A former federal official says his life was left “shattered” after becoming a target of the now-disbanded Department of Government Efficiency and the conservative media outlets that amplified its mission.
Travis Adkins, the former president and CEO of the United States African Development Foundation, is suing conservative influencer Ben Shapiro’s media outlet, Daily Wire, and its “government efficiency” reporter Luke Rosiak for defamation, according to a lawsuit obtained by the Daily Beast. The suit accuses the outlet of orchestrating a campaign against the former Biden administration official to further Elon Musk’s DOGE mission.
“I’m fighting back to set the record straight not only for myself and my family, but also for all the other public servants who have been targeted without the means to defend themselves,” said Adkins, who left the agency in February.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Washington D.C. federal court, alleges that Rosiak—a Trump ally who has appeared alongside Donald Trump Jr. and publicly declared his admiration for Elon Musk’s DOGE—falsely labeled Adkins a “government stooge,” a “serial embezzler,” and a “bigot” in a series of articles viewed by millions.
“This is about an individual whose life has been shattered,” said Adkins’ attorney, Dustin Pusch.
Adkins’ career in government spans roughly 25 years, during which he held positions at the United States Institute of Peace, USAID, and the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Human Rights, and International Organizations. His attorneys say his reputation has since been destroyed—expelled from professional organizations, left with no job prospects, and alienated from friends and family.
Perhaps most alarming, the former Georgetown University lecturer has also been inundated with hate-filled messages and menacing threats—some calling for his death.
“As far as I am concerned the gas chamber is too lenient..these scums stole MY tax dollars and need to be punished severely,” reads one comment cited in the lawsuit. “Every Democrat who prevented DOGE from entering the building should also get the damn gas chamber!”
The small, USAID-linked federal agency Adkins led for three years, was thrust into the national spotlight in March after DOGE personnel attempted to enter its headquarters and were initially denied access. Regaled by supporters as a symbol of resistance to the Tesla tycoon and his allies, the agency was dubbed “the little agency that could,” even after the standoff ultimately ended with DOGE officials being escorted inside by federal marshals. The agency later sued the Trump administration over efforts to dismantle it.
A month later, Rosiak’s series was published and featured on The Ben Shapiro Show, one of the top right-wing podcasts in the United States. The articles alleged that Adkins presided over an “anti-white” organization and personally profited from funds intended to promote economic growth in Africa—claims Adkins has vehemently and repeatedly denied.
“It’s fair game to probe whether or not they were working directly with DOGE,” one individual close to the case told the Daily Beast. “It’s a desire to fulfill what the right hopes [will be] happening in government.”
Rosiak’s alignment with DOGE was no secret, the lawsuit alleges. He has publicly praised “Elon Musk and his merry band of kids” for their “righteous indignation and optimism,” and compiled a list of “DEI Bureaucrats” he believed should be purged from the federal government.
He has also appeared on Donald Trump Jr.’s podcast, Triggered, where he mocked Democrats’ defense of USADF as “stepping on a rake,” and described the party as being rife with “low-level terrorism,” according to the suit.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Rosiak and The Daily Wire for comment.
The case marks the first defamation suit to stem from DOGE’s unsuccessful government cost-cutting spree. The agency is now widely seen as a failure, accomplishing little more than chaos and eventually disbanding eight months earlier than scheduled, Reuters first reported last month.
Tens of thousands of federal employees fired under Musk’s leadership were later offered their jobs back after what amounted to months-long paid vacations. Millions of dollars were reportedly lost to interest and fees after government projects were frozen, while some DOGE staffers were paid six-figure salaries despite limited qualifications.
Musk, the world’s richest man, ultimately presided over a $220 billion increase in federal spending this fiscal year, excluding interest, The Wall Street Journal reported last month. A July report from the minority staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations also found DOGE generated $21.7 billion in waste across the federal government in its first six months.
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