Democratic senators call for probe into Elon Musk, DOGE access to federal databases
Isabella RamirezIsabella Ramirez is a politics intern with NBC News.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s
decision to grant access to sensitive federal data to Elon Musk and other Department of Government Efficiency employees.
In a
letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro, the senators said the accessed government payment systems process trillions of dollars in transactions each year and contain personal information for tens of millions of Americans.
“The process by which Mr. Musk’s team obtained access to these systems is troubling — as are the implications,” they wrote. “The access may threaten economic and national security.”
Warren and Wyden urged the GAO to look into which systems were accessed, whether the individuals who have access hold appropriate security clearances and if there are protections in place for Americans’ privacy.
The senators also questioned Musk’s potential conflicts of interest, pointing to an announcement that his social media platform X will be partnering with Visa on a payment system it plans to launch this year. The people who accessed the federal payment systems may have done so “for their own personal gain,” they wrote.
