Deep Dive
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Why would someone with no federal experience and ties to Elon Musk be granted access to the Treasury's payment systems? And why are agencies like the Department of Labor and Social Security Administration quietly preparing detailed logs and security records for government auditors?
And why more than a year after Donald Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency are so many insiders sounding alarms about who is inside the nation's most secure data systems and what they're doing with access? Now,
The Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, was created under Trump's administration with the stated mission of streamlining bureaucracy and modernizing outdated federal systems. And while that objective on its face sounds like a technical improvement project, the execution has triggered a wave of concern.
Federal employees are now grappling with the realization that many of the people embedded inside their agencies under the Doge banner are neither civil servants nor trained in the protocols of federal cybersecurity. Instead, they're often former employees of Elon Musk's private ventures, such as X or Tesla, who have taken on public roles with unprecedented access.
Now, the audit now underway by the Government Accountability Office seeks to determine whether DOGE operatives have violated laws governing data protection and privacy across a sprawling list of federal departments. Among those under review are the Departments of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, the Treasury, and the Social Security Administration.
Now, DOGE itself, formerly known as the U.S. DOGE Service, USDS, is also being examined. GAO is requesting comprehensive logs, security protocols, and risk assessments from these agencies, many of which show signs of scrambling to comply.
The GAO's mission is not administrative in nature. Its role is to independently investigate government performance on behalf of Congress. Now, this audit was initiated following congressional concern that DOJA's actions might not just be unorthodox. They could be completely illegal or unconstitutional.
The watchdog agency has also asked departments to turn over documents related to system access, internal security measures, and any incidents involving misuse of insensitive systems or data.
These requests are precise and technical, indicating that the GAOs review not just a surface-level inquiry, but a forensic investigation against Doge. At the heart of the concern is the presence of Doge personnel inside systems that handle everything from tax records to social security payments. And in some cases, these operatives have reported, attempted to merge systems of data silos that were intentionally designed to remain separate.
Agency insiders have stated that DOGE staff often have no clear supervisory structure and have requested access that would enable them to modify core system code, which is an action that could interfere with government functions or expose critical infrastructure to outside influence. Not secure. And one of the clearest examples of this tension emerged from the Department of Labor, a
In confidential notes from an internal meeting held on March 18th, agency staff detailed the extent of Doge integration into their system. Doge workers currently hold only read access to sensitive data, they said, including payroll and grants. However, they had already asked for broader privileges.
The Department of Labor staff responded by creating a buffer, asking DOGE operatives to describe their goals so that regular agency employees could execute any necessary actions on their behalf rather than letting them directly manipulate the systems and the code themselves. But the level of scrutiny being applied by the GAO is very unusual.
Agencies like the Department of Labor have been asked to present not just security protocols, but even the specific settings on laptops issued to Doge affiliates.
Logs tracking cybersecurity incidents, audit trails, and data loss prevention efforts have all been requested. And furthermore, agencies must provide documentation outlining who has system access, what level of access they had, whether it's read, write, or execute, how access is granted, and whether it was later modified.
GAO wants to know whether DOGE personnel are working remotely or on-site, whether they are using government-issued hardware or personal devices, and what safeguards are in place to ensure confidentiality and also legal compliance. Now, this story matters to you because it calls into question how government power is being administration and by whom.
The federal government holds massive troves of personal data on you right now, from health records to financial filings. Everything you do in its systems are designed to shield that information from tampering or unauthorized exposure.
Now, if private individuals without vetting or proper oversight are granted access to manipulate these databases, it erodes trust in the systems themselves. And it also roads trust in institutions that are meant to guard them. People rely on these systems every single day, social security, whether it's to receive tax refunds, the IRS, and also healthcare subsidies. Now, moreover, the audit raises deeper concerns about accountability.
Doge was established not through traditional legislative channels, but via an executive order by President Donald Trump. This has allowed it to operate with minimal transparency. Even now, months into this audit, some Doge operatives reportedly do not know who is technically in charge of their work. Without clear leadership or oversight, the risk of error or abuse escalates, especially when the people involved may not fully understand the systems they're accessing.
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Now, one name repeatedly associated with high-level access is Marco Alez, a 25-year-old former engineer at X, Elon Musk's social media company. And according to reports and internal records, Alez was given right access to treasury systems, which means he had full power to alter any code in the treasury. Now, this access created the possibility of disrupting government payments, including those authorized by Congress.
Treasury staff compared the situation to having unauthorized users in the system with the capability to bring core functions to a halt and being powerless to intervene against this one person.
Now, Les's access was reportedly not confirmed to the Treasury, though. He has also been linked to both the Department of Labor and Social Security Administration. However, due to ongoing litigation, his access to Social Security Administration systems has been restricted by a court order. And while Les has not commented publicly, internal records confirm his presence across multiple agencies and hit at a wider network of Doge affiliates working in parallel roles.
Now, of particular concern is the executive order issued by Trump on March 20th, which directs federal agencies to begin consolidating their data repositories under the pretext of fighting waste and fraud. Now, while this may sound efficient, critics warn that it could create an unregulated mega database of personal information.
accessible to individuals with no clear accountability. Doge operatives under this directive have started the process of linking systems that were previously siloed for privacy reasons. This change could expose Americans' private data to unnecessary risks. And congressional concern has been growing since at least February. In a letter dated February 6th, Virginia Representative Bobby Scott described the situation as a constitutional emergency.
and formally requested the GAO open an investigation. Soon after, Massachusetts Representative Richard Neal sent his own letter, specifically naming the Treasury and Social Security Administration as areas of concern. These formal inquiries helped trigger the audit that is now expanding in scope.
So in the weeks ahead, the GAO is expected to meet directly with agency personnel and observe Doge activities in real time. This is a scoop. The Doge employees didn't know about this, and this includes inspecting laptop configurations, reviewing user activity logs, and confirming whether proper data loss prevention tools are in place.
These steps will help determine whether Doge access is being monitored and controlled in line with legal requirements. Now, this story will continue to develop as more documents are reviewed and more officials are questioned. But for now, the GAO audit marks the first major attempt to bring transparency to Doge's operations. If violations are uncovered...
they could result in illegal action, tighter regulations, or even dismantling parts of DOGE altogether. The audit is expected to conclude in late spring with findings to be made completely public. And until then, agency staff, elected officials, and the public remain in a state of unease, waiting to learn just how deeply DOGE has dug into the federal data system and what consequences may follow.
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