Federal judges have blocked DOGE from accessing personal data held by multiple US government departments, including Education, OPM, and Treasury. The rulings came after lawsuits filed by various parties, including the American Federation of Teachers and 19 states led by New York, citing Privacy Act violations and potential irreparable harm.
DOGE, led by Elon Musk, significantly misrepresented savings from a Social Security Administration IT contract, claiming $232 million in cuts while actually only reducing spending by $560,000. The reduction came from canceling a Gender X Marker project, raising concerns about both financial transparency and anti-trans policies under the Trump administration.
DOGE has implemented a $1 spending limit on government credit cards for several federal agencies, with plans to extend restrictions across the entire government workforce. The restrictions affect both SmartPay travel and purchase cards used by federal employees and contractors, impacting crucial operations at agencies like GSA. Multiple safeguards and approval processes already exist to prevent fraud in the government credit card system.
Three men falsely claiming to represent the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) demanded records at San Francisco City Hall before fleeing when confronted. This incident is part of a broader controversy involving DOGE's attempts to access government data, leading to lawsuits from 14 state attorneys general challenging its authority.
New court documents reveal that Marko Elez, a 25-year-old DOGE employee, had limited write privileges to Treasury Department payment systems for one day due to an administrative error. Treasury implemented strict security measures around Elez's system access, contradicting previous reports about his administrative-level privileges. While Elez assisted in automating payment review processes, no unauthorized changes were made to Treasury systems during his brief employment.