 "Musk-led Doge breaking rules? Staff sleeping in high-security clearance office, says report")
Elon Musk’s Doge office setup might be breaking agency rules harbouring a team that has declared an all-out war against overspending in the federal government and dismantling the workforce it deems useless.
A report by Politico says that the Department of Government Agency’s office in the federal building has nearly four rooms on the sixth floor used for sleeping and resting, fully furnished with beds from IKEA, lamps and dressers.
Workers told the news outlet that these rooms share walls with conference halls and can only be accessed via high-security clearances.
According to a February 25 invoice reviewed by POLITICO, the agency is exploring a plan to allocate approximately $25,000 for installing a washer and dryer on the building’s sixth floor. Additionally, a photo shared with the news outlet reveals a children’s play area furnished with toys and a stuffed animal.
A General Services Administration (GSA) staffer said, “People are definitely … sleeping there.” However, it is not clear how often or how long the rooms are used.
Are rules being broken?
A 2019 GSA bulletin prohibits employees from sleeping at agency offices “except when expressly authorised by an agency official.”
Donald Sherman, executive director and chief counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, explained that the guidance permits workers to sleep in a federal building only under specific circumstances. These include being “directed by a supervisor,” situations where it is necessary, emergencies, or instances of “imminent danger to human life or property, where persons are directed to shelter-in-place.”
Meanwhile, a GSA spokesperson said, “Government employees are working incredibly hard and long hours to help reduce the federal deficit and ensure an effective government.”
“Any purchases the agency has made followed all appropriate laws and regulations. In accordance with the Sleeping in Federal Buildings bulletin, specific instances of an employee sleeping at the 1800F building was expressly authorized by an agency official,” the spokesperson added.
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More ShortsMusk sleeps in office
In January, WIRED reported, that Musk had been too busy to head home after work and therefore slept in the Doge office based out of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
This is not the first time Musk has made headlines for his work ethic. When Tesla was at the helm, the X owner slept on the floor of the factory. “It was my primary residence,” he said in an interview in 2022.
After acquiring Twitter, Musk started sleeping at its San Francisco offices, where employees often saw him pacing late at night and being escorted to the bathroom by his security guards. He even attempted to have a bathroom installed next to his office to avoid crossing the floor during his stays.
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