Democrat lawmakers question DOGE’s access to personal data
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
House and Senate Democrats have sent a slew of letters to federal agencies and White House officials expressing concerns about the level of access that Elon Musk’s DOGE unit has to sensitive information.
Democrat lawmakers are increasingly trying to use their oversight authorities to get answers about the level of access that the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has to Americans’ sensitive information.
The DOGE team has been tasked by President Donald Trump with shaking up government operations and slashing spending across the federal agencies. The level of access that the unit’s employees — a number of whom are reportedly under the age of 24 — already have to agencies’ systems containing troves of personal data, however, has led to intense criticism from Democrats.
Since the start of February, Democrats in the House and Senate have sent almost a dozen missives to federal agencies, the White House and watchdog officials expressing concerns about DOGE’s handling of Americans’ data and requesting further details about the safeguards that have been implemented to ensure data privacy.
Reviewed collectively, the lawmakers’ letters have largely focused on questions about the level of access that DOGE personnel have to sensitive agency data and the national security and privacy implications of these potential risks.
On Monday alone, DemocratIc leaders on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee sent separate letters to the secretary of the Energy Department and the acting administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration outlining their concerns about DOGE’s access to sensitive agency systems.
“The recklessness and contempt with which DOGE personnel are rampaging through the federal government threatens a wide range of security interests, privacy controls, and government services,” the lawmakers wrote in both letters. “Their egregious and seemingly unlawful acts compromise our national security and put Americans at risk.”
Twenty-six Democratic senators wrote to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins on Feb. 6 asking that the department “immediately secure any personal and related information regarding veterans provided by VA or other agencies to Elon Musk and associates” and to “deny and sever” DOGE employees’ access to IT systems that contain veteran data.
These letters came after lawmakers also reached out to White House officials to express their alarm about the security risks associated with DOGE’s work and to question whether the unit’s employees have the necessary security clearances needed to carry out their mission.
Democratic House ranking members on seven committees directly wrote to Trump on Feb. 4 following reports that DOGE gained access to several agencies’ sensitive systems. They asked the president to tell them whether the unit’s employees “are appropriately vetted and cleared to access sensitive information, how they are safeguarding the facilities, information, and systems they are accessing, and what functions and spending are included in their mandate.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. — ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee — also led a separate missive to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles last week that said, in part, that DOGE’s activities “risk exposure of classified and other sensitive information that jeopardizes national security and violates Americans’ privacy.”
Additional letters regarding DOGE’s cost-cutting activities have been sent to the acting heads of the Education Department, NASA, the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
In announcing their Feb. 6 message to the Education Department, lawmakers — led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — also cited concerns around reporting that Musk’s DOGE unit has “fed sensitive data from across the Education Department into artificial intelligence software to probe the agency’s programs and spending.”
Several Democrats have also pushed for federal reviews of DOGE-related activities, given the unit’s level of access to key agency systems.
Leading Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee wrote to the U.S. Comptroller General on Monday calling for an investigation of DOGE “given the threats to Americans’ privacy and the national security risks posed by Mr. Musk and his team’s access” to systems maintained by FEMA.
Lawmakers also sent a separate letter to HHS’ Principal Deputy Inspector General calling for “an urgent review of the actions of the DOGE at HHS and CMS.”
Marci Harris, executive director of the POPVOX Foundation, told Nextgov/FCW that it’s not, in itself, problematic if authorized government employees access programmatic data or use AI tools to process information.
She added that further transparency around the cost-cutting unit’s efforts — including the technologies it's using, the level of access it has and the classification of its personnel — would potentially help alleviate some of the concerns that lawmakers have raised.
“DOGE could avoid a lot of the questions and speculation by being more transparent about where teams are working, which software or AI models they are using, what data and security protocols they are practicing, how team members are vetted, and confirming that data protocols are being followed,” Harris said. “In the absence of this transparency, it is appropriate for Congress to ask for clarification and should be a bipartisan priority.”