Tech titan Elon Musk announced Monday that the General Services Administration’s tech arm, 18F, has been “deleted,” appearing to confirm prior reports of its demise as he continues his crusade against government bloat.
The group, 18F, helped develop the IRS’ Direct File program, which was championed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and has been in the crosshairs of conservatives.
“That group has been deleted,” Musk declared on X in response to a user claiming that the “far left government-wide computer office … was recently taken over by allies” of the Tesla and SpaceX boss.
18F aided other government departments in developing or purchasing technology and was housed in the GSA’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS) department.
The group functioned as a sister organization of the US Digital Service, which was rechristened under the Trump administration as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk now leads.As of noon ET Monday, 18F’s X account was gone.
The Post has reached out to the GSA for confirmation that 18F has been disbanded.
Late last month, Musk ally Michael Peters took over at TTS and began scrutinizing the 18F team.
Staffers were caught scrubbing code such as an “inclusion bot,” which observed internal messages to flag whether “racist” phrases such as “peanut gallery” were being used, the Daily Wire reported.
GSA, which manages federal property and contracting, requested a budget of about $655 million in fiscal year 2025, per its website.
The South Africa-born Musk has been cutting a wide swath through the executive branch, beginning over the weekend with the US Agency for International Development.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who blasted USAID as an “unresponsive” agency, revealed Monday that he was named acting director of the group and teased plans to continue some of its operations under the State Department’s purview.
“These are spending taxpayer dollars and we owe the American assurances that every dollar we spend abroad is being spent on something that furthers our national interest,” Rubio told reporters Monday.
The Trump administration has defended Musk’s efforts to root out government bloat despite outrage from Democrats.
“We are all-hands-on-deck here at the White House and across the government to ensure we are cutting costs for Americans where we can,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News’ “The Story” Monday, “while the President simultaneously effectively utilizes tariffs as he did in his first term.”
