Elon Musk last month declared that the federal government was engaged in “completely crazy” activities, claiming without evidence that it had distributed $100 billion to people without a Social Security number.
Two days after Musk's comments, Steve Davis, one of his leading EUs, began lobbying the Social Security Agency for information. Davis called agency leaders to claim it would provide young engineers with so-called government efficiency access to databases containing sensitive information about Americans.
Davis's request is “unprecedented,” former Social Security employee Tiffany Frick said in a statement sworn this month about a lawsuit filed by a federal employee seeking to block access to data. She added that Davis can feel the increased impatience in the hours before Doge engineers are finally allowed to investigate “the general myth of widespread social security fraud.”
Deploying staff to federal agencies is just one task Davis has done recently for Musk. Davis helped his bosses at every turn, laid the foundation for cost reductions during the presidential transition, slashing diversity initiatives, meeting lawmakers, and assisting in sending government-wide “Fork in the Road” emails that urged workers to step down.
These actions demonstrate how 45-year-old Davis has become Doge's day-to-day leader. He has more power than Amy Gleason, the manager of Trump administration's acting Doge, who said the two people were closer to the effort, adding that Gleason was sometimes in the dark about Davis' decisions.
The way Davis reached this position is little secret. For more than 20 years, engineers have been dedicated to satisfying Musk's desires by following billionaires to a variety of companies, including rocket maker SpaceX and social media platform X. Davis, interviews with 22 friends, former colleagues and government officials, said Musk truly believes in humanitarian advances.
For Musk, Davis represents an ideal employee. This is an engineer who can put himself into every task, even without the expertise in the area. Musk especially praised Davis's ability to dispose of waste, which once likened the EU inside him to a cancer-killing treatment.
“Steve is like chemotherapy,” Musk said at a transition meeting before President Trump took office. “A little chemotherapy can save your life. A lot of chemotherapy can kill you.”
Musk and Davis are deeply connected to cost savings. At SpaceX, Davis came up with ways to build rockets at a cheaper price. He also oversaw a layoff on Twitter, renamed X. At Doge, he coordinates engineers and lawyers to find the $2 trillion that Musk has promised to remove from the federal budget.
Davis is so loyal to Musk that he and his partner, 42-year-old Nicole Hollander, joined the General Services Department, reducing federal property costs and establishing a business base on the sixth floor of his Washington agency. It is protected by full security details, three agency employees said.
Adam Green, a progressive organizer who became friends with Davis, who lived in Washington about a decade ago, said Davis was once a “fun for outdoor thinkers” and Musk's “blind servant.”
Davis, Musk, Hollander and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Davis began working for Musk in 2003. The tech entrepreneur pulled him out of Stanford Airlines' graduate program. Davis has become SpaceX's 14th employee. He was soon loved by Musk by finding cheaper ways to develop rocket parts, such as making shuttle steering devices for a hundredth of a price.
His modesty has led to mistakes. In 2007, Davis removed components from SpaceX's Falcon 1 rocket, preventing fuel from sloshing inside the vehicle. So the fuel disproportionately the rocket during the test flight, closing the air before reaching orbit.
By 2008, Davis had moved to Washington, where he was later appointed Director of SpaceX's Advanced Projects. He was broadly responsible for SpaceX's rocket launch facility, including finding land around Bocachica, Texas.
On the side, Davis pursued a PhD in Economics and opened Yogato, a frozen yogurt shop that offers discounts to customers who answer trivia questions. He also helped create a website for Jewish lifestyles, brought Jews together and joined the board of the Atlas Association, a nonprofit dedicated to the teachings of libertarian writer Ain Rand.
In 2018, Musk appointed Davis to lead a boring company. This is a startup aimed at building tunnels under major metropolitan areas to ease crowds.
“In general, there's almost zero R&D in American tunnels,” Davis said in a company presentation that year. “So trying something new actually helps us.”
The boring company opened a tunnel in Las Vegas in 2021, but encountered regulatory obstacles elsewhere. Musk, who criticized Davis and threatened to fire him, said he wanted the three people who worked with Davis. The stress got heavier on Mr. Davis, and he occasionally pulled out his hair, five people nearby said.
After Musk bought Twitter in 2022, Davis told people he wanted to cut the company's costs and eliminate more than $500 million. He was so devoted that on several nights he stayed with Hollander and his new baby in the San Francisco office on Twitter.
Davis also oversees the installation of a personal bathroom there for Musk and told one employee not to obtain a construction permit.
“We don't have to follow the rules,” Davis said, according to a 2023 lawsuit from a former Twitter worker who accused the company and Musk of violating the terms of his employment contract.
Some workers complained about Davis' cost savings to Linda Jaccarino, who became X's CEO in 2023, and two with debate knowledge asked him to hold him down. He quickly left X.
When Musk was confused by Trump in Pennsylvania during last year's presidential election, Davis moved to hotels in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to oversee the super PACs Musk supported, the three said. Davis helped Musk think of the $47 petition that encouraged him to become a Trump voter, citing Twitter's cost cuts as a way to make things cheaper with a Super PAC.
After Trump won the election, Davis joined the transition “landing team” and interviewed candidates on Musk's efficiency committee. He also hired engineers to meet with an agency that assesses the technical talent that Doge might tap, three government officials said. Musk included Davis in hiring the pitch for potential government employment, according to an internal email seen by The New York Times.
After Trump took office, Davis urged administrators to send all government officials to email them all at once, said two people who know his efforts. This led to the January email blast known as “Folk in the Road.”
When leaked to the media about his offer to resign, Davis rebuked officials for not controlling staff and accused Musk of embarrassment, the two said.
Davis is pushing Trump's advisor and Musk's priorities every day, two people with knowledge of the conversation said. He warns administrative staff of reductions that will be removed from government commissions and individual diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
In late-night texts, the dull, non-diplomatic Davis clashes with some of Trump's staff. He and his colleagues confused some of the White House advisors in the way Doge tried to put some of the newspapers in pentagons, three said.
Throughout, Davis eagerly avoided attention. Musk and the White House have not mentioned him. In Washington, Davis avoided taking photos until this month. This was spoken at Doge Caucus, a House of Representatives group that works with the Cost Reduction Task Force.
“We had a great meeting with @Elonmusk and Steve Davis with @Doge's goal,” a photo of Davis smiling next to Musk, posted on X by Rep. Aaron Bean, a Florida Republican.
Reports have been donated by Kirsten Grind, Eric Schmitt, Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman. Susan C. Beech contributed to the research.
