Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk’s companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.

The investigation also found a common thread linking a few of these young recruits: billionaire Peter Thiel. Some of them have connections to the tech mogul's fellowship program, with his influence in the libertarian-leaning tech and political world having grown in recent years.

Elon Musk’s DOGE has brought in a team of six baby-faced engineers, aged from 19 to 25, to assist in his controversial mission dismantling US government agencies.