One of the most talked-about staff members of the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency has left the federal government, continuing a stream of DOGE-related departures.
Edward Coristine, the 19-year-old nicknamed “Big Balls” who joined DOGE as one of its original staffers, has left his job and the administration entirely, a White House spokesperson said Tuesday. The spokesperson did not provide details.
An account under Coristine’s name on X, verified by NBC News, also said that he had left.
Coristine drew wide attention not only because of his nickname but also because of his youthfulness and his job history, having previously been fired from an internship at a cybersecurity firm for leaking company secrets, according to Bloomberg News. Wired magazine earlier reported his departure from the Trump administration.
His age and lack of experience came to symbolize DOGE for many of its critics, including federal workers and congressional Democrats who said it was acting recklessly in its quest to slash spending.
Coristine did not respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday. The circumstances of his departure were not immediately clear.
He is the latest DOGE staffer to leave the Trump administration — a list that includes tech billionaire Elon Musk, who departed the White House late last month and launched a short-lived feud against President Donald Trump. Others who have left include Musk chief aide Steve Davis, according to The Wall Street Journal, and Amanda Scales, an employee of Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, according to TechCrunch.
On X, the account under Coristine’s name said that he was “officially out” and that he couldn’t say much yet.
“Appreciate everyone who’s reached out. Feels good to finally breathe again,” the account said, joking that he was moving on to running a cryptocurrency scam.
“I’ll make a post explaining what happened soon,” the account said.
The same account said in February that he was starting a job at the State Department. Later that month, Coristine was listed in a directory as a senior adviser at the country’s top cybersecurity agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security. When he left government, he was with the General Services Administration, the White House said.
In an interview with Fox News last month, Coristine asserted that there were “no checks and no accountability” in federal spending, despite statements by budget watchdogs to the contrary.