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While Elon Musk is the face and public figure leading DOGE, its de-facto leader is actually the man who has been the tech mogul’s right-hand man for decades, according to a report.
Steve Davis, a 45-year-old engineer, has taken the lead in several of DOGE’s controversial cost-cutting moves, according to The New York Times.
Last month, Musk baselessly claimed that the government had sent out $100 billion to people with no Social Security number. Two days later, Davis started pushing the Social Security Administration for information, according to the report. Davis called agency leadership to demand that they give a young DOGE engineer access to databases with sensitive information.
Davis also did the cost-cutting groundwork during the presidential transition, including attacking diversity efforts, meeting with legislators and helping to send the “fork in the road” email to all government workers telling them to resign. Two people told theTimes that Davis has more influence than acting DOGE administrator Amy Gleason, who reportedly has been unaware of some of his decisions.
Davis has been at Musk’s side for over two decades at his various companies, such as SpaceX and X. Twenty-two friends, former co-workers and government officials told the Times that Davis fully believes that Musk will progress humanity. Two former co-workers said Davis is the perfect staffer for Musk, someone who will take on any issue, regardless of his knowledge of the subject at hand.
Musk has previously lauded Davis’s ability to get rid of waste, comparing him to cancer-treating chemotherapy.
“A little chemo can save your life; a lot of chemo could kill you,” Musk said at a transition meeting before Trump entered office for the second time.
Musk and Davis have enjoyed a cost-cutting partnership long before they took aim at the federal government. Davis’ past projects include developing ways to design rockets on the cheap at SpaceX. He was also in charge of layoffs following Musk’s purchase of Twitter, now X.
Davis started working for Musk in 2003, becoming the 14th staffer at SpaceX after Musk managed to coax him out of his Stanford aeronautics graduate program.
Musk subsequently appointed Davis to run the Boring Company, a start-up working to build tunnels under urban areas to battle congestion.
“In general, there is almost zero R&D in tunnels in America,” Davis said at the time. “So trying new things is actually helpful for us.”
Their relationship hasn’t always been smooth, however. Musk, apparently frustrated that the Boring Company only opened a tunnel in Las Vegas in 2021 but faced issues elsewhere, berated Davis and threaten to fire him, three co-workers of Davis toldTimes.
Davis’ character has also changed throughout his time with Musk, according to Adam Green, who befriended him 10 years ago.
Davis was a “fun outside-the-box thinker” who is now a “blind servant” to Musk, Green, told the Times
“I once took refuge from my political day job by attending laugh-filled game nights at the home of a person now firing tens of thousands of federal workers,” Green wrote for Rolling Stone. “For Steve Davis … life has always been a game. A puzzle to be solved regardless of a larger vision or set of values.”
“Steve would shun political talk, saying, ‘I know nothing about politics.’” added Green.
Following Musk’s purchase of Twitter in 2022, Davis at times stayed with his partner and baby at the San Francisco office. Davis was also named in a lawsuit, after he reportedly said the company didn’t need a permit to construct a personal bathroom for Musk at the office.
“We don’t have to follow the rules,” Davis said, according to a 2023 lawsuit, the Times noted.
He left X soon after employees complained about the cost-cutting to Linda Yaccarino, who became the CEO of the social media company in 2023.
Davis also oversaw a super PAC backed by Musk as the Tesla owner campaigned for Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign. After Trump’s election win, Davis joined the transition team and interviewed candidates for Musk’s efficiency drive. Now, he is reportedly helming DOGE.
Today, Davis is with DOGE and three employees at the General Services Administration told the paper that he and has set up a base on the sixth floor of the agency’s Washington building as he continues his to slash and burn the federal workforce.
One of his biggest efforts was pushing out the resignation email that became infamous. According to the Times, David rebuked department officials when leaks of the email hit the media, reportedly accused them of embarrassing Musk.
Davis pushes for Musk’s priorities daily with Trump advisers and alerted officials to diversity programs that are targeted for cuts, the Times reported.
His style has ruffled some feathers. The Times described him as blunt and undiplomatic and he has clashed with Trump’s staff. They were reportedly upset after DOGE tried to place some staffers in the Pentagon, the Times noted.
For the most part, Davis has stayed out of the spotlight while in D.C. Musk and the White House have not mentioned him. But that doesn’t mean he is entirely out of view. Last month, he spoke with lawmakers who work with DOGE.
“Wrapped a great meeting with @elonmusk and Steve Davis on their goals for the @DOGE,” Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., posted on X. The message included a photo of Davis holding a microphone and smiling beside Musk – off his right hand.
