Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee warned White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in a letter Wednesday that Elon Musk’s access to government databases and the sensitive federal payments system “jeopardizes national security.”
In the letter led by Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.), Democrats said that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already “gained access to classified materials, including intelligence reports, at the United States Agency for International Development.”
They added that DOGE inspectors have also gained access to millions of Americans’ personal information through Social Security and Medicare records and are now running through the records of the Department of Labor and other agencies.
“No information has been provided to Congress or the public as to who has been formally hired under DOGE, under what authority or regulations DOGE is operating, or how DOGE is vetting and monitoring its staff and representatives before providing them seemingly unfettered access to classified materials and Americans’ personal information,” the Democrats warned.
The letter was signed by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Angus King (I-Maine), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).
They submitted 22 questions to Wiles asking her to provide a list of personnel operating under DOGE and a list of each federal agency that has established a DOGE team, noting that under Trump’s executive order, the DOGE teams “are to be established by Agency Heads.”
The Senate Democrats are asking to know under what authorities DOGE is conducting its operations and who is overseeing those operations.
They want a list of each agency DOGE has requested information from and a list of all classified and unclassified systems, records and other information DOGE to which has requested or gained access.
“Unclassified access to classified information risks exposure of our operations and potentially compromises not only our own sources and methods but also those of our allies and partners,” the senators warned. “If your sources, allies, and partners stop sharing intelligence because they cannot trust us to protect it, we will all be less safe.”
The Democrats emphasized that unclassified government systems “also contain sensitive data, the unintended disclosure of which could result in significant harm to individuals or organizations, including financial loss, identity theft, and exposure of medical and other private personal information.”
