Elon Musk’s advisory committee, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has deployed teams within various federal agencies in the United States to use technology to reduce costs and streamline processes. Republicans have praised DOGE’s efforts in identifying government waste, while Democrats believe the agency is abusing its power.
In the early weeks of the second Trump administration, DOGE took action at a remarkable speed. Engineers and advisors under Musk have accessed the information technology (IT) systems of at least four federal departments.
Musk stated that DOGE’s actions aim to reduce government spending and waste, but this has sparked backlash from some Democratic lawmakers, accusing the agency of unauthorized actions by “special government employees” without congressional oversight.
Congressman Dan Goldman (D-NY) raised concerns that if DOGE connects to federal databases using their unvetted commercial servers, it could pose cybersecurity risks.
During a hearing on “Reducing Government Waste” in the House Oversight Committee this week, Congressman James Comer (R-KY) defended Musk’s actions in the executive branch, stating that “real innovation is not always neat and orderly.”
On February 7, President Donald Trump defended DOGE’s access to federal data systems.
“We’re auditing a lot of money…This money is being used for projects that are not related to actual affairs, and are worthless,” Trump said during a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shuji Ishiba.
“I am very proud of the work these young people are doing, and they are doing so at my insistence. Not doing this would be much easier, but we have to break some of the elements to uncover corruption.”
Up to now, the DOGE team has visited the Department of the Treasury, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) IT systems, while several union alliances have filed lawsuits to block their access to the Department of Labor.
The Epoch Times could not independently confirm whether DOGE has obtained access to internal systems and databases of other agencies such as the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
In a letter to Congress on February 4, the Department of the Treasury confirmed that DOGE staff had been granted “read-only” access to nearly $6 trillion of federal payment systems.
The Fiscal Service Bureau, responsible for handling 88% of federal payments totaling over 1.2 billion transactions annually, including Medicare and Social Security payments.
According to the letter, Tom Krause, CEO of the Cloud Software Group (CSG), will work as a “special government employee” with the agency to review the operational efficiency of the Fiscal Service Bureau and prevent abuse, fraud, and waste. This work will be conducted in collaboration with senior officials from the Department of the Treasury.
Several Democratic lawmakers joined a demonstration outside the Washington fiscal building on February 4, raising concerns about possible payment delays, politically motivated effects, and cybersecurity threats.
“We must tell Elon Musk: ‘Nobody elected you, nobody told you that you can access our private information, and nobody told you that you can take charge of this country’s payment affairs,'” said Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA).
The following day, the Department of Justice stated in court documents that it would temporarily restrict DOGE’s access to the Department of the Treasury’s payment system.
“The defendant will not be granted access to any payment records managed by the Fiscal Service Bureau or internal management of payment system records within it,” the Justice Department wrote in its complaint, adding that special government employees would be granted “read-only” access to information held by the agency.
On February 5, the CMS confirmed that DOGE had been granted access to the agency’s systems and technology.
The agency stated, “CMS has two senior commissioners – one focused on policies, the other on operations, and they are leading the cooperation with DOGE, including ensuring appropriate access to CMS systems and technology.”
CMS falls under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), overseeing Medicare and Medicaid programs. Medicare is a health insurance plan for seniors and disabled individuals, while Medicaid provides coverage for low-income beneficiaries. Together, they provide health insurance coverage for over 140 million people.
The CMS statement added, “We take a thorough approach to determining whether there are opportunities for more efficient use of resources to meet the goals of President Trump.”
On February 5, on his social media platform X, Musk quoted The Wall Street Journal’s first report on DOGE’s access to CMS authorization, stating, “This is where large-scale financial fraud occurs.”
Although DOGE aims to cut $2 trillion in government expenditure, achieving this goal may prove challenging if spending on healthcare and social assistance programs is not reduced.
According to data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Affordable Care Act subsidies accounted for 24% of the federal budget in 2024.
However, Trump stated last week that healthcare programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security would not be affected unless instances of waste or abuse are discovered.
“People won’t be affected,” Trump said, referring to beneficiaries of these programs.
On February 7, Trump reiterated that Social Security “will not be touched.”
He mentioned that the government has found cases of undocumented immigrants receiving both Social Security and Medicare benefits and that they will be identified and removed from the programs.
“We won’t touch Social Security unless it’s to make it more efficient. But there are some people who shouldn’t be receiving these benefits, and we need to screen them out.”
According to several Democratic lawmakers, DOGE has also gained access to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) IT systems through the Department of Commerce.
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a senior member of the Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee covering NOAA, confirmed DOGE’s access to the agency’s IT systems.
Congressmen Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), senior members of the House Natural Resources Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, respectively, also verified DOGE’s access.
Huffman and Lofgren issued a statement on February 4 criticizing DOGE’s investigation of NOAA.
“These DOGE hackers led by Elon Musk are sweeping through the federal government…and undermining projects that American families rely on.”
“Now they’ve infiltrated NOAA, disrupting the scientific and regulatory systems protecting American families’ safety and jobs.”
NOAA, described by the Congressional Research Service as the “primary federal agency responsible for understanding and predicting changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coastlines.”
Huffman and Lofgren highlighted how Americans rely on NOAA services for warnings about “upcoming extreme weather events such as hurricanes, wildfires, and tornadoes.”
As part of the Department of Commerce, NOAA houses the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center, crucial for weather forecasts and issuing storm arrival warnings to vulnerable areas.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed recent reports that DOGE staff are investigating the Department of Energy following accusations that Musk’s team had the opportunity to access U.S. nuclear secrets.
“I’ve heard these rumors that they can see our nuclear secrets. But that’s just not true,” Wright told CNBC reporter Brian Sullivan.
The Department of Energy is responsible for managing the nation’s nuclear infrastructure and enforcing U.S. energy policy, as well as funding scientific research in the energy field, with one of its core responsibilities being maintaining and modernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Wright mentioned that three DOGE staff members are currently working in Energy Department offices.
“I know who they are,” Wright said to CNBC, “They’ve passed our security checks, can move freely and talk to people, and give us good feedback on progress.”
After anonymous reports accused the agency of allowing a young DOGE representative to access the Energy Department’s IT systems, Wright stated that existing DOGE staff “do not have access to anyone’s proprietary information.”
On February 5, a union alliance filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Labor, Acting Secretary Vince Micone, and Musk, accusing DOGE of planning to illegally access the agency’s computer data.
The union alliance also alleged that DOGE intended to “terminate any employee protecting the integrity of these systems,” and Musk might have the authority to access information on Labor Department investigations into its business dealings.
The lawsuit stated, “DOGE’s every move violates multiple laws, ranging from constitutional limits on executive power, to laws that protect civil servants from arbitrary threats and actions, and the critical protections for collecting and storing billions of pieces of data of the American people by the government.”
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the Washington-based think tank Economic Policy Institute. They seek temporary restraining orders or administrative stays on DOGE.
On February 5, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated that Musk would avoid involvement in matters with conflicts of interest.
According to the Department of Labor’s website, the agency “enforces federal labor laws to ensure workers have fair, safe, and healthy working conditions, including minimum wage and overtime pay, protection from employment discrimination, and providing unemployment insurance.”
The University of California Student Association (UCSA) sued the U.S. Department of Education on February 7, accusing DOGE staff of illegally accessing student confidential data.
The lawsuit, filed in Washington federal court, alleged that DOGE violated federal privacy laws by accessing the Education Department’s computer systems containing student financial aid information.
Following anonymous reports accusing DOGE of accessing personal information of millions of financial aid recipients within the Education Department, the student association group initiated the lawsuit.
As of the time of writing, DOGE has not responded to requests for comment.
Contributions to this report were made by Andrew Moran, Stacy Robinson, Zachary Stieber, and Reuters.
Original Title:
DOGE Has Accessed These Federal Systems in Bid to Tackle Waste
Published in English by The Epoch Times.