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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Yes. Records reviewed by WIRED in 2025 showed several DOGE-associated personnel listed at annual salaries above $120,000, while other people assigned through the General Services Administration (GSA) had no salary. The documented figures are examples, not a complete DOGE payroll.
What salaries were reported for DOGE-associated staff?
WIRED reported the following figures on March 4, 2025, based on federal agency assignments and payroll records. They are listed annual salary amounts, not necessarily the total each person received over their time in the role.
| Person | Listed annual salary | Assignment described in the report |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Schutt | $195,200 (WIRED, 2025) | Software engineer assigned through GSA to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Office of the Deputy Administrator. WIRED described the amount as the maximum annual amount for a General Schedule federal employee, including bonuses; the GSA compensation and benefits website said, “You cannot be offered more under any circumstances.” |
| Jeremy Lewin | Just over $167,000 (WIRED, 2025) | Listed through GSA; involved in work affecting USAID, the National Institutes of Health, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. |
| Nate Cavanaugh | Just over $120,500 (WIRED, 2025) | Involved in interviewing GSA employees. |
WIRED also reported that Edward Coristine, Ethan Shaotran, Luke Farritor, Derek Geissler, and Nicole Hollander drew no salary through their GSA assignments at that time. That does not establish whether they were paid in another role or at another point.
Who paid them if Elon Musk said compensation was zero?
During recruitment, Elon Musk described DOGE work as having “compensation is zero.” That statement does not fit every later-documented assignment: federal records reviewed by WIRED showed some salaried personnel and a paid recruiting range for technology positions. A careful way to reconcile the accounts is that some early special-government-employee or volunteer assignments were unpaid, while other DOGE-associated personnel held paid agency positions or later moved into different employment classifications.
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The reported salaries were tied to federal agency assignments, not a separately published DOGE payroll. GSA appears in the reported assignments above; Schutt’s assignment was at CISA. Depending on the person and arrangement, DOGE-associated personnel could be special government employees, volunteers, detailees, or full-time federal employees. The available records do not support treating all of them as paid—or all of them as unpaid.
What other pay figures have been reported?
These figures describe different things and should not be read as interchangeable individual salaries.
| Figure | What it measures | Source and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| $120,000–$195,000 per year | Recruitment pay range for technology positions | WIRED, 2025; reported as the range potential DOGE recruits were being told in June 2025. |
| $167,603 per year | Assumed salary used in a wage estimate | Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations minority staff, 2025; the 2025 Washington, D.C., GS-15 step-1 rate, used as a conservative assumption for 107 agency DOGE members. |
| $7,104,423.15 | Estimated wages for 107 agency DOGE members over 20.6 workweeks, before adjustments | Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations minority staff, 2025. |
| Approximately $6.81 million | Adjusted wage estimate after accounting for departures and transfers | Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations minority staff, 2025. |
| At least $2,587,980 | Estimated benefits added to wages using a 38% benefits assumption | Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations minority staff, 2025. |
| At least $9,398,453.69 | Estimated total compensation, including benefits | Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations minority staff, 2025. |
| Up to $1.3 million | Amount in an unsigned Department of Labor agreement for four DOGE affiliates or an equivalent number of workers over 18 months | WIRED, 2025; WIRED calculated an annualized amount of about $217,000 per employee-equivalent. The agreement does not establish four confirmed individual salaries. |
The Senate figures are an estimate based on stated assumptions, not a payroll tally. In particular, its 107-person count should not be read as a complete roster or as proof that every person in the estimate received the same salary or benefits.
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GAO’s 2026 report found that 15 agencies supplied information responsive to its request and nine supplied documentation. Six agencies said no individuals meeting GAO’s criteria had held positions, while ten agencies had not supplied the requested information as of July 2026. The Executive Office of the President also had not fully answered requests about DOGE personnel. GAO said it could not fully describe all positions DOGE personnel held.
That gap limits what can be concluded about total headcount, total payroll, and how compensation changed when people left, transferred, or changed status. The strongest supported conclusion is narrower: federal records and reporting documented some six-figure salaries, alongside unpaid assignments, but do not establish a complete government-wide DOGE payroll.
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