Elon Musk’s DOGE lieutenants earn a new nickname after proposed cuts send government employees into a panic
Elon Musk and his top DOGE staff continues to wreak havoc in the typically safe spaces of federal government offices, as frightened employees are growing angrier at his draconian cuts.
The crew of young technical engineers have already earned a nickname as they make their way through the federal government and look for ways to cut costs.
Staff members at the General Services Administration is referring to DOGE staff as ‘The Bobs,’ referring to characters from the cult classic movie ‘Office Space.’
‘The Bobs’ refer to characters Bob Slydell and Bob Porter, played by actors John C. McGinley, and Paul Willson in the film.
The pair of consultants are hired to make the company more efficient, as they interview employees to explain their roles in the company.
‘What is it you say you do here?’ asks one of the ‘Bobs’ in an interview with a flustered employee, in an exchange that has become a longstanding online meme to describe office culture.
Members of the DOGE team have been identified in reports as Gavin Kliger, 25, Akash Bobba, 21, Ethan Shaotran, 22, and Luke Farritor, 23, Gautier Cole Killian, 24, along with Edward Coristine, 19.
Musk has reportedly moved beds into the headquarters of the Office of Personal and Management, according to the New York Times, so he and his staff can sleep there as they plot out their mission.
Nicknamed ‘The Bobs’ for their role in downsizing government, Elon Musk’s team of young nerds are disrupting the way DC works
‘The Bobs’ from the movie Office Space played by actors John C. McGinley and Paul Willson
Nicknamed ‘The Bobs’ for their role in downsizing government, Elon Musk’s team of young nerds are disrupting the way DC works
Ethan Shaotran
Musk has also told people he is sleeping at DOGE headquarters, an office at the Executive Office Building at the White House complex and spent time in the Secretary of War Suite in the same building.
He boasted on social media that he and his staff are willing to work weekends, allowing them an advantage over the ‘resistance’ growing in the federal government.
‘DOGE is working 120 hour a week. Our bureaucratic opponents optimistically work 40 hours a week,’ he wrote on X on Sunday. ‘That is why they are losing so fast.’
Many federal workers are reportedly shifting from fear to anger for those who have resisted Musk’s buyout offer and decided to stay in their jobs and face termination.
An employee from the EPA confirmed to the Huffington Post they are ‘feeling so demoralized’ but that returning to their offices has helped rally their spirits.
‘[B]eing in the office with everyone was so grounding. Ironically for the Trumpies, bringing us back to the office will make us stronger morale-wise,’ the employee noted.
The infamous ‘Fork in the Road’ email sent by Musk offering them paid benefits and health care until September if they resign has become a rallying cry for more stubborn federal workers.
Elon Musk attends the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump
Employees and supporters gather to protest outside of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) headquarters
An employee of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) protests outside of the USAID headquarters
‘Whoever wrote that email really underestimated who they were sending it to,’ one person said. ‘I very much feel like the general consensus is we are scared, but we are digging in.’
But reports note that over 20,000 federal employees have taken the generous leave package and are leaving their jobs.
The disruption has left government workers feeling persecuted by the Trump administration.
‘I do not use this term lightly,’ said one federal worker. ‘But it feels very fascist.’
