Employees from Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency are gaining access to vast amounts of information held by federal agencies, even as lawsuits try to stop them.Last week, Michelle King, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, addressed concerns from Democrats on Capitol Hill regarding the presence of two of Elon Musk’s allies at her agency. The New York Times reports that Ms. King sought to reassure Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, in a letter dated February 11th. In the letter, Ms. King stated that the two representatives from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had not yet accessed any personal information and that any future disclosures would follow established procedures.
Ms. King emphasized her commitment to protecting sensitive personal and financial information from improper disclosure and misuse. She also stated that the agency follows all relevant laws and regulations when granting access to its systems. However, just days after the letter was sent, Mr. Musk’s team requested access to the agency’s data. Ms. King resisted the request, and by Monday night, she and her chief of staff, Tiffany Flick, had left their positions, according to three sources familiar with the situation.
The Trump administration then appointed Leland Dudek, a lower-level staff member who had previously worked with DOGE, to temporarily lead the agency. The Social Security Administration did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.
This situation is not unique to the Social Security Administration. The New York Times reports that Mr. Musk’s team of software engineers has repeatedly sought access to personal information collected by the U.S. government in its efforts to root out fraudulent government spending. This has caused concern among career civil servants who are responsible for safeguarding this data, as its improper disclosure can violate federal law.
For example, at the Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Musk’s team is seeking to give one of its members, a software engineer named Gavin Kliger, broad access to the data included in the approximately 270 million tax returns filed each year by individuals, businesses, and nonprofits in the United States. The New York Times reports that we are currently unable to retrieve the full article content due to technical difficulties. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings and log into your Times account or subscribe for full access.
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