Edward Coristine known by the online pseudonym ‘Big B***’, is a 19-year-old high-profile DOGE operative who has resigned from his federal government post on Monday morning, just a month after the departure of his former boss, Elon Musk.Born in December 2005, Edward Coristine is a high school graduate who had previously worked with Elon Musk’s Neuralink as an intern before he was hired by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).Coristine’s government email account with the General Services Administration, the agency used by DOGE to coordinate many of its operations, was deactivated as of Tuesday afternoon. In his brief period at DOGE, Coristine worked across several agencies, including the General Services Administration, USAID, USCIS, and the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security. Most recently, he was active at the Social Security Administration with an agency-linked email address.He previously helped draft plans to cut the State Department’s budget, shut diplomatic offices, and reduce overseas staff. He also contributed to developing a system to sell $5 million special immigration visas, dubbed “gold cards” by President Donald Trump.Coristine’s time at DOGE has been shadowed by controversies. In March, Reuters reported that he had provided technical support to a cybercrime group that boasted about trafficking stolen data and harassing an FBI agent. Media outlet Wired first reported that Coristine previously worked for a “telecommunications firm known for hiring former blackhat hackers”.DOGE, a federal government agency responsible for managing government spending and implementing job cuts is facing internal attrition. Steve Davis, a close associate of Elon Musk who handled the department’s daily operations, has departed along with several other staff members.
