The U.S. Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, March 26, 2022 (Photo by Marisa Demarco / Source New Mexico)
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on Thursday spoke out against billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), writing that she is reviewing legal options and “will be taking action shortly” as Musk and his team attempt to seize control of several government systems.
Musk gained access to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s payment system last week, with DOGE representatives demanding access to computer systems at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Washington, D.C., headquarters last weekend.
The American Federation of Government Employees, Service Employees International Union and Alliance for Retired Americans have since taken legal action against Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for allowing Musk access to the payment system, which handles trillions in payments, including income taxes, social security benefits and veterans pay.
“Handing over access to some of the most sensitive and private information about the American people to appointees who have no clearance, no qualifications, and no legitimate reason to have that information, is not only a clear violation of the public’s trust but also an affront to the fundamental rights of every American. It is unlawful, unacceptable and cannot stand,” Nessel said.
“This level of access for unauthorized individuals, under the guise of progress, is illegal and unprecedented. DOGE has no authority to access this information, which initiates critical payments that support health care, childcare, and other essential programs that millions of Americans rely on,” Nessel said.
The Department of Government Efficiency is not an official government department, as only Congress has the authority to establish new departments within the executive branch. DOGE was created by President Donald Trump via an executive order and is aimed at “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
On the campaign trail in support of Trump, Musk pledged to cut trillions of dollars in government spending, drawing skepticism from budget policy experts.
Musk has been named a “special government employee” with the White House asserting Musk’s team has the proper security clearances.
Nessel spokesperson Danny Wimmer previously told the Michigan Advance in an email: “The Department is hearing many concerns on this data and privacy development. … We are continuing to learn all we can about this situation and will continue to assess our options toward securing the integrity and privacy of these government databases.”
In defense of the Constitution, the right to privacy and “essential funding that individuals and communities nationwide are counting on,” Nessel confirmed Thursday that she is reviewing the options available and planning to take prompt action.
In the interim, U.S. Reps. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) and Sean Casten (D-Ill.) joined several other House Democrats to introduce a bill blocking Musk from accessing sensitive data, barring unauthorized individuals from gaining access to the U.S. Department of Treasury payment systems.
Freshman Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.) has taken a more direct approach in her attempt to bar Musk from seizing control of federal agencies, introducing the Stop Musk Act, which protects federal employees from retaliation for “resisting, circumventing or preventing Elon Musk or individuals he oversees from taking unlawful or unconstitutional actions relating to federal agencies.” However, Dexter has acknowledged the bill has next to no chance of passing in the Republican controlled House.
Scholten introduces bill to open Musk and DOGE to FOIA provisions
According to a report from CNN, two U.S. Agency for International Development employees were placed on administrative leave after refusing to grant DOGE representatives access to the department’s systems.
U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Grand Rapids) has also introduced legislation to subject temporary government organizations like DOGE to the federal Freedom of Information Act.
In an interview this week with the Michigan Advance, Samuel Bagenstos, the Frank G. Millard Professor of Law at the University of Michigan, pointed to Musk as the No. 1 concern at the federal level, with the lack of guardrails on his position creating a “massive cybersecurity vulnerability.”
“It also creates an opportunity for incredible abuse of power to turn on and turn off funding at the whim of an individual in violation of laws passed by Congress, so that’s hugely concerning,” said Bagenstos, who previously served as principal deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights in the U.S. Department of Justice during the Obama administration and as general counsel to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Biden administration.
“A big part of the Musk problem is that if you have someone like Elon Musk controlling the payment system that allows him to impound funds, that allows him to refuse to spend funds that Congress has said should be spent, but to do so below the radar in a way that avoids accountability and avoids public checks again, avoiding the checks on abuse of authority is a consistent theme here,” Bagenstos said.
Michigan Advance Senior Reporter Jon King contributed to this story.
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