A 19-year-old coder known online as “Big Balls” walked away from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Tuesday following department head Elon Musk’s acrimonious departure last month.
Edward Coristine was one of the original DOGE staffers and had become a lightning rod of criticism due to his youth and inexperience. His exit continues a stream of departures from DOGE, including key Musk lieutenant Steve Davis.
“I’m officially out of that office,” Coristine wrote on X. “Can’t say too much yet, Appreciate everyone who’s reached out. Feels good to finally breathe again… Time to shift priorities and run a meatballs coin scam. but I’ll make a post explaining what happened soon. #Bigballsout”
Coristine rose to fame in February after a series of WIRED articles profiling various young DOGE staffers. The young staffer in particular reportedly founded a company called Tesla.Sexy LLC at around 16 years old.
Inside government, Coristine bounced across agencies — from the General Services Administration to Homeland Security to the U.S. Agency for International Development, according to The New York Times — drafting spreadsheets of pink slip targets and pitching artificial intelligence tools to automate audits. A former classmate told Northeastern University’s school newspaper that the coder’s “goal was never really to go to college,” and that he “wanted to build his own thing, like Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates.”
Although Musk’s high-profile feud with Trump ended his own tenure, the White House insists DOGE will continue, according to Reuters. The White House did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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