Latest news with #EdwardCoristine
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Doge employee ‘Big Balls' has resigned, says White House official
Edward Coristine, whose nickname 'Big Balls' made him one of the most publicized members of Elon Musk's so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge), resigned from the US government this week. The 19-year-old technologist had worked at multiple agencies, most recently the Social Security Administration. Coristine's youth and lack of professional experience were emblematic of a class of Doge staffers tasked with dismantling the federal government under orders from Musk, their de facto leader. The White House official gave no further details on the move and Coristine did not immediately return an email seeking comment. The future of Doge and employees like Coristine has been an open question since Musk left the White House last month. Musk's very public online feud with Donald Trump, which has now settled into an apparent detente, intensified uncertainty over whether controversial Doge staffers would remain part of the administration. Coristine became a source of public fascination and mockery earlier this year after Wired identified him as one of Doge's young engineers and revealed he had gone by the online handle 'Big Balls'. Musk and his supporters embraced Coristine, with the Tesla CEO bringing him on Fox News last month and promoting 'Big Balls' memes on X. Related: The chaos Elon Musk and Doge are leaving behind in Washington Despite only briefly working at Musk's brain implant company Neuralink before joining Doge, Coristine parachuted into major government agencies. Last month, Reuters reported that Coristine was one of two Doge associates promoting the use of AI across the federal bureaucracy. Coristine, like other Doge members, was followed by a shady online history. Media outlets, including Wired which first reported his departure, revealed that Coristine had been active in a chatroom popular with hackers and previously had been fired from a job following an alleged data leak. In March, Reuters reported that Coristine had provided tech support to a cybercrime gang that had bragged about trafficking in stolen data and harassing an FBI agent. Coristine was also fired from a previous internship at a cybersecurity firm for leaking secrets, Bloomberg reported. Among the agencies that Coristine worked at were Health and Human Services, the General Services Administration, the Social Security Administration, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency. Doge's cuts during this time gutted public services and targeted tens of thousands of government workers with terminations. Although the exact reasons behind Coristine's departure are unclear, several other Doge staffers have also left since Musk stepped away from his government role. One of Musk's top lieutenants, Steve Davis, left Doge last month after running its day to day operations. Investor Brad Smith, who oversaw cuts at Health and Human Services, also departed. A large number of Doge staffers remain spread throughout various agencies, however, and are continuing to implement cuts. Russell Vought, a top White House budget official and key player in the far-right Project 2025 policy manifesto, has taken on an increased role pushing for Doge's mission since Musk contributed reporting
Newsweek
a day ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Elon Musk Staffer 'Big Balls' Joining Social Security Administration
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Edward Coristine, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer known as "Big Balls," has taken up a new post at the Social Security Administration (SSA) after resigning from his previous post earlier this week. Coristine's moves within the federal government have been carefully monitored and reported on by WIRED, which first broke the story of Coristine's resignation and subsequent move to SSA. Newsweek reached out to the White House and SSA for comment by email outside of normal business hours Friday evening. Why It Matters Coristine, a 19-year-old tech genius, came to the forefront of Elon Musk's DOGE initiative due to his age and nickname, which drew much mockery online – even as Coristine worked through some of the most sensitive systems and agencies in the federal government. He has held posts at Health and Human Services, the General Services Administration, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency. He was also involved in DOGE operations in the U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Department of Education. Prior to joining the federal government, Coristine was enrolled at Northeastern University as an engineering student, and he worked at a data security firm, where he was fired after an investigation tied him to an alleged data leak to a competitor, according to The Guardian. He also founded at least five companies across multiple jurisdictions, including Connecticut, Delaware, and the United Kingdom, including LLC, which he registered at the age of 16. Coristine's departure occurs as several other DOGE employees depart in the wake of Musk's return to the private sector, including Steve Davis, who ran DOGE's day-to-day operations. A sign in front of the entrance of the Security Administration's main campus on March 19, 2025 in Woodlawn, Maryland. A sign in front of the entrance of the Security Administration's main campus on March 19, 2025 in Woodlawn, To Know SSA employees told WIRED that they saw Coristine at the SSA headquarters in Woodlawn, Maryland, on Monday before he resigned from his position, which the White House confirmed on Tuesday. However, The New York Times reported that the statement was modified to note that he had only resigned from his position with the General Services Administration, which coordinates many of DOGE's activities. In a statement to the outlet, SSA Spokesperson Stephen McGraw said Coristine joined the agency as a special government employee whose work will focus on "improving the functionality of the Social Security website and advancing our mission of delivering more efficient service to the American people. As a special government employee, Coristine will perform "important, but limited, service to the government, with or without compensation, for a period not to exceed 130 days" within a one-year period. What People Are Saying Right-wing journalist Nick Sortor wrote on X: "LET'S GO! Edward "Big Balls" Coristine is now working full-time within the Social Security Administration identifying the RAMPANT waste, fraud, and abuse that plagues the agency."
The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Ex-Doge employee ‘Big Balls' gets new Trump administration position
Edward Coristine – the 19-year-old who quit Elon Musk's controversial, so-called 'department of government efficiency' (Doge) earlier this week, where he gained notoriety in part for having used the online moniker 'Big Balls' – has in fact been given a new government job, this time at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Coristine, whose lack of experience and super-loyalty to Musk saw him become a flashpoint for outrage at Doge's ruthless but haphazard efforts to slash government spending and fire thousands of workers, resigned from Doge earlier this week. However a spokesperson for SSA, Stephen McGraw, told Wired magazine that he was now working for that department. 'His work will be focused on improving the functionality of the Social Security website and advancing our mission of delivering more efficient service to the American people,' McGraw told Wired. Coristine may have previously worked for the SSA, but reporting on his employment history is conflicted. Doge caused chaos early on in the new Trump administration by muscling into dozens of departments and forcing access to computer systems, in a blaze of publicity and combative announcements. A high school graduate, Coristine's experience before Doge was largely limited to a few months working for Neuralink – which Musk owns – and as an intern for a cybersecurity company, which Bloomberg reported fired him for leaking company secrets. Reuters also reported that Coristine had provided tech support to a cybercrime gang that had bragged about trafficking in stolen data and harassing an FBI agent. At Doge, Coristine was dropped into several major government agencies as they went about slashing services and terminating thousands of workers. Last month, Reuters reported that Coristine was one of two Doge associates promoting the use of artificial intelligence AI across the federal bureaucracy. Musk also left Doge in May after months working by Donald Trump's side then falling out with him. Doge, however, continued to operate until Trump's budget chief, hard right nationalist Russell Vought, who says he wants government employees 'in trauma'. On Friday the Washington Post reported, citing anonymous sources, that Doge's latest target was the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), attempting to slash gun restrictions. Nick Robins-Early and Reuters contributed reporting
The Hill
a day ago
- Business
- The Hill
Former DOGE aide ‘Big Balls' returns to government
Teen tech wunderkind Edward Coristine, a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) aide known as 'Big Balls,' is now working at the Social Security Administration (SSA), the agency confirmed Friday. 'Edward Coristine joined the Social Security Administration this week as a Special Government Employee,' SSA spokesman Stephen McGraw said in a statement to The Hill. 'His work will be focused on improving the functionality of the Social Security website and advancing our mission of delivering more efficient service to the American people.' The White House had confirmed to The Hill this week that Cortisine, whose 'Big Balls' nickname comes from the moniker he has used online, resigned from his DOGE position. After President Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk's explosive fallout earlier this month over the GOP megabill, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and other critics cracked jokes about who would get 'custody' of the 19-year-old technologist with the notable online alias. The Tesla CEO had brought Coristine to the federal government to serve on the advisory committee tasked with cutting federal spending and eliminating waste in the government. 'Now that the national divorce is happening … who's gonna get 'Big Balls'?' Moskowitz asked during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. 'I'm worried about him. The children always get caught in the middle.' Musk's time as a special government employee lapsed at the end of May. Other DOGE aides also stepped down at that time. Coristine's account on the Musk-owned social platform X (@edwardbigballer) is now set to private. Wired reported that multiple sources told the tech-focused outlet that he has been working this week at the SSA's headquarters near Baltimore and was spotted at the cafeteria there Monday. 'Coristine looked nervous, almost embarrassed,' an unnamed SSA source told the tech outlet.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Big Balls' now working at Social Security Administration after departing DOGE: report
Edward Coristine, the 19-year-old nicknamed 'Big Balls' who was working in the Department of Government Efficiency, has landed a new role at the Social Security Administration. Coristine, who was hired by Elon Musk to join the DOGE team, recently left the White House but a Social Security Administration spokesperson confirmed he has since joined the agency as a special government employee. 'Edward Coristine joined the Social Security Administration this week as a special government employee,' spokesperson Stephen McGraw told WIRED. 'His work will be focused on improving the functionality of the Social Security website and advancing our mission of delivering more efficient service to the American people.' It was not immediately clear when Coristine started his new role. Sources told the outlet that Coristine 'looked nervous' and 'almost embarrassed' after being spotted at the agency's Woodlawn headquarters in Maryland this week. He was seen with DOGE engineer Aram Moghaddassi, another Musk hire who is working for X and Neuralink. 'Coristine looked nervous, almost embarrassed,' the source told WIRED. 'Aram was on the phone with someone … then said 'Yes I'm with him right now,' gesturing to Big Balls.'' Coristine's appointment at the agency follows a recent report that Musk and allies insisted on giving a 21-year-old former Silicon Valley intern sweeping access to personal data on hundreds of millions of Americans at the Social Security Administration. Musk ordered 21-year-old Akash Bobba, a former Palantir intern who'd been hired as a programmer for DOGE, be granted access to Social Security data without proper training so he could run his own analysis, The New York Times reported. When the acting commissioner, Michelle King, declined to do so, Musk had her fired and replaced with Leland Dudek. Dudek, brought back from a suspension on the DOGE team's recommendation, got Bobba the access. Coristine was first selected to work for the Tesla boss as a technologist, and received full-time staff status at the General Services Administration last month. Coristine became well known online and among Musk's immense fanbase publicly after he was paraded on Fox News alongside his boss. 'Who is Big Balls?' host Jesse Watters asked on his program, surrounded by DOGE members and supporters at a huge oval conference table. 'I am,' piped up 19-year-old DOGE staff member Edward Coristine. 'That should be obvious,' Musk quipped to laughter. Coristine claimed to have caught the eye of the world's richest man after simply changing his name on LinkedIn to 'Big Balls.' In addition to his brief stint as a government employee, the teenage high school graduate worked at Neuralink for several months and founded a company called LLC in 2021, according to WIRED. Speaking to Fox News, Coristine stated that while working in the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Technology, he used 'computer stuff' as he claimed to ferret out 'fraud and waste,' the old mantra of his former boss. With additional reporting from Mike Bedigan
