Politics
Elon Musk’s army of college-aged engineers to dismantle govt waste
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Six college-aged men with little to no government experience have been handpicked by Elon Muskto help him dismantle America’s foreign aidagency.
The billionaire Tesla founder was appointed head of the Department of Government Efficiency after months of loyalty to President Donald Trumpduring his election campaign.
Now, he’s enlisted a troupe of men aged 19-25 – three of whom are believed to still be in college – to fill high-powered engineering roles and help him cut costs.
At just 19, Edward Coristine is the youngest of the fresh-faced bunch taking on corporate America and longstanding government institutions.
According to WIRED, he’s been dubbed an ‘expert’ in his field, and specifics about his role aren’t yet clear.
Akash Bobba, 21, Ethan Shaotran, 22, and Luke Farritor, 23, along with Coristine, have reportedly been granted A-suite level clearance for their work, meaning they can work out of the agency’s top floor with access to all physical spaces and IT systems.
Musk’s DOGE has been rapidly growing in power and expanding its remit, most recently securing clearance to access to restricted parts of the General Services Administration buildings and IT systems.
These systems store sensitive data including social security numbers, addresses and contact information.
The oldest of the bunch is 25-year-old Berkeley graduate Gavin Kliger, who while not identified as having top level clearance has already proven he wields significant power.
Finally, Gautier Cole Killian has been named for his role with DOGE, which is reportedly on a ‘volunteer’ basis at this stage.
Of the appointments and the widespread criticism about the men’s youth, Musk said: ‘Time to confess: Media reports saying that DOGE has some of world’s best software engineers are in fact true.’
Gavin Kliger, 25
Kliger was named by the New York Times as the account holder behind a controversial company-wide email sent to employees at USAid.
The Berkeley graduate reportedly instructed all employees at the agency not to return to Washington headquarters on Monday.
Meanwhile, up to 600 staff began reporting they were being locked out of their work computer systems.
The reports were similar to those experienced by Twitter employees during Musk’s takeover and the transition to X.
Kliger has since published a Substack article – which subscribers can read for $12 per month – titled: ‘Why DOGE. Why I gave up a seven-figure salary to save America.’
Matt Hopson, who Trump appointed as the new chief of staff at USAid, reportedly resigned after the incident. Trump has ordered a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance.
Trump said the department had been ‘run by a bunch of radical lunatics’, insisting he is simply ‘getting them out, and then we’ll make a decision.’
The agency spends about $70billion a year in foreign aid. Projects include HIV/Aids treatments and encouraging women’s health in conflict zones.
The Berkeley graduate reportedly instructed all employees at the agency not to return to Washington headquarters on Monday
Luke Farritor, 23
Luke Farritor has a known link to Musk already, having interned for SpaceX prior to landing his new gig.
Farritor, dropped out of the University of Nebraska in order to begin working for Nat Friedman, the Silicon Valley entrepeneur behind GitHub.
Friedman described Farritor as ‘a national treasure’ after his appointment with DOGE was made public.
He won part of a $700,000 prize in 2024 after using AI technology to help decipher a 2,000 year old document – part of the Vesuvius scrolls from Pompeii – which scientists had been trying, and failing, to solve for centuries.
The charred scroll was believed burnt beyond recognition.
Luke Farritor has a known link to Musk already, having interned for SpaceX prior to landing his new gig
Edward Coristine, 19
The youngest of Musk’s elite squad is just 19 and a student at Northeastern University in Boston.
Coristine reportedly interned at Musk’s Neuralink for three months last summer, after graduating high school.
Little is known about Coristine’s role at DOGE, however he is listed as an ‘expert.’
WIRED cited sources alleging Coristine has been conducting calls with staff in the department and making them ‘go over code they had written and justify their jobs.’
Employees were allegedly confused by his inclusion in the meetings, and later expressed concerns that they were not properly briefed on his identity or role, even during the call.
Coristine’s father, Charles, is the CEO of popcorn empire, LesserEvil. Coristine once worked as a team member for the brand.
Up until recently, Coristine reportedly used a social media handle named ‘@EdwardBigBaller.’
The youngest of Musk’s elite squad is just 19 and a student at Northeastern University in Boston
Akash Bobba, 21
Bobba is another ‘expert’ within the department still studying at the University of California, Berkeley.
According to a former LinkedIn account, which has since been deleted, Bobba was an investment engineering intern at a hedgefund.
He had also previously interned for Meta and Palantir – who was founded by 2016 MAGA donor, Peter Thiel.
Just six years ago, Bobba was the organizer behind the Princeton Junction, New Jersey, local model United Nations. His father is an academic in computer science.
Bobba is another ‘expert’ within the department still studying at the University of California, Berkeley
Ethan Shaotran, 22
Shaortran founded Energize AI – a scheduling assistant for professionals. The startup earned a $100,000 grant from OpenAI in 2023.
The 22-year-old said in September he was a senior at Harvard University, and was reportedly working in the school’s computing lab on autonomous vehicles.
Musk is famously trying to develop self-driving cars at his Tesla headquarters.
Shaortran is part of the Harvard Mountaineering Club and worked as a scuba divemaster in Hawaii over a gap year.
He also has a unique link to Musk, having participated in his xAI ‘hackathon’. He and his team were runner ups after they used xAI’s Grok to create plausible responses from X followers to a hypothetical question.
Shaortran founded Energize AI – a scheduling assistant for professionals. The startup earned a $100,000 grant from OpenAI in 2023
Gautier Cole Killian, 24
Killian was working as an engineer at Jump Trading, which specializes in high-frequency financial trades and algorithms.
Now, he is reportedly working as a ‘volunteer’ with DOGE, although in what capacity remains unclear.
The 24-year-old graduated McGill University.
Killian was working as an engineer at Jump Trading, which specializes in high-frequency financial trades and algorithms
Musk’s DOGE boasts sweeping power
Musk is leading an extraordinary civilian review of the federal government with Trump’s agreement.
‘It became apparent that it’s not an apple with a worm it in,’ Musk said in a live session on X Spaces early Monday.
‘What we have is just a ball of worms. You’ve got to basically get rid of the whole thing. It’s beyond repair.’
Musk recently hinted he was also the mastermind behind Trump‘s decision to purge federal employees by posting a symbolic picture on X harkening back to his infamous Twitter cleanse.
At the time, he sent a letter to staff titled: ‘A Fork in the Road.’ The same title was used in Trump’s recent email proposing generous lay-off packages
Musk later shared on X that he commissioned an artwork of an enormous fork standing in the road, indicating it was all connected.
Musk does not hold elected office, but on Monday was formally appointed a ‘special government employee” by the White House.
The Labour Party in Imo State is engulfed in a bitter leadership clash as the Callistus Ihejiagwa-led faction warns members not to participate in any party activities not sanctioned by his leadership.
The warning comes in response to claims that Sen. Nenadi Usman and Darlington Nwokocha’s faction plans to hold Ward, LGA, and State congresses starting March 26, 2026—moves Ihejiagwa calls illegal and unconstitutional.
Ihejiagwa insists that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has already refused to dissolve existing party structures, meaning any attempt to replace sitting executives is null and void.
He dismissed arguments that INEC officials attending Usman/Nwokocha’s National Executive Council meeting on March 17 would confer legality, stressing that presence does not equal approval.
March 20, 2026
The All Progressives Grand Alliance in Abia State has called on the Senate to declare the seat of the Senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, vacant following his resignation from the party.
The party made the call on Thursday during a press briefing in Umuahia, where its leadership, led by a former member of the Abia State House of Assembly, Obinna Ichita, insisted that Abaribe voluntarily resigned from APGA and was not sacked, contrary to his claim at the Senate.
Ichita argued that Abaribe’s exit from the party that sponsored his election violates constitutional provisions, stressing that there was no leadership crisis within APGA to justify his defection.
“The senator resigned in his ward. He did so voluntarily, which is his right. However, if you leave the party that gave you the platform for another party when there is no leadership crisis, that seat must be declared vacant,” he said.
He further alleged that Abaribe misrepresented the circumstances of his exit by claiming he was sacked.
“The party has documentary evidence to show that Senator Abaribe was not sacked. He resigned three months after disciplinary measures were taken against him over actions the court did not consider appropriate,” Ichita added.
According to him, the mandate belongs to the people and the party, not the individual office holder.
“They gave him the mandate on the platform of APGA, not any other party. There was nothing like ADC when he was elected. He cannot take the mandate elsewhere without consulting the people who gave it to him,” he said.
Ichita maintained that the constitution is clear on defection, noting that any lawmaker who leaves a party without a valid internal crisis must vacate the seat.
“My message to Senator Abaribe is to honourably vacate the seat instead of waiting for the National Assembly to declare it vacant. That would amount to national embarrassment,” he added.
Also speaking, the APGA State Chairman, Sunday Onukwubiri, and the party’s Public Relations Officer, Chukwuemeka Nwokoro, reiterated that Abaribe had distanced himself from the party’s activities at various levels in the state.
They insisted that he neither holds dual membership nor was he expelled, maintaining that his resignation was voluntary.
“He was invited by the party but failed to appear and was subsequently suspended in line with the party’s constitution. Three months later, he resigned,” the officials said.
Reacting, Abaribe defended his position, insisting that he acted within his constitutional rights.
“When you are no longer a member of a party by virtue of being sent away, you have the fundamental right of association to join another party,” he said.
He argued that his indefinite suspension by APGA effectively amounted to expulsion.
“If a party places you on indefinite suspension for more than six months, what does that mean? It means you have been told to go elsewhere, and that is exactly what I did,” he stated.
The senator added that the proper constitutional procedure for removing him from office would be through a recall process by his constituents.
“If the people who elected me no longer want me, the right thing to do is to initiate a recall. That is the position of the law,” he said.
Politics
Tinubu’s Reforms May Be Challenging, but They’ve Boosted Nigeria’s Global Respect — Information Minister Mohammed Idris
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has stated that Nigeria is receiving greater respect internationally under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking on Friday after attending Jumaat prayers at Yahaya Road Mosque in Kaduna, Mr Idris said, “Nigeria is indeed taking its rightful place. The country is respected more than ever before on the international scene. The reforms that the president has instituted, as challenging as they are, are meant for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
He urged Nigerians to stay calm as the government continues its efforts to restore security across the nation. Referring to the recent multiple b%mb att@cks in Maiduguri, Borno State, the minister assured that such incidents would not be allowed to recur.
“Indeed, our country is facing challenges, and the government is working tirelessly to ensure security throughout Nigeria. We have seen what has happened, particularly in Borno State. We pray to Allah to make this the last one, as the government is committed to preventing any repetition of such incidents,” he said.
Mr Idris also stressed the importance of citizens being prayerful and working together to address the country’s challenges. He encouraged both Muslims and non-Muslims to unite in the interest of Nigeria’s growth and development.
“This is a time for reflection for all Nigerians. We pray that everyone will consider this moment and recognize the need for unity, progress, and national development. All hands must be on deck for the unity of the country. As we earn respect internationally, we also hope and pray that unity will strengthen within our nation,” he added.
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