Billionaire investor Mark Cuban waded into the newest authorities tech shake-up on Saturday, posting an surprising supply of help for newly laid-off federal employees on the social community Bluesky.
His message, which shortly gained traction, urged the displaced engineers and designers to show the upheaval to their benefit.
“In the event you labored for 18F and received fired, Group collectively to begin a consulting firm,” wrote Cuban. “It’s only a matter of time earlier than DOGE wants you to repair the mess they inevitably created. They should rent your organization as a contractor to repair it. However in your phrases. I’m joyful to take a position and/or assist.”
Cuban’s supply got here after the federal government’s Normal Providers Administration (GSA) abruptly gutted its 18F know-how unit, which helps different authorities companies construct, purchase, and share tech merchandise. Per Politico, the layoffs affected roughly 70 people who realized the information round 1 a.m. Japanese time on Saturday. Amongst different issues, the unit had reportedly constructed Login.gov, a safe and personal method for the general public to entry companies at authorities companies, together with Social Safety and the Division of Veterans Affairs.
The early-morning layoffs tie to a Trump administration directive to shrink the federal workforce and slash spending on the behest of Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE). The cuts weren’t a primary for 18F; in accordance with Politico, two dozen extra 18F staff had been laid off in February when GSA reduce probationary staffers.
These impacted within the wee hours of Saturday morning also received emails late Friday from DOGE with the topic line, “What did you do final week? Half II.”
In response to Politico, the emails — prompting staff to checklist their weekly accomplishments by Monday — had been broadly distributed throughout a number of companies, together with the State Division, the IRS, and the NIH.
Within the wake of those new layoffs, Cuban’s proposal presents an intriguing risk: might the very employees pushed out of presidency assist reshape the way forward for civic tech on their very own phrases? As DOGE strikes to dismantle companies, even Musk has acknowledged fallout tied to the pace with which his crew is transferring. On Wednesday, Musk shared that, “For instance, with USAID, one of many issues we accidentally canceled — very briefly — was Ebola prevention.” (Public well being specialists have since stated the federal government’s help has not been fully restored.)
The query now’s whether or not some proportion of the federal government’s rising variety of displaced former staff will seize the second, banding collectively to construct the startups that might someday promote their experience again to the federal government. If that’s the case, it will symbolize a putting twist within the administration’s efforts to shrink the general public workforce.
If Cuban has his method, not less than one such unit might discover itself inside a non-public firm the federal government has no alternative however to depend on. One other Bluesky person even had a branding thought for the startup, telling Cuban, “Title the brand new firm 18FU.”