The leaders of the Democratic caucuses in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on Feb. 4 announced that they will introduce legislation to thwart efforts by the Elon Musk-led U.S. DOGE Service in the executive branch to access government information.
Musk and DOGE, which has been established as a temporary organization in the Executive Office of the President, have drawn attention for their efforts to access information at various executive branch agencies to recommend downsizing or eliminating programs not in line with the president’s agenda. These most recently occurred at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which Musk has vowed to “shut down” and whose headquarters were closed by the Trump administration at DOGE’s behest pending a restructuring of the agency.
These efforts have drawn criticism from Democrats in Congress. In response, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) stated on Feb. 4 that they will introduce legislation to “prevent unlawful meddling in the Treasury Department’s payment systems and protect Americans across the country.” The bill, known as the “Stop the Steal Act,” would deny information access to “Special Government Employees” and those with “conflicts of interest,” as well as increase protections for tax information under new privacy laws.
Musk, director of DOGE, was appointed as a “Special Government Employee,” according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. It is unclear as to whether he, or any DOGE employees, has a security clearance.
“Nothing screams ‘democracy’ like having a secret squad of company men pull off a hostile takeover of America’s Social Security and tax information in the dead of night … it’s precisely what DOGE is doing,” Schumer said. […]
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