Elon Musk is already identifying specific government employees with “fake jobs” as he recommends mass firings as co-chair of Donald Trump’s newly-created Department of Government Efficiency.
The billionaire re-shared a post last week that highlighted Ashley Thomas, a little-known director of climate diversification at the US International Development Finance Corporation. The original poster shared a screenshot of Thomas’s role, writing, “I don’t think the US Taxpayer should pay for the employment of a ‘Director of Climate Diversification (she/her)’ at the US International Development Finance Corporation.”
Musk captioned his re-shared post: “So many fake jobs.”
Thomas’s role is anything but fake. Her work involves finding innovations that serve the country’s interests, an agency official told the Wall Street Journal, including bolstering infrastructure and agriculture against extreme weather events — which are on the rise due to the ongoing climate crisis.
Thomas, 37, holds engineering, business and water science degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and University of Oxford, and “works for a federal agency that partners with private companies to finance ways to improve living standards in developing countries,” according to the Journal.
Musk’s remark sparked a flurry of responses, with some defending Thomas while others mocked her.
“A tough way for Ashley Thomas to find out she’s losing her job,” one user posted, according to the Journal.
“You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about and dangerously targeting a person who works an honest job to provide for their family,” civil rights activist Michael Skolnik said.
An official with the US International Development Finance Corporation told The Independent the agency “does not comment on individual personnel positions or matters.”
Musk and Ramaswamy also penned an op-ed for the Journal last week explaining their plan for the Department of Government Efficiency.
They claimed their department will be guided by a pair of Supreme Court rulings that legal scholars have warned will turn the courts into weapons against federal regulations that right-wing groups have spent years trying to undermine, The Independent previously reported.
“We are focused on delivering cost savings for taxpayers,” they wrote. “The Skeptics question how much federal spending DOGE can tame through executive action alone.”
“They point to the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, which stops the president from ceasing expenditures authorized by Congress,” they continued. “Mr. Trump has previously suggested this statute is unconstitutional, and we believe the current Supreme Court would likely side with him on this question.”
Musk and Ramaswamy appear “utterly ignorant” of federal laws that mandate clear and strict procedures for repealing regulations, administrative law expert and George Washington University professor Richard Pierce told The Washington Post on Sunday.
The Independent has contacted Musk for comment.
