Vance Demands Who Be Rehired?

Vice President J.D. Vance weighed in on the controversy surrounding Marko Elez, a staffer at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who resigned after racially charged social media posts were uncovered. Vance, however, believes that the 25-year-old’s personal social media history should not be a career-ending factor and called for Elez to be reinstated.

In his statement, Vance pushed back against the notion that someone should lose their job because of “stupid social media activity.” Referring to Elez as “a kid,” the vice president said, “We all do stupid things when we’re young. We shouldn’t let a person’s past mistakes on social media define their future.” Vance’s comments were shared on the platform X (formerly Twitter), where he expressed his disagreement with some of Elez’s controversial posts but emphasized that it was the job performance that should matter most.

Vance stressed that if Elez was truly a poor performer or a liability to the DOGE initiative, that would be a legitimate reason for his dismissal. “But we shouldn’t let journalists, or anyone else, destroy someone’s life over social media posts that don’t affect their work performance,” Vance added. He also suggested that public pressure and cancel culture should not dictate personnel decisions, highlighting the importance of giving people a chance to grow from their mistakes.

Elez, who worked under DOGE head Elon Musk, had “read-only” access to sensitive Treasury Department systems and played a key role in Musk’s efforts to reform federal offices. Elez’s resignation followed reports of social media posts with offensive comments, including racially charged remarks about Indian workers in the tech industry. Despite the backlash, Vance called for a fair process, focusing on merit and accountability rather than the overreach of cancel culture.