The Trump administration has set a looming Thursday night deadline for approximately 2 million federal employees to accept buyouts or face the risk of termination without compensation. Meanwhile, a team led by Elon Musk, known as the “Department of Government Efficiency” (Doge), has reportedly infiltrated several federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) and the US Treasury. This development has sparked legal and political upheaval, with accusations of privacy violations and calls for investigations into potential national security breaches.
Members of Musk's Doge team have allegedly made significant personnel changes and accessed IT systems at Noaa. More alarmingly, they have also accessed payment systems and workers' personal data at the US Treasury. In response, union members and retirees have filed a lawsuit, claiming that Musk's team violated federal privacy laws. The Justice Department has taken action, agreeing to an order that temporarily restricts Doge staffers from accessing the Treasury Department's payment system.
Democrats, spearheaded by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have accused Musk's team of enacting a "hostile takeover" and overstepping the authority granted to them by the Trump administration. Concerns about Musk's influence are not limited to Democrats; a new poll reveals a growing discontent among Republicans, with only 26% wanting Musk and his team to have "a lot" of influence in the Trump administration. This is a notable drop from the 47% who supported Musk immediately following Trump's election victory.
"Elon Musk is ripping us off and like millions of Americans across the country, I’m pissed. I’m taking action [to prevent] grifters like him from getting richer while pillaging our tax dollars for himself." – Mark Pocan
The situation has escalated as Musk's next target appears to be the Department of Education, which President Trump has expressed interest in shutting down. This has prompted Democrats to demand an investigation into potential national security breaches related to Musk's takeover of certain federal agencies. The House Oversight Committee has sent letters to several government offices, including the US Treasury Inspector General, expressing concerns about Doge's access to classified information and sensitive personal data.
"Whatever Doge is doing, it is certainly not what democracy looks like, or has ever looked like in the grand history of this country, because democracy does not work in the shadows, democracy does not skirt the rule of law." – Chuck Schumer
Agents affiliated with Doge have reportedly expanded their reach across multiple government agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Amidst these developments, the White House has designated Musk an unsalaried "special government employee" tasked with eliminating inefficiency and waste in government spending.
In response to growing concerns, a bill known as the "Eliminate Looting of Our Nation by Mitigating Unethical State Kleptocracy Act" (aka the Elon Musk Act) has been introduced in the House of Representatives. This legislation aims to address the situation by restricting Musk's team's access to sensitive information and systems.
"There is no evidence that he, or any of his associates working under the ‘Doge team’ moniker, are entitled to access our government systems, nor is there any evidence that they have undergone the proper vetting to ensure the security of taxpayer and government data." – House oversight committee