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Trump’s new human resource czar distances himself from Elon Musk, aims to ‘institutionalise’ DOGE

Kupor, who is a former partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, raised objections over some of Musk’s methods and the scale of his proposed cuts in federal government via DOGE.

Kupor, who was sworn in to lead the Office of Personnel Management earlier this month, has said that he has “zero relationship with Elon Musk”. (Photo: X/ @skupor)

The US government’s new human resources chief, Scott Kupor, has said that he had no personal ties with tech billionaire and President Donald Trump’s former advisor Elon Musk, as he pledged to faithfully execute the agenda of the Republican leader and said he wants to “institutionalise” DOGE’s (Department of Government Efficiency) pursuit of “operational efficiency”.

Kupor, who was sworn in to lead the Office of Personnel Management earlier this month, has said that he has “zero relationship with Elon Musk”. “I have talked to Elon Musk once on the phone in my life,” he said. Kupor assumes the role as the federal civil service is reeling with staff cuts and mass firing under DOGE, which was earlier being led by Musk.

If you’re interested in hearing more about our areas of focus at OPM, have a look at the internal message I sent the team today. Lots of big stuff to focus on. https://t.co/ZxwJgo8enB

— Scott Kupor (@skupor) July 21, 2025

Kupor, who is a former partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, raised objections over some of Musk’s methods and the scale of his proposed cuts in the federal government via DOGE. Kupor questioned the method Musk used to push civil servants to report on their weekly progress. But the new human resource czar said the stringent efficiency measure would continue.

“What [DOGE] did was catalyse the start of a process. Now, we have to actually institutionalise those things and pursue operational efficiency,” Kupor said, reported Financial Times.

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He said that he told resident Trump and others at the White House that his job is “to do the agenda that the president lays out to the best I can. But I’m not going to do it consistent with someone else’s objectives that are inconsistent with what the president wants to do.”

Musk, who helped Donald Trump with nearly $300 million in funding to win the US presidential election in November, led DOGE to slash budget and cut the federal workforce until his exit in May amid a rift with President Trump over the latter’s ‘Big, Beautiful bill’.

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