Ryan Riedel is now listed in the Energy Department’s internal staff directory as chief information officer, an influential position at the sprawling, 15,000-person department that manages the nation’s energy policy and nuclear weapons.
The CIO oversees the operations of the agency and cybersecurity across the labs, power marketing administrations, and the National Nuclear Security Administration, an arm of the agency tasked with overseeing the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile.
DOE did not immediately respond to request for comment when asked about Riedel, and Riedel did not respond to a request for comment sent to his DOE email.
DOE staff have widely heard the new CIO hails from SpaceX, a rocket company owned by Elon Musk, who is heading the Trump administration’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, according to a staffer granted anonymity to speak freely.
An employee with the name of “Ryan R.” is listed on LinkedIn with the title “lead network security engineer” at rocket company SpaceX. That individual did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and DOE did not respond when asked for comment.
Musk appointees have been arriving at agencies across the federal government to scrutinize federal data.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Friday that at least three individuals tied to DOGE are at the Energy Department and they do not have security clearances. Wright also dismissed suggestions that DOGE is accessing nuclear secrets or “anybody’s proprietary information.”
POLITICO’s E&E News reported this week that among the DOGE officials at DOE is 23-year-old former Tesla intern Luke Farritor.
