One of the most buzzed-about employees within the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency has exited the federal sector, marking yet another DOGE-related resignation.
Edward Coristine, also known by the moniker “Big Balls,” who began his tenure at DOGE as one of the founding team members at the young age of 19, has officially departed his position and severed ties with the administration, a White House representative confirmed on Tuesday. No additional information was provided.
An account under Coristine’s name on X, verified by NBC News, also said that he had left.
Coristine garnered significant attention not just due to his unique nickname but also because of his notable youth and checkered employment history. Previously, he was dismissed from an internship at a cybersecurity firm for allegedly leaking sensitive company information, as reported by Bloomberg News. Wired magazine was one of the first to cover his departure from the Trump administration.
His age and lack of experience came to symbolize DOGE for many of its critics, including federal workers and congressional Democrats who said it was acting recklessly in its quest to slash spending.
Coristine did not respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday. The circumstances of his departure were not immediately clear.
He is the latest DOGE staffer to leave the Trump administration — a list that includes tech billionaire Elon Musk, who departed the White House late last month and launched a short-lived feud against President Donald Trump. Others who have left include Musk chief aide Steve Davis, according to The Wall Street Journal, and Amanda Scales, an employee of Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, according to TechCrunch.
On X, the account under Coristine’s name said that he was “officially out” and that he couldn’t say much yet.
“Appreciate everyone who’s reached out. Feels good to finally breathe again,” the account said, joking that he was moving on to running a cryptocurrency scam.
“I’ll make a post explaining what happened soon,” the account said.
The same account said in February that he was starting a job at the State Department. Later that month, Coristine was listed in a directory as a senior adviser at the country’s top cybersecurity agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security. When he left government, he was with the General Services ministration, the White House said.
In an interview with Fox News last month, Coristine asserted that there were “no checks and no accountability” in federal spending, despite statements by budget watchdogs to the contrary.
