Elon Musk bragged this group had been 'deleted' when DOGE shut it down - now they're appealing

18F says the whole thing was political

Former employees of the US government's 18F tech modernization team have filed an appeal of their termination, arguing that the DOGE-led shuttering of their entire unit was illegal.

The 18F team argued in an appeal [PDF] to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) filed Wednesday that all 80 of them deserve to be reinstated because they were terminated as retaliation for their failure to get in line with Trump's policies, their resistance to DOGE's attempts to gain access to information at the General Services Administration's (GSA's) Technology Transformation Group, and "their perceived political affiliations or beliefs."

Nominal DOGE leader Elon Musk took public glee in shuttering the 18F office, according to the appeal, posting on X that the group "has been deleted." The move followed reports from conservative news outlets that 18F was "defiantly left-wing" and "engaged in far-left self-indulgence," apparently because it did things like include a transgender flag in the background of its logo on X and at one point deployed a bot in its internal communication channels to flag language it deemed non-inclusive or potentially offensive.

Back in the reality the rest of us share, 18F wasn't pushing leftist politics. It focused on modernizing government IT systems, specifically those serving American taxpayers. Unless, of course, you think easy-to-use government websites are a Communist plot to destroy the US. (The name "18F," if you're curious, comes from the GSA office's location at 18th and F Streets in Washington, DC.)

In the appeal, former members claimed that the 11-year-old group was widely considered "the gold standard both within and outside of GSA" for its approach to "tech-driven solutions and troubleshooting technological problems in a manner that improves the lives of all Americans." That "gold standard" line also appeared multiple times on a website they launched in March to protest the group's dissolution.

Among its accomplishments, 18F developed the login.gov project that created centralized online accounts for citizens to access government services, the cloud.gov system for helping government agencies buy or build FedRAMP-authorized cloud services, and an analytics portal for US government website usage.

As detailed on the post-termination website, the shutdown endangered projects like the IRS direct file program, updates to the Federal Voter Assistance Program, updates to the National Weather Service's tech stack, and more.

Our interrupted projects - already funded and underway - were exactly the type of technology modernization that DOGE claims to want

"Our interrupted projects - already funded and underway - were exactly the type of technology modernization that DOGE claims to want," former 18F members wrote in an announcement of their appeal to the MSPB. "The fact that we have been prevented from completing this work underscores that DOGE's actions are not in service of efficiency."

18F's legal counsel argued in the appeal that, aside from being politically motivated, the GSA failed to provide any reason for the termination of all 18F staffers and the elimination of the group, which they argue is required by federal regulations.

Along with that requirement, the appeal argues that the 18F reduction-in-force was illegal because it was initiated in response to an executive order and at the direction of Elon Musk and DOGE, not by the GSA itself. They also argued the RIF was improperly narrow in scope to target 18F, and that it didn't conform to retention, ranking, or priority requirements.

"The Agencies used the RIF procedures to appear as though they were acting with neutrality," the appeal stated. "On the contrary, the Agencies were acting at the behest of Elon Musk and others who sought to eliminate 18F because of the group's diversity, adherence to DEI principles and whistleblowing." 

A minor setback

The group might run into a roadblock at MSPB - while it's supposed to have a three-member board, there's only a single person serving on it right now. That, according [PDF] to the MSPB, means it can't actually make decisions on cases.

But the lawyer representing the 18F members said that shouldn't actually be a problem.

"The Board quorum issue doesn't arise unless either side tries to appeal," Mehri and Skalet partner Richard Condit told The Register in a phone interview today. 

Condit added that an administrative judge will still be assigned as normal for review of the matter, and if the GSA, DOGE, and 18F all choose to abide by the judge's decision, then the matter will be settled.

If not, Condit said, there's still an option to take the matter to a federal circuit court for a decision if the Board is still unable to act. 

In the appeal, five named 18F'ers are seeking class certification on behalf of the entire 80-person team. A judge is expected to rule on that request within 30 days of the appeal being filed.

"We've watched the chaos as more and more federal agencies have conducted sweeping Reductions in Force—often without regard for common sense, common decency, or the impact on vital public services," the 18F members said. "Together, we can advocate for the public interest and the rule of law." ®