WASHINGTON – One of the best-known members of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency has left his federal job, part of an exodus following the acrimonious departure of billionaire adviser Elon Musk.
Edward Coristine’s online nickname “big balls” drew the spotlight as part of the DOGE advisory group searching for government savings through dismantling agencies and laying off tens of thousands of government workers.
Coristine, 19, had worked at Musk’s company Neuralink before joining him at DOGE. He and others including Steve Davis, a key Musk aide who ran DOGE’s day-to-day operations, have left the government, according to a White House official.
In March, Reuters reported that Coristine had provided tech support to a cybercrime gang that had bragged about trafficking in stolen data and harassing an FBI agent.
The DOGE departures came after Musk’s split with Trump over government spending. Musk had initially aimed to cut $2 trillion in federal spending but DOGE recommendations resulted in about $150 billion in cuts that lawmakers are now debating whether to make permanent.
Musk, who served in a special White House post that ended May 30, became sharply critical of Trump’s package of legislative priorities that congressional agencies have said will raise deficit spending and the national debt.
Musk has since said he “went too far” in criticism that included calling the legislative package an abomination and suggesting that Trump was mentioned in secret criminal files of the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The White House has denied Trump was associated with Epstein.
Trump and officials such as Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, who has taken over leadership of DOGE, have argued the tax-and-spending package the Senate is debating this week won’t add to the debt because of anticipated economic growth.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DOGE staffer with online moniker ‘Big Balls’ quits White House
