Almost two weeks after the New York Times reported that AirbnB co -founder Joe Gebbia had joined Elon Musk’s “Government Efficiency Department”, Gebbia clarified his role on Thursday, announcing in X that as a starting point, he would use his design expertise as part of a slow government pension process.
The seemingly system can use help. Chuck Ezell, the director of the OPM director, said in a testimony video released today – and was reprinted by Gebbia – that a week ago, the administration “challenged” the agency to “process a pensioner, ends to the end, without printing anything on paper”. Deadline? Just a week.
In the same video, an agency employee tells the cameraman that they have already managed to reduce the process in two days.
Whether that process is scaled or stable or even repetitive remains to be seen, but OPM has been under pressure for years to modernize its systems. Last summer, the agency launched a pilot program for a new online pension application platform in response to continuous concerns about delayed benefits processing; The matter had attracted attention in 2023, when some lawmakers issued a press release, asking OPM to address the slow processing of retirees, some of whom were waiting more than 90 days to get their benefits.
Gebbia-A billionaire many times thanks to his AirbnB-ENE properties serves the short-term giant board. Since September 2022, he has also been a member of the board in Tesla.
In his X post on his next steps, Gebbia wrote: “Since removing my operating role on Airbnb in 2022, I have searched for the other challenge of digital design. And I can think of some more important than volunteering to improve user experience within our government. “
In addition to the co-foundation of Airbnb, Gebbia is Samara’s co-founder, an Airbnb spin-out that builds pre-habits that customers can personalize, choosing appearances, colors, windows, doors and decks, with Samara saying it treats the rest, including obtaining permits.
Last week, Samara announced that he would donate $ 15m worth of aparts to support Los Angelenos who lost their homes in January fires that caused about $ 30 billion in lost real estate.
As Gebbia’s involvement with DOGE was discovered, some Airbnb hoste have expressed concerns on the platform, with some that told San Francisco’s standard that they have withdrawn their lists. “Being in the DC area and seeing the impact that DOGE has had on our community and economy, I just feel like I can no longer be a host of Airbnb in good faith,” said a long AirbnB standard host.
In a statement on the exit, Airbnb underlined that Gebbia has not been involved in her daily operations since 2022, with a spokesman adding: “Airbnb has always been about more than any person’s view. Our community is made up of millions of armies and hundreds of millions of guests from all walks of life. “
