Musk’s DOGE Operatives Should Leave the FDA Alone

The recent firings of certain FDA staff working on the review of a medical device made by Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company, Neuralink, presents a glaring conflict of interest for Musk and his operatives at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Among the many employees at the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health terminated were staff reviewing the implantable brain computer interface developed by Neuralink, according to Reuters. Those fired included several people in the Office of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices working on the implantable Neuralink devices and the head of the center’s Office of Product Evaluation and Quality.

Meant to aid people with quadriplegia from spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, two Neuralink devices have already been implanted in people. As is the case with other government agencies, the FDA cuts have primarily affected newly-hired probationary employees with fewer rights, and it is not believed “that the employees were specifically targeted because of their work on Neuralink’s applications.”

Public Citizen Health Research Group Director Dr. Robert Steinbrook issued the following statement:

“Regardless of the reasons the FDA medical device center employees were fired, Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency have a blatant conflict of interest because the agency’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health is regulating the implantable brain-computer interface made by one of Musk’s companies. Moreover, by eviscerating the FDA’s device staff, DOGE operatives are impeding the vital work of protecting the participants in the Neuralink trial and protecting the public from medical devices that are harmful or don’t work. Paradoxically, with fewer staff, the FDA’s review of the Neuralink device may be impeded, which makes no sense.

“DOGE operatives should stop interfering with the FDA’s public health mission of assuring the safety and effectiveness of drugs and medical devices. This is yet the latest example of how Musk’s involvement with DOGE undermines federal regulators, from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the FDA.”