Chuck Darwin<p>Elon Musk’s allies are turning a once-obscure federal IT unit into the linchpin of their sweeping campaign to tear down the federal bureaucracy, <br>sparking fears of improper overreach and chaos among tech employees in the government.<br>
During a tense meeting Monday, employees of the Technology Transformation Services (TTS) section of the General Services Administration questioned Musk ally and Tesla alum <a href="https://c.im/tags/Thomas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Thomas</span></a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Shedd" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Shedd</span></a> about the agency’s future, <br>-- after he and a cohort of unidentified 20-somethings spent the preceding days peppering staff with questions about their accomplishments and reviews of their work. </p><p>Shedd, who was named the director of the unit last month, <br>told the workers that the administration viewed them as “Swiss army knives” <br>who can roll out services across federal agencies.<br>
“You guys have been doing this far longer than I’ve been even aware that your group exists,” <br>said Shedd, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by The Washington Post. </p><p>“The way the administration sees you is you’re kind of the gold standard of how to go in and get work done at these agencies, <br>how to understand the technical problems that they have.”<br>
In the background of those reassurances, however, Musk’s deputies have been quietly assessing the competency and loyalties of the existing staff <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/02/05/elon-musk-federal-technology-takeover/" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">washingtonpost.com/business/20</span><span class="invisible">25/02/05/elon-musk-federal-technology-takeover/</span></a></p>