Hello followers! Today, Let’s dive into the story of Sahil Lavingia’s short stint with Elon Musk’s DOGE project, packed with some eye-opening details and a touch of humor.

Imagine volunteering for a giant government agency, with no pay, and suddenly discovering it’s not as sluggish as you feared. Sahil joined DOGE, the secretive government initiative, as a software engineer at the VA, aiming to make government services cooler and more efficient.

His time there lasted just 55 days, but it was enough to uncover some surprises—like how veteran status and seniority still heavily influence layoffs, even in a high-tech setting. Despite the grand plans, he found DOGE more like a consultancy with no real decision-making power. The actual leaders were appointed officials, who used DOGE as a scapegoat for tough decisions — talk about being Washington’s “whipping boy!”

Soon, Sahil realized that working on meaningful projects, like overhauling VA chatbots or analyzing contracts with AI, was limited by bureaucratic approvals. He was excited about code but frustrated to find no room for quick wins that could truly improve lives or save the government money. Interestingly, much of his open-source tools focused on diversity, COVID policies, and climate initiatives—yet no giant breakthroughs for the taxpayer.

Unfortunately, after discussing his work publicly, Sahil got the boot. Access revoked, and his contribution ended abruptly. Despite his short experience, he pointed out that the VA still functions—slowly but surely—and that government work isn’t all inefficiency and red tape. His story highlights the challenge of modernizing massive agencies without burning out their personnel or diluting their vital functions.