This DOGE Operative Got a Huge Surprise Once He Was Actually Inside the Government

One of Elon Musk's government-wrecking flunkies was successful for the astonishment of his beingness erstwhile helium discovered that the national workforce is afloat of dedicated civilian servants who tally it similar a choky ship.

In an interview with Fast Company, tech laminitis Sahil Lavingia was candid astir his acquisition moving for the billionaire's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which volition proceed its enactment contempt Musk's rumored exit astatine the extremity of this month.

As Wired revealed past month, Lavignia has been moving without wage astatine the Department of Veterans Affairs nether DOGE's cost-cutting mandate. Aside from his aboriginal stint astatine Pinterest and the instauration of Gumroad, the creator-centric ecommerce marketplace helium launched successful 2011, Lavignia's relation astatine the VA is lone his 3rd occupation ever — and according to him, it's been beauteous eye-opening.

Upon arriving astatine the monolithic section that presently employs astir 500,000 people, Lavignia was met not with bored bureaucrats lazily collecting cushy authorities paychecks, but with mission-driven workers who "love their jobs."

"In a sense, that makes the DOGE docket a small spot much complicated, due to the fact that if fractional the authorities took [the agency's buyout offers], past we wouldn’t person to bash overmuch more," the tech laminitis said. "We’d conscionable fundamentally usage bundle to plug holes. But that’s not what’s happening."

Notably, that streamlining has been thing of a tube imagination for Lavignia.

Years ago, the Gumroad laminitis began applying to the United States Digital Service, an Obama-era inaugural that preceded DOGE successful its purpose to centralize authorities data. The labyrinthine exertion and vetting process turned retired to beryllium excessively in-depth for Lavignia's tastes, however, and helium seemingly gave up the ghost — but erstwhile DOGE became a thing, helium jumped astatine the accidental to efficaciously instrumentality a broadside doorway into national work.

"[DOGE] conscionable sent maine to the VA," the tech laminitis told FastCo. "They conscionable benignant of helped maine find the job. Which is large — I’m arrogant of that."

Unsurprisingly, Lavignia recovered that things enactment a batch otherwise successful the halls of authorities agencies than they bash successful Silicon Valley.

"I would accidental the civilization daze is mostly a batch of meetings, not a batch of decisions," helium remarked. "But honestly, it’s benignant of good — due to the fact that the authorities works. It’s not arsenic inefficient arsenic I was expecting, to beryllium honest. I was hoping for much casual wins."

Yes, you work that right: a feline who truthful believed successful DOGE's ratio ngo that helium chose to enactment determination for escaped is admitting that the authorities is much businesslike than Musk suggests.

Still, Lavignia said that helium chooses to proceed with the enactment due to the fact that he's "basically taking Elon astatine his word" — a head-scratching conclusion.

More connected DOGE: Elon Musk Is Getting Huge New Government Deals While Everything Else Is Getting Slashed