Democrats Raise Privacy Concerns, Say 'Unelected Oligarch Accessing Info' After Elon Musk's DOGE Seeks US Taxpayer Data

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Billionaire Elon Musk -led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been criticised for trying to gain access to a“broad range of taxpayer data”, according to a Bloomberg report citing sources.

The publication added that the DOGE team's efforts have gained attention from Democratic lawmakers who have raised the alarm over privacy and security concerns.

The source, who sought to be anonymous, told Bloomberg that Elon Musk's team is“seeking the data, but has not yet accessed it”.

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Such moves by Elon Musk's DOGE team, have been met by criticism from Democratic lawmakers, including Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, who has been vocal on Musk-owned social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), against the billionaire's move since he's assumed a central role in the second Donald Trump administration.

Meeks wrote on X,“What are they looking for and who are they?! An unelected oligarch with no security clearance should not be accessing Americans' most confidential information. Musk must be stopped. Democrats introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act to do just that.” (sic)

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In January 2025, the newly formed DOGE acquired access to the US Treasury's payment system, prompting a senior level civil servant who tried to block the move to abruptly leave.

Attorneys general from 19 states and three labour unions also filed lawsuits to prevent DOGE's access to the sensitive systems.“Oblivious to the threat this poses to the nation, President Trump has delegated virtually unchecked authority to Mr. Musk without proper legal authorization from Congress and without meaningful supervision of his activities,” the states said.

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