Washington Post: about two dozen ex-DOGE staffers moved into well-funded private ventures

Left · 2A Washington Post analysis found that roughly two dozen former staffers of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have used their government stints to move into private-sector roles as founders, executives or large stakeholders in startups. 1 2 Left · 2Companies founded or backed by DOGE alumni have raised at least half a billion dollars, according to the Post. Raw Story, summarising the Post, adds that some have valuations in the billions despite largely untested products and inexperienced founders, and that at least six alumni have registered on the federal contracting portal Sam.gov. 1 2 Left · 1The Independent reports that the Post compiled its analysis from government data, investor research platforms and venture capital funding disclosures. It compared these with lists of former DOGE members that the Post compiled with The New York Times and ProPublica. 2

Left · 2The ventures span sectors from cyberwarfare to AI and data centres. One of the largest is Cathedral, an AI-enabled cybersecurity firm valued at $1.4 billion that hopes to sell to government agencies including the Pentagon; it was co-founded by Gavin Kliger and Luke Farritor, and Cathedral declined to comment. 1 2 Left · 1Raw Story reports that Kliger was the Defense Department's chief data officer until April 2026 and began fundraising by May. A 2020 Pentagon instruction bars senior employees from seeking government contracts for up to two years after leaving, though Jeff Hauser of the Revolving Door Project said fundraising would likely fall into a gray area. 1 Left · 2Other examples: Elie Mishory, formerly of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, became chief regulatory officer at the prediction market Novig, whose CFTC approval was touted as "among the fastest in CFTC history". The AI company Special says its founders were "motivated to extend the ethos of our work at DOGE back into the private sector." 1 2

Left · 2Ethics critics were sharply negative. Norm Eisen, a former Obama White House ethics lawyer, said it "has the appearance that they found a new way to monetize government service that is far beyond anything lobbyists ever dreamed of." Hauser said ethics laws built in the 1970s need "a serial reconsideration". 1 2 Left · 1Two people familiar with the founders' investor pitches told the Post that investors have advised some founders to prepare for a possible midterm sweep, in which Democrats take control of Congress, by avoiding any appearance of impropriety or hyper-partisanship. One said investors care "less about what they got done" than the mindset founders developed in government. 1 Left · 2By the Independent's account, DOGE operated from 20 January to 4 July 2025 and claimed savings of $215 billion, a figure it says has been hotly disputed and falls well short of the $2 trillion in cuts Musk promised. It adds that Musk left the administration after a public falling-out with President Donald Trump but has since returned to political fundraising, giving $276 million to Republican causes. 2 1