Twenty-one United States civil servants have resigned from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in protest against President Donald Trump's ongoing efforts to reduce the federal government's workforce.
In a letter, the group said they refused to use their technical expertise to "compromise core government systems, jeopardise Americans' sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services".
The downsizing initiative — led by Elon Musk, who is in charge of DOGE — has resulted in more than 20,000 government workers being laid off so far.
The administration has separately offered buyouts to 75,000 employees.
The news of the resignations within Musk's own agency comes as tens of thousands of US federal workers face fresh uncertainty about their futures, after the billionaire businessman again ordered them to justify their jobs or risk termination on Tuesday.
The directive was a follow up to an order Musk issued over the weekend, giving workers until Monday to come up with reasons for their jobs not to be terminated.
In the Tuesday memo, Musk extended the deadline, offering civil servants "another chance" to respond to his ultimatum — which many had ignored after some agencies, such as the Pentagon, did not order workers to comply.
DOGE — which is tasked with saving taxpayers' money and reducing US national debt — has repeatedly told agency leaders to plan for "large-scale reductions in force" since it began its firing spree.
The resignations on Tuesday are one of the first public signs of protest within DOGE's own ranks.
The workers who resigned, including data scientists, product managers, designers, and the head of information technology, were formerly employed in an office known as the United States Digital Service before Musk took it over and renamed it DOGE, after his favourite cryptocurrency.
Criticising the agency, the group of staffers said DOGE's downsizing spree had undercut efforts to improve tax filing, veterans' benefits and other critical services in the US.
The Trump administration has sent mixed messages regarding Musk's latest memo.
Before the new guidance, Trump told reporters on Monday that workers who did not respond would be "sort of semi-fired".
Meanwhile, some Trump administration officials stated the request was voluntary, adding to the growing uncertainty.
