On Valentine’s Day, the right-wing account Libs of TikTok criticized the U.S. government’s recognition of only two genders, prompting a rapid response from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This led to immediate changes in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form to exclude nonbinary options. Conservative activists, including Libs of TikTok creator Chaya Raichik and writer Christopher Rufo, have influenced government policy through viral posts, resulting in significant budget cuts to programs like the Comprehensive Centers. Their collaboration with Musk has created a potent channel for activism, allowing for swift policy changes across federal agencies.
The request was made at 4:28 p.m. Eastern time on Valentine’s Day.
“The US government acknowledges only two sexes: Male and Female. This must change without delay,” tweeted the influential right-wing account Libs of TikTok on X, the platform owned by Elon Musk.
The message, sent to the account’s 4.2 million followers, included screenshots of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the government document that assesses eligibility for financial aid for college or trade school. It permitted students to identify as “nonbinary” or choose “prefer not to answer” when asked to indicate their gender.
Five hours later, the account for Mr. Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency responded with images of the revised form: “Fixed.”
As his initiative focuses on eliminating expenditures deemed inconsistent with President Trump’s agenda, Mr. Musk has actively urged users on his social media platform to help eliminate what he has described as “waste, fraud, and abuse.” His team has been quick to respond to viral complaints, showcasing the changes implemented as a result. Both notable conservative activists have found that the Trump administration, closely aligned with right-wing social media, has created an exceptional avenue for influence and access.
In various cases, viral messages from Chaya Raichik, the creator of the Libs of TikTok account who frequently criticizes transgender individuals online, and Christopher Rufo, a writer advocating for a conservative shift in education policy, have led to swift modifications in government documents and even policies. Most of their focus has been on the Department of Education, which Mr. Trump has expressed a desire to dismantle, though other departments have not been spared.
Concerning the FAFSA form, the Education Department had already intended to implement those revisions to align with Mr. Trump’s executive order stipulating that the government acknowledges only two genders, according to two insiders familiar with the matter. They requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the internal discussions.
The changes had received approvals and were in the pipeline, according to the two individuals. However, the post from Libs of TikTok triggered a scramble within the department that evening to expedite the change for public announcement, resulting in multiple contractors being called back from vacation to ensure the revision was implemented, they shared. Ms. Raichik chose not to comment for this piece.
The method, as described by Mr. Rufo, is quite simple.
“We expose corruption on X. DOGE eradicates it in DC. Rinse and repeat,” Mr. Rufo tweeted on February 19.
A few days prior, he shared a video detailing certain educational training materials he found troubling. He stated that it was produced by the Educational Department’s lesser-known Comprehensive Centers program, which assists states in tackling systemic issues in schools.
This video, which Mr. Rufo labelled “taxpayer-funded witchcraft,” showcased clips of an instructor discussing how to sensitively address Native American history.
“Hey @DOGE_ED, let’s cancel the contracts for the ‘comprehensive centers,’” Mr. Rufo tweeted, tagging a DOGE sub-account set up to communicate actions regarding Mr. Musk’s initiatives at the Education Department. “What’s your input?”
The following day, the department declared its decision to terminate grants totaling $226 million awarded to the network of 18 regional and national Comprehensive Centers. The official announcement referenced Mr. Rufo’s posts.
In response to inquiries regarding his connection with the Musk enterprise, Mr. Rufo conveyed in emails that he maintained a “good relationship with the professionals in the Department of Education,” offering suggestions to officials in a “scholarly and nonpartisan” manner.
“When citizens truly understand what their government is doing with their funds, they realize that it is not about ‘cutting education,’ but about slicing leftist ideological activism that camouflages itself as ‘education,’” he stated.
The Comprehensive Centers serve various functions but were established by law in 2002 to assist states and school districts in addressing critical challenges, such as teacher retention or enhancing math scores, which they would otherwise need to finance independently.
Numerous individuals and organizations connected with the Comprehensive Centers, including the American Institutes for Research, a social science research group, argued that defunding these centers would deprive schools of necessary support.
This research organization was selected through a competitive process to manage four of the centers for the next five years, having collaborated with states on issues like tackling teacher shortages and applying research to inform literacy initiatives in elementary education.
“The operations of the Comprehensive Centers have always been motivated by the priorities and needs of the states and districts,” stated Dana Tofig, a spokesperson for the American Institutes for Research. “Dismantling the Centers will impede state and local educators and policymakers in discovering evidence-based strategies to address the challenges they face and enhance outcomes for all students.”
The Comprehensive Centers were not the first initiative that Mr. Rufo targeted on social media. On February 13, he critiqued the Equity Assistance Centers, another support program established under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 aimed at assisting schools in desegregation.
Shortly thereafter, the Education Department revealed it would cancel $350 million in contracts, which included $33 million in funding for those centers.
Appearing on “The Ben Shapiro Show” the day after those funding cuts were made public, Mr. Rufo claimed credit for motivating the department’s actions, all through appeals made to Mr. Musk’s team on social media.
“My role is to expose it, bring it to public notice, and then alert the DOGE individuals who are currently in the Department of Education looking to eliminate contracts,” he told Ben Shapiro, a well-known conservative podcaster.
In the past month, the Education Department has announced several budget reductions, terminating contracts that were funding research into challenging questions about effective teaching methods in early childhood education and beyond.
In legal challenges scrutinizing the authority and legality of Mr. Musk’s team, government lawyers have often described the Musk operation as providing advisory support, assisting federal agency heads with recommendations about which programs they could potentially cancel using their own authority. The specifics of how the Education Department arrived at its decision to eliminate contracts remain unclear, as does the extent of Mr. Musk’s team’s influence.
However, the rapid shift of proposals from well-known conservative figures to Mr. Musk’s team and various departments indicates a relatively direct pipeline through which outside activists can advocate for nearly instantaneous changes, all with just a few keystrokes.
This has enabled activists to convert long-standing grievances into tangible actions.
Mr. Rufo has ascended to a position of prominence through years of advocacy against educational policies that encompass teaching about institutional racism and other concepts regarding race in American society, now broadly recognized under the umbrella of “critical race theory.” Ms. Raichik, who garnered a significant following by sharing clips ridiculing members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community and their supporters, has aimed to eliminate any references to transgender individuals in government documents.
In pursuit of this goal, her Libs of TikTok account has received responses on X not only from Mr. Musk’s team but also from Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary. “On it,” he replied late Monday night, just hours after the account shared what it claimed were medical forms provided to servicemembers that still offered multiple options for “gender identity” and preferred pronouns.
Both Mr. Rufo and Ms. Raichik have shown their appreciation for Mr. Musk’s team to their large followings, utilizing public exchanges to further their agendas. “Just last week, DOGE responded to me in less than an hour,” Ms. Raichik expressed excitedly in a post on Tuesday.
In certain instances, the information flow has seemingly gone through Mr. Musk directly.
After Kyle Becker, a conservative influencer and former Fox News producer, repeated misleading assertions about government agencies backing media companies through subscriptions this month, Mr. Musk acted on his post, calling for a response. Nine hours later, the DOGE account announced that the State Department had canceled the subscriptions mentioned by Mr. Becker.
Weeks later, the State Department reported that it had eliminated most news subscriptions, including to The New York Times. A spokesperson for the Times commented that the government was “entitled to cancel any subscriptions it wishes,” but added that as a consequence, agencies and offices would “be less informed about global events.”
Mr. Musk also appeared to act on his own after a Libs of TikTok post this month. The account displayed a screenshot of what it described as an application for health benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs. The image featured options like “non-binary” or “a gender not listed here” in response to a prompt labeled “gender identity.”
Although Mr. Musk was not directly mentioned, he discovered the post and relayed it to his team with his own public directive: “Noted @DOGE.”
The next morning, the DOGE account responded with before-and-after images indicating that the prompt had been entirely removed from the application form.
“Fixed,” it stated. “The Gender Identity section has been eliminated.”