Fortune
Some DOGE employees are earning six-figure taxpayer-funded salaries from the federal agencies they are shutting down
Beatrice Nolan – March 5, 2025
- DOGE, Elon Musk’s cost-cutting government task force, was set up to eliminate inefficiencies—but some of its staff are reportedly earning hefty six-figure salaries while slashing federal jobs. Musk had initially claimed positions within DOGE would be “tedious work” where “compensation is zero.”
Some employees at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established to reduce bureaucracy and streamline federal agencies, are taking home six-figure taxpayer-funded salaries, according to reports.
While DOGE has aggressively downsized government offices, some of its own members are earning top-tier federal salaries, Wired reported.
Jeremy Lewin, a key figure in dismantling USAID and reshaping other agencies, makes over $167,000 per year, the report said. While Kyle Schutt, a software engineer working within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, takes home $195,200, per Wired, which is the federal pay ceiling.
Others, including 28-year-old tech entrepreneur Nate Cavanaugh, also earn six-figure salaries.
Elon Musk initially claimed that positions at DOGE would be “tedious work” where “compensation is zero.” While other DOGE employees, like Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, and Derek Geissler, appear to be unpaid volunteers, a full picture of the department’s salaries has been difficult to establish.
Some DOGE employees hold other designations, including “Special Government Employee” (SGE) status, which allows them to bypass standard federal employment rules, maintain outside income, and avoid certain financial disclosures.
Musk has no official link to DOGE, despite being the face of the cost-cutting team, and is instead listed as an SGE, which limits him to an advisory role for a maximum 130-day work period. SGE positions can be either paid or unpaid.
Representatives from DOGE and the GSA did not respond to a request for comment from Fortune.
DOGE’s government cuts
DOGE’s influence over the federal government has been sweeping.
The team has enacted aggressive cost-cutting and restructuring efforts.
It was instrumental in shuttering various government agencies, including USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and has overseen the firing of thousands of federal employees.
The department has also accessed sensitive citizen data within The Treasury and IRS, raising concerns from Democratic lawmakers and prompting legal challenges.
It recently played a key role in shutting down 18F—a government tech unit focused on improving digital services—and has overseen mass layoffs within the General Services Administration (GSA).
DOGE has proposed various other future initiatives to save funds, including a proposal to sell off more than 500 federal buildings.
Musk, who does not take a salary for his work with DOGE, remains the world’s richest person with a net worth of more than $350 billion. His companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, have received over $38 billion in government contracts and subsidies over the years.
Despite Musk’s claims of transparency, the department has not publicly disclosed full details of its spending or hiring practices. DOGE claims to post its activities on a public “wall of receipts,” run via a feed on X. However, the team has backtracked on a significant amount of the savings it claimed to have achieved and quietly deleted several of the posts.
Musk has consistently defended DOGE’s work against critics. He has emphasized the need to reduce government spending and modernize the federal government to eliminate inefficiencies.
The billionaire has been putting pressure on federal employees to report their productivity. Last week, he emailed all government employees, asking them to list five things they had achieved the previous week—or risk being fired.
