Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi / X

Indian American Congressmen Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi have criticized Vice President J.D. Vance and billionaire Elon Musk for supporting the reinstatement of Marko Elez, a former staff member at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who resigned following the exposure of his racist social media posts.

Khanna voiced his concerns on X, addressing Vance directly. "Are you going to tell him to apologize for saying 'Normalize Indian hate' before this rehire? Just asking for the sake of both of our kids."

Khanna further criticized Vance, tweeting, "No one is denying grace to people who make mistakes. I respect Usha (praised her publicly) & defended your family from some of the vicious attacks. But if you are going to rehire someone to represent you & the USA, why not insist he apologize for saying, 'Normalize Indian hate?'"
 

Are you going to tell him to apologize for saying "Normalize Indian hate" before this rehire? Just asking for the sake of both of our kids. https://t.co/7NY8m93hJa

— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) February 7, 2025

Krishnamoorthi also took to X (formerly Twitter) and stated, "Advocating for the return of a racist DOGE staffer who has called for, among other things, wanting to 'normalize Indian hate' is offensive and irresponsible. Hate should have no home at DOGE or anywhere else for that matter.”
 

Advocating for the return of a racist DOGE staffer who has called for, among other things, wanting to "normalize Indian hate" is offensive and irresponsible.

Hate should have no home at DOGE or anywhere else for that matter. https://t.co/WbMqgFT1xd

— Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (@CongressmanRaja) February 7, 2025

Krishnamoorthi also issued an official statement condemning Elez’s rehiring. 

He highlighted Elez’s past social media posts, including statements such as "99% of Indian H1Bs will be replaced by slightly smarter LLMs; they’re going back, don’t worry, guys," and "Normalize Indian hate,’ and "Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool."

Taking a shot at Vance and Musk, he stated, “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. 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' as recently as five months ago.”

“Elon Musk and the Vice President each invoked the need for forgiveness in their support for Marko Elez’s return to DOGE, but true forgiveness can only come when it is sought, when remorse is shown, and when the genuine desire to make amends is demonstrated.”

Krishnamoorthi further said, “I am not aware of Mr. Elez taking any of those steps or of his supporters calling for him to renounce the hateful views he so recently espoused online. Our society should readily embrace a commitment to forgiveness, but it must also come with a spirit of contrition and the wholesale rejection of bigotry against any community.” 

“Mr. Elez’s apologists readily dismiss his hateful comments as those of a ‘kid’ despite his position in government entrusting him with significant responsibility to those he is supposed to serve, including the millions of Indian Americans against whom he sought to amplify hate. The Trump Administration and DOGE should hold themselves to a higher standard, and so should our entire nation,” concluded Krishnamoorthi.

Elez, 25, previously associated with SpaceX and X, was appointed to DOGE and granted significant access to the U.S. Treasury’s payment systems. His resignation came after The Wall Street Journal linked him to a now-deleted social media account that contained posts promoting racism, including the statement "normalize Indian hate”.

Despite the controversy, influential figures like Musk, CEO of X and SpaceX, and Vice President Vance advocated for Elez’s rehiring, emphasizing forgiveness over cancellation for youthful indiscretions.

The issue gained traction when Musk conducted a poll on X on Feb. 7, where 78 percent of respondents supported Elez's return. 

The X post said, “Bring back @DOGE staffer who made inappropriate statements via a now deleted pseudonym?” 

Following the poll, Musk announced his decision to rehire Elez.

Musk has previously been vocal in his support for Indian professionals, notably advocating for H-1B visa holders. Similarly, J.D. Vance, whose wife Usha Vance is of Indian-origin, has been considered an ally to the Indian American community. Therefore, their support for Elez has shocked many members of the Indian American community.

Defending Elez, Vance stated, "Here’s my view: I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life. We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever. So I say bring him back. If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that."
 

Here’s my view:

I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life.

We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever.

So I say bring him back.

If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of… https://t.co/OgG6Z3hKPE

— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 7, 2025

Vance also responded to Khanna’s criticism, engaging in a back-and-forth exchange on X. He dismissed Khanna’s concerns and wrote, "For the sake of both of our kids? Grow up. Racist trolls on the internet, while offensive, don't threaten my kids. You know what does? A culture that denies grace to people who make mistakes. A culture that encourages congressmen to act like whiny children."