Democratic lawmakers and a coalition of labor organizations are taking action through legislation and a Federal lawsuit to protect Americans’ data after the Treasury Department allegedly shared confidential system access and data with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by billionaire Elon Musk and authorized by President Donald Trump.
According to multiple reports, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted Musk’s DOGE team access to the Treasury Department’s payment system that manages trillions of dollars of transactions every year.
Democrats Take Action, Warn of Consequences
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D.-N.Y., spoke on the Senate floor on Monday to discuss DOGE access and said that he and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., “will work together on legislation to stop unlawful meddling in the Treasury Department’s payment systems.”
“We must protect people’s Social Security payments, Medicare payments, and tax refunds from any possible tampering by DOGE or other unauthorized entities, and that’s what Leader Jeffries and I will work to do,” Sen. Schumer said.
The senator laid out no timetable for those promised legislative efforts.
“The American people did not vote to let DOGE get a hold of people’s Social Security numbers,” the lawmaker added. “To give DOGE a choke hold on Treasury payments is outlandishly dangerous. It’s like letting a tiger into a petting zoo and hoping for the best.”
Sen. Schumer called on Secretary Bessent to revoke DOGE’s access to the Treasury payment systems “at once.”
Bessent privately reassured Republican lawmakers on Monday that Musk and his team do not have control over the Treasury’s payment system, according to reporting from POLITICO.
However, many Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., do not believe Musk’s team had only limited access to the payment system as the Trump administration claims.
“Why on earth should we believe that – particularly when he is saying the exact opposite loudly and repeatedly for everyone to see?” Sen. Murray said on Monday.
Musk claimed on X this week that career Treasury officials were breaking the law “every hour of every day by approving payments that are fraudulent or do not match the funding laws passed by Congress.” He did not provide any evidence for his claim.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., discussed the Treasury systems takeover during a Senate Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday morning, saying that Musk’s actions have “a direct effect on major programs” including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The senator also joined Sen. Murray in discussing the matter on Monday, saying, “It is a prescription for nightmares.”
“It is clear that unqualified and unaccountable people have seized control of the flow of taxpayer funds and a trove of extremely sensitive data. They are seizing the tools you need for a coup,” Sen. Wyden said.
“The Musk hatchet brigade has infiltrated a gold mine of data that every foreign spy and every corrupt actor would love to see,” he added. “We’re one mistake away from economic catastrophe.”
Additionally, the ranking members of seven House committees wrote a letter to President Trump on Tuesday requesting information on the reported attempts by DOGE to access classified and sensitive information without proper clearance.
The Democrats – which include House Oversight and Reform Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., among others – warned this behavior could pose national security risks.
“Reporting indicates that these individuals have sought access to government facilities and data in a highly irregular fashion, putting at risk sensitive data and classified information,” they wrote. “It is also unclear what such actions and information have to do with achieving the intended purpose of the DOGE.”
Unions File Lawsuit Against Treasury Department
In addition to Democratic lawmakers promising action, a coalition of labor organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Treasury Department for allegedly sharing confidential data with the DOGE.
Represented by the Public Citizen Litigation Group and the State Democracy Defenders Fund, the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and the Service Employees International Union filed the complaint in the District Court for the District of Columbia.
The plaintiffs claim that Federal laws protect sensitive personal and financial information from improper disclosure and misuse, including by “barring disclosure to individuals who lack a lawful and legitimate need for it.”
“We are outraged and alarmed that the Trump Administration has allowed so-called DOGE staff to violate the law and access millions of older Americans’ sensitive personal and financial data,” said Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “Seniors are already the most vulnerable Americans to fraud and scams, with FBI data showing losses of $3.4 billion in 2023 alone. We urge the court to quickly act to stop this unlawful theft of our data.”
“It is disgraceful that the Trump administration has allowed unelected billionaires and their lackeys unfettered access to the personal and financial information of Americans,” added AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “Together, we can stop this violation of American citizens’ privacy.”
Musk and his associates were granted access to Treasury’s payment systems the same weekend they announced they would shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development and locked career civil servants out of the Office of Personnel Management computer systems.
