When President-elect Donald Trump said Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would recommend major cuts to the federal government in his administration, many public employees knew that their jobs could be on the line
Now they have a new fear: becoming the personal targets of the world’s richest man – and his legions of followers
Last week, in the midst of the flurry of his daily missives, Musk reposted two X posts that revealed the names and titles of people holding four relatively obscure climate-related government positions. Each post has been viewed tens of millions of times, and the individuals named have been subjected to a barrage of negative attention. At least one of the four women named has deleted her social media accounts
Although the information he posted on those government positions is available through public online databases, these posts target otherwise unknown government employees in roles that do not deal directly with the public
Several current federal employees told CNN they’re afraid their lives will be forever changed – including physically threatened – as Musk makes behind-the-scenes bureaucrats into personal targets. Others told CNN that the threat of being in Musk’s crosshairs might even drive them from their jobs entirely – achieving Musk’s smaller government goals without so much as a proper review
“These tactics are aimed at sowing terror and fear at federal employees,” said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 800,000 of the 2.3 million civilian federal employees. “It’s intended to make them fearful that they will become afraid to speak up.”
This isn’t new behavior for Musk, who has often singled out individuals who he claims have made mistakes or stand in his way. One former federal employee, previously targeted by Musk, said she experienced something very similar
“It’s his way of intimidating people to either quit or also send a signal to all the other agencies that ‘you’re next’,” said Mary “Missy” Cummings, an engineering and computer science professor at George Mason University, who drew Musk’s ire because of her criticisms of Tesla when she was at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Going dark after attack
Last week Musk reposted an account with the handle Fentasyl and the name “Datahazard,” which describes itself as “Unincorporated Think Tank ~~ Focus: Govt Efficiency, Civil Rights, Victim Advocacy.”
One of the posts reads: “I don’t think the U.S. taxpayers should pay for the employment of a ’Director of Climate Diversification (she/her)’ at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation,” with a partial screengrab of an employee and her location
Musk, who called himself “super pro climate” in an X post last year, reposted and commented: “So many fake jobs.” The post has received more than 33 million views and a storm of negative comments. Some called the role a “fraud job” and others demanded Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency cut jobs like it. One user commented: “Gravy train is over.”
It appears the woman Musk targeted has since gone dark on social media, shutting down her accounts. The agency, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, says it supports investment in climate mitigation, resilience and adaptation in low-income countries experiencing the most devastating effects of climate change. A DFC official said the agency does not comment on individual personnel positions or matters
Musk also called out the Department of Energy’s chief climate officer in its loan programs office. The office funds fledgling energy technologies in need of early investment and awarded US$465 million to Tesla Motors in 2010, helping to position Musk’s electric vehicle company as an EV industry leader. The chief climate officer works across agencies to “reduce barriers and enable clean energy deployment” according to her online bio
Another woman, who serves as senior advisor on environmental justice and climate change at the Department of Health and Human Services, was another Musk target. HHS focuses on protecting the public health from pollution and other environmental hazards, especially in low-income communities and communities of color that are experiencing a higher share of exposures and impacts. The office first launched at Health and Human Services under the Biden administration in 2022
A senior adviser to climate at the Department of Housing and Urban Development was also singled out. The original X post said the woman “should not be paid US$181,648.00 by the U.S. taxpayer to be the ‘Climate advisor’ at HUD.” Musk reposted with the comment: “But maybe her advice is amazing.” Followed by two laughing emojis
CNN reached out to all four federal employees who either declined comment or were unable to be reached. CNN also reached out to HHS, DOE and HUD for comment
X did not respond to an email seeking comment
The AFGE public union pointed out that as a federal contractor, Musk himself has benefited from government programs, with US$750 billion per year spent on federal contractors compared to about US$200 billion for the civilian federal workforce. “We are a comparative steal, and we want to help clean it up too,” Kelley said
Putting people in harm’s way
Musk has done this kind of thing before – and it’s led to real danger for the people named
Missy Cummings angered Musk when she was appointed a senior advisor at the NHTSA because her research and public comments were critical of Tesla’s driver-assist programs and she had called for regulating the systems
Musk targeted Cummings on what was then called Twitter, and his legions of fans followed
In an interview, Cummings said she received a torrent of attacks, including death threats, and had to temporarily relocated before she eventually moved
Cummings said she already knows of federal employees who “have dedicated their lives to civil service,” already quitting their jobs in anticipation of what’s to come
“He intended for them, for people just like this, to be intimidated and just go ahead and quit so he didn’t have to fire them. So his plan, to some extent, is working,” she said
CNN reached out to multiple experts and academics who specialize in cyber harassment, doxing and online abuse. But several to comment on the record for fear of themselves becoming Musk’s targets
“What has happened has an incredible and horrific chilling effect,” one of them said
Another said they are “not surprised” with Musk’s re-posts, adding they are an example of a “classic pattern” of cyber harassment
Ramaswamy did not directly respond to questions about singling out individual federal employees but told CNN: “Most federal employees, like most human beings, are fundamentally good people and deserve to be treated with respect, but the real problem is the bureaucracy.”
“Our opponent is not any particular individual. Our opponent is the bureaucracy,” he added
In a follow-up post, the Fentasyl account, which itself is anonymous, wrote: “It goes without saying that you should not harass someone solely because they hold a senior government plum job that should probably not exist,” the account posted. “But senior government officials are not mere rank-and-file employees. We deserve to know who is running our government & what they do.”
Cummings, who was also one of the first female fighter pilots in the U.S. Navy, said she felt an obligation to speak out
“Somebody has got to speak out,” she said. “I’m just not going to let him win on this point.”
