process of gender transition. This demographic dominance quickly turned into ideological gatekeeping, creating an environment where anyone outside the progressive fold felt alienated. Their power was wielded not to protect users but to enforce compliance with their worldview, often by silencing dissent.
At 18F, the situation was eerily similar. The agency’s obsession with “inclusion” led to a workplace where speech codes, mandatory pronoun sharing and racial affinity groups took precedence over innovation and efficiency. Employees were required to describe their physical appearance at meetings to ensure sufficient “racial diversity,” a practice more reminiscent of 19th-century racial categorization than 21st-century progress. One employee even used a publicly accessible 18F template to track their goal of undergoing gender reassignment surgery, raising funds from colleagues in the process. These anecdotes reveal an agency utterly consumed by internal virtue-signaling at the expense of its mission.
What connects Twitter and 18F is their adherence to a modern form of Marxism, where class struggle is replaced by identity politics. Just as Marxists sought to dismantle the bourgeoisie, these institutions sought to dismantle traditional norms and replace them with a rigid hierarchy of oppression. Hiring was based not on merit but on ideological alignment. At 18F, this meant prioritizing LGBTQ candidates, particularly those identifying as transgender, over more qualified applicants. The result? A tech department for the federal government that jeopardized national security by refusing to implement facial recognition software, citing concerns over “racial equity.”
Musk encountered this same ethos at Twitter, where activists within the company prioritized content moderation policies designed to advance progressive social goals over fairness or user satisfaction. His response was swift and decisive: he purged the ideologues and returned the platform to its original purpose—serving as a free and open forum for discourse. The result has been a platform that, while imperfect, is far closer to fulfilling its mission.
Musk’s DOGE initiative is poised to bring the same clarity of purpose to the federal government. The first step, as Musk has demonstrated, is to identify and remove those more committed to ideology than their jobs. At 18F, this would mean dismantling practices like affinity groups and quotas that prioritize identity over ability. It would also mean ending the agency’s deference to “lived experiences” in hiring, a euphemism for ideological conformity.
The shift from “lived experiences” to “Merit Principles,” as 18F has recently done under Musk’s influence, is an important first step. But this change must be more than cosmetic. Merit-based hiring must become the standard across all federal agencies, ensuring that the best workers are selected to do the best work. Musk has proven at Twitter that this approach not only improves efficiency but also restores public trust.
One of the most compelling arguments for a Musk-led overhaul of federal IT is the potential for dramatic efficiency gains. If the government were staffed with qualified workers hired based on merit, it could likely accomplish its goals with a fraction of its current workforce. Twitter’s headcount was slashed under Musk, yet the platform continues to operate—and has improved greatly. Imagine what could be achieved if the same principle were applied to the bloated federal bureaucracy. Musk’s belief in lean operations and accountability could revolutionize how government functions, reducing waste and delivering better outcomes for taxpayers.
In many ways, Musk’s efforts at Twitter and his plans for DOGE echo the ethos of the American Founders. Figures like Jefferson and Madison envisioned a government limited in scope but effective in its core functions. They would have recoiled at the modern administrative state’s inefficiency and ideological capture. Musk’s focus on merit, efficiency and free speech aligns with these foundational principles, offering a path forward that is both modern and deeply rooted in America’s political heritage.
Elon Musk’s tenure at X demonstrates his ability to confront and dismantle entrenched ideologies that undermine institutional effectiveness. His experience is precisely what’s needed to reform the federal government’s IT infrastructure and beyond. By purging ideologues and prioritizing merit, Musk’s DOGE team can lead a renaissance in governance, proving that less government can indeed do more. For a nation burdened by inefficiency and ideological overreach, Musk offers a vision of accountability, excellence and freedom—a vision worth embracing.
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Submitted to ideas to DOGE on X but was blocked on X.