Musk's DOGE fires federal tech team that built free tax-filing site
Source: Reuters
March 1, 2025 1:20 PM EST Updated 3 min ago
WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - The Trump administration has pulled the plug on a team of tech-savvy civil servants that helped build the IRS’s free tax-filing service and revamped websites across government, according to an email sent overnight to employees.
In an email to employees of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) seen by Reuters, the GSA’s Director of Technology Transformation Services Thomas Shedd said the team — known as 18F — had been identified as “non critical.”
A GSA source said the roughly 90 18F employees were immediately locked out of their devices.
First launched in 2014 under former President Barack Obama, the 18F team was housed within GSA and helped federal agencies improve their digital services. It was tasked with improving federal website accessibility, modernizing technology, enhancing data access, and making the government’s customer service experience more user-friendly.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musks-doge-fires-federal-tech-team-that-built-free-tax-filing-site-2025-03-01/
I expect that the IRS "Free File" creation was contracted-out. There is very little "in-house" data system creation anymore.
It looks like these staff were apparently doing tweaking and enhancements of websites across the government - most likely working with the contractors who created and maintained them. The group was created in 2014 and based on the timing of their creation, I am guessing it may have been due to the fallout of the initial rollout of healthcare.gov (which was a nightmare in 2013).
Before it disappears - https://18f.gsa.gov/
As federal employees, we don’t have conflicts of interest, just dedication to your mission. Together with our government agency partners, we deliver projects that stay within budget and improve their technology.
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“We engaged with 18F, and it was a game-changer for us. They came in and helped the IT team and business owners get involved in the agile development process. It changed our whole methodology.”
—Alec Palmer, FEC’s Chief Information Officer
What 18F can do
Modernize software development processes
Improve public-facing services like websites or applications
Digitize and streamline internal systems
Each 18F engagement is tailored to your agency needs and capabilities. We listen to your needs, then take action together.
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Federal Election Commission
Easy-to-use campaign data
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Department of the Treasury
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General Services Administration
Better tools for better research
Streamlining how contracting officers search past government contracts for fair hourly rates.
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How we measure the success of coaching engagements
18F project defaults
Three ways to write fearless spreadsheet formulas
18F’s year of launches
A revised and expanded guide for de-risking government technology projects
Andrew Hyder Government Service Improvement Award recognizes commitment to serving the public
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Work with us to plan successful projects, choose better vendors, build custom software, or learn how to work in new ways.
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18f.gsa.gov
= new reply since forum marked as read
"Shared services".
I got A-76'd for the earlier brain file loss - https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3406644
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3406670
