Founder Sahil Lavingia says he was booted from DOGE after just 55 days | TechCrunch
May 29, 2025 - techcrunch.com
Sahil Lavingia, a notable Silicon Valley figure and founder of Gumroad, published a diary detailing his brief 55-day experience with Elon Musk's DOGE workforce, a temporary government organization formed by President Trump's executive order. Lavingia joined as a volunteer software engineer for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and was surprised by the strict rules regarding layoffs and the agency's efficiency. Despite being tasked with identifying wasteful contracts, he found that seniority and veteran status heavily influenced layoff decisions. Lavingia described DOGE's role as advisory, lacking direct authority, and likened it to a McKinsey consultant, with real decisions made by Trump-appointed agency heads. His work included developing tools for analyzing contracts and improving the VA's chatbot UX, but he was unable to implement significant changes due to bureaucratic constraints.
Lavingia's tenure ended abruptly after discussing his work with a Fast Company reporter, leading to his dismissal. He noted the lack of organization and knowledge-sharing within DOGE and expressed surprise at the VA's functionality despite its slow pace. His experience highlights the challenges of modernizing large government agencies while maintaining their functionality. Lavingia's account suggests that while government efficiency can be improved, the approach of Silicon Valley volunteers treating agencies like startups may not be the solution.
Key takeaways:
Sahil Lavingia joined Elon Musk's DOGE workforce as a volunteer software engineer for the Department of Veterans Affairs, aiming to write code that helps people at scale.
Lavingia was surprised by the VA's strict rules on layoffs and found the agency to be more efficient than he expected, despite DOGE's lack of organization and authority.
During his 55-day stint, Lavingia worked on various projects, including overhauling the VA's chatbot UX and creating tools for analyzing contracts, but struggled to get approval for impactful changes.
Lavingia was dismissed from DOGE after discussing his work with a reporter, highlighting the challenges of modernizing government agencies while maintaining functionality.
