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Edward Coristine, the former DOGE engineer better known as “Big Balls,” is now helping build the Trump administration’s new digital front door to the federal government — an effort to give Americans a single place to navigate information and, ultimately, comprehensive services now spread across thousands of government websites.
“I think the fact that there are 29,000 government websites is pretty insane,” Coristine told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And the goal for citizens is to have to figure out which government website they’re supposed to use for each specific thing.”
Coristine — better known in Washington by his catchy nickname “Big Balls” — sat down with Fox News Digital at the White House to talk about his new role in building America.gov, what he learned during his time at DOGE, the administration’s plans to make more government services fully digital, his experience attacking Washington, and how the nickname that made him famous actually came from his father.
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The software engineer had previously worked in Musk’s orbit before joining DOGE, spending several months at Neuralink, Musk’s brain-computer interface company, before later joining the government efficiency effort at age 19. (Fox News Digital)
Coristine is currently working with the National Design Studio on the administration’s revamped America.gov site, which launched September 29 as an AI-powered single entry point for information drawn from thousands of government websites. President Donald Trump singled out Coristine at the launch, identifying him as the lead engineer on the project and thanking him for his work.
Coristine said his time at DOGE gave him insight into the frustration Americans face when trying to navigate federal services and helped shape what he is currently working on.
“I think we’ve gotten a lot of feedback that it’s difficult to interact with the U.S. government because you have to navigate the maze of bureaucratic departments,” Coristine said.
The software engineer had previously worked in Musk’s orbit before joining DOGE, spending several months at Neuralink, Musk’s brain-computer interface company, before later joining the government efficiency effort at age 19.
“What I think is really special about America.gov is that it presents a single entry point to find all the information you need,” he added, including finding government services tailored to the user and asking questions with answers from the federal government.
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of his cabinet and staff before signing an executive order during the America.gov launch event at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium September 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Coristine cited Medicare as an example, saying Americans might currently have to move between Medicare.gov and the Social Security website to sign up for benefits.
“Businesses, in general, only have one website and everything is easy to find,” he said. “We should have the same vision for government.”
America.gov’s ambitions also go beyond just helping users find the right information. Coristine said the administration plans to make first-time passport applications entirely digital, expanding beyond the online renewal system already available to eligible Americans.
“Specifically regarding passports, what we are going to do is create new passports online for the first time ever,” Coristine said, calling the existing process “very manual.”
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Engineer Edward Coristine takes photos after an event on health care affordability at the South Court Auditorium of the White House in Washington, DC, May 18, 2026. (Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)
“You have to go there in person, you have to go to the post office, get your picture taken like a CVS or a Walgreens,” he said.
Under the planned system, Coristine said users would be able to take their ID photo at home, preview how it would appear on the document and complete the process “without leaving the America.gov website.”
Coristine also provided insight into how Trump spoke about the broader project, comparing the president’s approach to digital government with his experience in hospitality.
“I think the president has been a wonderful host throughout his career. He worked in the hospitality industry, right?” said Coristine. “So any great host knows that they have to make things easy, they have to make everything look clean.”
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Edward Coristine, a former DOGE member, described the terrifying assault at Logan Circle in Washington, DC. (Fox News)
“President Trump is very focused on eliminating the potholes in digital government that make it difficult to get things done,” he added.
The role marks the latest chapter in a whirlwind stint in Washington that began at DOGE and quickly propelled the 20-year-old – and his now-famous nickname “Big Balls” – into the national spotlight.
Coristine told Fox News Digital that the nickname “Big Balls” had a much less dramatic origin than its eventual notoriety suggests.
“I got the nickname Big Balls from my dad,” he said, explaining that he eventually made it his LinkedIn URL. AND THAT’S WHAT PUT HIM INTO THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT, RIGHT?
“It was actually quite underground, but I was discovered,” Coristine said. “Since then, it’s been very funny.”
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Former DOGE employee Edward Coristine was attacked Monday while trying to help a woman, according to sources. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)
Coristine’s notoriety rose further in August 2025 after he was attacked while walking a friend back to her car in Washington’s Logan Circle neighborhood, an incident that left him with a broken nose and concussion and attracted national attention.
Coristine said he rushed his friend into the car before the group turned on him, pinning him against the vehicle and throwing punches.
“I really thank President Trump for making Washington safe again,” Coristine said. “Like all my friends, they can now go outside.”
“Everyone is very calmed by the National Guard because we have the impression that the city is much safer,” he continued. “And the crime numbers represent it perfectly. Crime has dropped like a knife in Washington.”
Trump created the Make DC Safe and Beautiful task force in March 2025 before launching an intensified federal crime crackdown in August, with the operation resulting in more than 16,000 arrests, 3,200 drug arrests and nearly 2,000 illegal firearms seized in its first year.
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“So I’m incredibly grateful to the president for making the city safe and beautiful,” Coristine said.
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