Outrageous: Anti-Indian, Racist Staffer To Be Rehired By Musk

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC -Elon Musk, acting with impunity as a non-elected official, has announced that he would rehire Marko Elez, a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employee, who had been previously fired for posting racist comments. The decision came after Elez resigned on February 6, following revelations of the offensive posts, which were uncovered by The Wall Street Journal.

One of the posts, made in September, stated, “Normalize Indian hate,” while another said, “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.” Musk, who runs X, conducted a poll asking whether Elez should be rehired, and 78% of his predictably MAGA respondents voted in favor of bringing him back.

Musk’s decision to rehire Elez followed a supportive statement from Vice President JD Vance, who shared Musk’s post on X, which read, “He will be brought back. To err is human, to forgive divine.” Vance, while expressing disagreement with some of Elez’s posts, argued, “I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life,” suggesting that Elez should only be fired if he was truly a “bad dude or a terrible member of the team.”

Vance’s comments have drawn further attention due to his wife, Usha Vance, being of Indian origin. She is the first Indian American Second Lady of the United States.

However, Vance’s support for Musk’s decision was met with criticism from Congressman Ro Khanna. Khanna questioned whether Elez would apologize for his racist post before being rehired, calling out the lack of accountability for Elez’s actions. “If you are going to rehire someone to represent you & the USA, why not insist he apologize for saying ‘Normalize Indian hate?’” Khanna emphasized.

Vance responded, defending his position by arguing that it is not “racist trolls” who threaten his children but a culture that fails to offer grace to those who make mistakes. He explained, “They will develop views that they later think are wrong or even gross. I made mistakes as a kid, and thank God I grew up in a culture that encouraged me to grow and learn and feel remorse when I screwed up and offer grace when others did.”

In his reply, Khanna reiterated his concerns, stating that grace should not be extended without acknowledgment of wrongdoing. He stressed the importance of an apology before Elez could be trusted with a position of responsibility, particularly given the impact of his offensive remarks on Indian American communities.

The debate over Elez’s rehiring drew in Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who expressed his outrage. “There should be no place for racism and hate in our government, within the Department of Government Efficiency, or any other agency, office, or entity,” Krishnamoorthi said. “It is appalling that the Vice President of the United States and one of the president’s most prominent advisors would rally behind the rehiring of someone who rightly resigned his post upon the revelation of his authorship of social media comments as bigoted as ‘Normalize Indian Hate.’”

Krishnamoorthi continued, emphasizing that true forgiveness requires genuine remorse. “Elon Musk and the Vice President each invoked the need for forgiveness, but true forgiveness can only come when it is sought, when remorse is shown, and when the genuine desire to make amends is demonstrated.” He expressed concern that Elez’s supporters were too quick to dismiss his hateful remarks as the actions of a “kid,” despite Elez’s significant position in government.

“The Trump Administration and DOGE should hold themselves to a higher standard,” Krishnamoorthi added, “and so should our entire nation.”

In response to questions about the controversy, President Donald Trump was asked about the posts made by Elez and whether he agreed with Vance’s opinion that Elez should be rehired. Trump responded, “Well, I don’t know about the particular thing,” during a press conference at the White House with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. He added, “But if the vice president said that — did you say that? — I’m with the vice president.”