DOGE Isn’t Dead. Here’s What Its Operatives Are Doing Now
Contrary to popular reports, DOGE has “burrowed into the agencies like ticks,” government sources tell WIRED.
DOGE Isn’t Dead. Here’s What Its Operatives Are Doing Now | WIRED
Over the last few weeks, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has rolled out coding tests to its hundreds of technical staff, quizzing them over their “technical proficiency.” The decision to roll out these tests came from Sam Corcos, a DOGE operative and chief information officer of the Treasury, according to a source familiar with the situation. Corcos is seeking to overhaul the IRS’s 8,500-person IT department, the source says. This is part of a larger ongoing “modernization” process at the US Treasury.
The tests, administered through a tool called HackerRank, have been used by private-sector tech companies like Airbnb, LinkedIn, and PayPal to quiz a potential hire’s technical skill. One source at X, the social media company owned by Musk, tells WIRED that X uses “HackerRank’s tool to do coding screen-sharing for tech screens and remote interviews,” but confirmed that existing employees are not assessed with the tool.
“They want to see IRS as like a tech company, that’s the feeling I get,” says an IRS employee who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the press.
While coding tests are expected for candidates applying for technical roles, testing existing agency employees is highly unusual, four IRS sources tell WIRED. Early in DOGE’s tenure, staffers at the Technology Transformation Services (TTS) were forced to defend their projects on video calls with DOGE members. Government employees were also asked to send weekly emails detailing their work and achievements, which were later reviewed by artificial intelligence. (These emails and project reviews closely resemble the playbook Musk used when he took over X, formerly Twitter, in 2022.)
Despite an all-hands meeting two weeks ago, employees say they still don’t feel like they have answers. “They’re keeping us in the dark,” says the IRS employee. “They won’t tell managers why [they’re issuing the tests] or how the results will be used.”
Oldest software system in continuous use | Guinness World Records |
