Elon Musk’s Operatives Gain Unprecedented Access to U.S. Government Departments

Operatives working for Elon Musk have gained unprecedented access to a swath of U.S. government departments — including agencies responsible for managing data on millions of federal employees and a system that handles $6 trillion in payments to Americans.

During the first three weeks of Trump’s second administration, Musk’s group of representatives — a presidential advisory board known as the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE — has taken control of top federal departments and datasets, despite questions about their security clearances, their cybersecurity practices, and the legality of Musk’s activities.

A Small Group of Private-Sector Employees with No Prior Government Experience

Whether a feat or a coup (which depends entirely on your point of view), a small group of mostly young, private-sector employees from Musk’s businesses and associates — many with no prior government experience — can now view and, in some cases, control the federal government’s most sensitive data held on millions of Americans.

A Coalition of Democratic State Attorneys General Files a Lawsuit

A coalition of more than a dozen Democratic state attorneys general said they will file a lawsuit to block DOGE accessing sensitive federal government payment systems containing personal data on Americans, without providing a timeline.

Impact on U.S.-Diplomatic Relations

The access also puts relationships with the United States and its diplomatic allies on shaky ground. Allied nations may not want to share intelligence with the U.S. government if they think the information could leak, spill into the public domain, or otherwise get lost as a result of the breakdown in cybersecurity practices aimed at protecting sensitive information.

Uncertainty Surrounds the Cybersecurity Consequences

In reality, the cybersecurity consequences of DOGE’s ongoing access to federal departments and datasets may not be known for some time.

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First published on February 5, 2025.