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Elon Musk’s DOGE hires 2nd Indian techie, gives him access to critical govt agency: Report
US’ DOGE, which is on a hiring spree to quickly cut government spending, has hired a second Indian techie - Nikhil Rajpal
The US’ Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), President Donald Trump’s flagship initiative to reduce government expenditure and make its functioning more financially viable, has hired a second Indian-origin techie. The Elon Musk-run wing is being represented by Nikhil Rajpal at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), WIRED reported. Rajpal has functioning email addresses with both DOGE and NOAA, a body which provides weather forecasts and monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditions.
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Rajpal was reportedly granted editor access to all NOAA Google sites last week, as instructed by acting Commerce Secretary Jeremy Pelter. Additionally, an employee with over 40 years of experience, who has led NOAA’s work on DEI and accessibility, was placed on administrative leave, three weeks ahead of their scheduled retirement. This comes amid a crackdown on DEI initiatives by organisations across the US following President Trump’s inauguration.
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Who is Nikhil Rajpal?
WIRED reported that the Indian techie’s online presence appears to have been wiped out recently, as was the case with the other Indian techie on DOGE’s team - Akash Bobba. However, according to biographical information and public databases, Rajpal is about 30 years old and previously studied Computer Science and History at University of California, Berkeley.
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Nik, as he likes to refer to himself, worked at Twitter before Musk bought it in October 2022 and has also worked on redesigning a Tesla console. As an undergraduate, Rajpal advocated for “minimal government, free markets, sound money, non-intervention and maximum individual liberty”.
He does not appear to have any specific experiences relevant to his new role representing DOGE at NOAA.
