President Donald Trump has given a former DOGE worker known as “Big Balls” a personal shout-out as the 20-year-old returned to the spotlight.
Edward Coristine is one of several ex-DOGE employees working on an AI overhaul of federal government services.
Trump launched an AI-driven website, known as America.gov, at an event on Tuesday where he signed an executive order to rebrand Artificial Intelligence as “Special Intelligence.”
During his announcement, Trump name-checked Coristine personally on stage when crediting the team involved.
“The lead engineer, Ed Coristine, Ed, thank you,” Trump said.
The president said the AI team was “working 20-hour days in government on behalf of our country, and we salute them.”
Coristine’s return comes after an incident last August when he was involved in an alleged carjacking assault in Washington, D.C.
At the time, Trump said Coristine had been “beaten mercilessly,” and called him an “incredible young man.”
After the incident, a 15-year-old boy, who had pleaded guilty to felony assault, robbery and simple assault, was sentenced to 12 months of probation in October, according to ABC. A 15-year-old girl, who pleaded guilty to simple assault, was given nine months’ probation.
The episode was soon cited by Trump as proof of the rise of crime in D.C.
MAGA influencer Benny Johnson called for Coristine to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., over his “heroic” efforts in helping a friend during the attack.
Sharing footage of Coristine on stage with Trump on Tuesday, MAGA reporter Eric Daugherty said, “Thankfully, looks like he’s doing well...THAT’S A PATRIOT!”
Another former DOGE worker, Joe Gebbia, now runs the White House’s National Design Studio, where Coristine is employed, according to The New Republic. That office is leading the project and is in charge of overhauling many government websites.
On his X account on Tuesday, Coristine put a call-out for workers to join the National Design Studio.
Coristine earned the “Big Balls” nickname after it was spotted as his LinkedIn username. The nickname remains on his X profile.
“Now is the time to serve your country,” Coristine wrote. “Take the way things used to be done and grind it under your heel. A new era is dawning of revolutionizing how America can serve its people.”
It was revealed in June last year that Coristine was one of three former DOGE staffers who were given full-time roles as restricted special government employees.
Coristine was made full-time on May 31, 2025, according to Wired, and given the title “senior advisor.”
Musk officially left DOGE last year, after being unable to find the $1 trillion he pledged to trim from government spending.
