One day after Democrats expressed outrage over Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, getting access to sensitive Treasury data—including things like customer payment systems—multiple outlets reported DOGE received access to data at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., accompanied by other members of congress, speaks during a rally ... [+]
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services released a statement on its collaboration with DOGE and said two senior agency veterans are working with DOGE and they are “taking a thoughtful approach to see where there may be opportunities for more effective and efficient use of resources in line with meeting the goals of President Trump.”
Musk quote-tweeted a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, with a screenshot of The Wall Street Journal’s reporting on DOGE being at Medicare and said, “Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening.”
DOGE team members were onsite at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to look for fraud or waste, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter who said DOGE representatives had access to payment and contracting systems.
The Treasury sent a letter to Congress stating it is “committed to safeguarding the integrity and security of the system” and the “Fiscal Service is confident those protections are robust and effective,” adding that Tom Krause, who is affiliated with DOGE but is a Treasury employee, has “read-only access to the coded data of the Fiscal Service’s payment systems” in an effort to review efficiency.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., requested the Government Accountability Office investigate Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s “decision to grant access to sensitive government payment systems to Elon Musk and other” DOGE employees, specifically asking them to identify if there are guardrails in place to protect “economic and national security and Americans’ privacy” and ensure there are no conflicts of interest with Musk.
Senate Democrats held a news conference at which they expressed their concern about Musk getting access to the federal payment system, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., saying “an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government,” and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., saying Musk was “hijacking our nation's most sensitive financial systems and its checkbook.”
The American Federation of Government Employees and other unions sued the Treasury Department in an effort to reduce DOGE’s access to Treasury data.
The Associated Press and The New York Times reported Bessent granted DOGE access to the sensitive Treasury data, giving Musk a “powerful tool to monitor and potentially limit government spending,” according to the Times.
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Musk floated the idea of DOGE in September before Trump was elected, and shortly after, Trump said he would create it and have Musk lead it. After he won the election, Trump appointed Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the commission and advised them to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” DOGE was officially created via an executive order on Trump’s first day in office that restructured an existing entity, the U.S. Digital Service, to be the U.S. DOGE Service. It is not a new federal agency or department, and many members of the team are designated as “special government employees,” according to the Congressional Research Service.
There is no clear outline in the executive order establishing DOGE about what authority it has. Per the order, the role of it is “to implement the President’s DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” The order said the DOGE administrator will work with agency heads to improve the efficiency of software and how agencies work with each other and collect data. DOGE officials have reportedly been gaining access to sensitive data and information upon request.
Musk is a “special government employee.” The Justice Department defines the role as any employee expected to work for the federal government for up to 130 days, and they are prohibited from participating in matters that may have financial conflicts of interest or from using their role to influence an election or engage in political activity while on duty. The role of a special government employee is subject to most rules and guidelines that apply to federal employees, but they can be “less restrictive” because the role is temporary. Musk is reportedly not being paid for his work in the White House.
DOGE has appeared to so far do most of its work in the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which Musk has said—without evidence—is “incredibly politically partisan” and a “radical-left political psy op.” Since Musk began discussing USAID on Monday, the agency has placed direct hire personnel globally on administrative leave, with few exceptions, and some USAID employees were seen clearing out their desks. Beyond that, DOGE said on Jan. 24 that in its first 80 hours of operating, it canceled “approx $420M of current/impending contracts” and two leases while focusing “mainly on DEI contracts and unoccupied buildings.” It’s suspected Musk was involved in the Office of Personnel Management's buyout offer to all federal employees, and he previously suggested the government should close the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was directed earlier this week to pause its work, Reuters reported.
On Tuesday, more than 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Treasury building in Washington, D.C., to protest DOGE’s actions, and more than two dozen Democratic lawmakers spoke at the gathering, the Associated Press reported. Democrats also teased the “Stop the Steal” Act on Tuesday, which House Minority Leader Hakeep Jeffries, D-N.Y., said would “prevent [DOGE’s] unlawful access from taking place.” Democrats tried to subpoena Musk on Wednesday to get more information on his actions and DOGE’s work, but congressional Republicans blocked the subpoena, ABC News reported. The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va., said Musk’s role is “puzzling” for many people, adding: “Who is this unelected billionaire that he can attempt to dismantle federal agencies, fire people, transfer them, offer them early retirement and have sweeping changes to agencies without any congressional review, oversight or concurrence?” Democrats have limited power in opposing DOGE, or Trump’s actions more broadly, though, as Republicans control the House and Senate.
Unions Sue To Stop Elon Musk’s DOGE From Accessing Treasury Department Data (Forbes)
Elon Musk’s Team Now Has Access to Treasury’s Payments System (New York Times)
Elon Musk’s DOGE Team Mines for Fraud at Medicare and Medicaid Agency CMS (Bloomberg)