‘No one elected Elon Musk’: NY AG fights as judge extends block
A federal judge extended the temporary block against Elon Musk from gaining access to confidential government information.
An investigation is underway after a trop of men impersonating inspectors from the Department of Government Efficiency tried, unsuccessfully, to demand records at San Francisco City Hall, authorities said.
The unusual incident unfolded about noon Friday, according to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office.
“Three men dressed in DOGE shirts and MAGA hats entered various offices at San Francisco City Hall, demanding that employees turn over digital information related to alleged wasteful government spending and fraud,” the agency said in a written statement. “The employees refused their requests, and called San Francisco sheriff’s deputies.”
Officials said the three men had fled the building by the time deputies arrived.
“We do not believe the individuals requesting access to City files were representatives from DOGE,” the statement said.
An investigation was ongoing, including a review of surveillance camera footage and other resources, officials added.
What is the Department of Government Efficiency?
The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which refers to a cryptocurrency championed by Elon Musk, was set up by Trump in an executive action on his first day in office.
DOGE, run by Musk, has been tasked with finding ways to cut spending and regulations.
Trump recently made Musk a “special government employee,” an official told USA TODAY, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later confirmed to reporters that Musk had officially joined the administration.
The designation allows Musk to work for the federal government with or without compensation for a limited amount of time. He also received a government email and an office. The administration official said Musk would not receive a paycheck.
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” Musk said in a statement distributed by the Trump transition team in November.
Trump renamed the previously existing United States Digital Service, which was created under former President Barack Obama following the rollout of Healthcare.gov, to the Department of Government Efficiency.
DOGE headed by Musk, run by young adults
According to reporting from Wired, Musk has enlisted several young engineers to help in his mission to cut the federal budget.
The outlet said that the engineers, whose ages range between 19-24, have little-to-no government experience. Several lawsuits have been recently lodged against DOGE over the access the engineers have been alleged to have had to the U.S. Treasury Department’s payment systems.
Reports emerged over the weekend that Musk’s DOGE operatives were at the Treasury, going through the payment systems and that they had effectively ousted the top civil servant at the Treasury Department, David Lebryk, after he refused to grant access to Musk’s emissaries.
Other reports have also emerged which said that DOGE representatives have been at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week examining payment and contracting systems of federal health agency.
DOGE met with fierce opposition from Democrats, watchdog groups
Democratic lawmakers and government watchdog groups are pledging to fight back against Elon Musk’s takeover of the federal government’s payment system, which they say may be the biggest privacy and security breach in American history.
“If we were watching this happen in Venezuela or Malawi and we saw a billionaire seize the money supply and the checkbook of the government, we would call it a coup,” said Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative economic policy group and a former Senate senior economic policy advisor.
In a lawsuit filed on Monday in a Washington D.C. federal court, advocates for employee unions and retirees said Treasury had violated privacy laws by giving access to both Musk and DOGE to government payment systems.
“We are outraged and alarmed that the Trump Administration has allowed so-called DOGE staff to violate the law and access millions of older Americans’ sensitive personal and financial data,” Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, said in a press release sent to USA TODAY.
Contributing: Reuters, Francesca Chambers, Josh Meyer and Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY.
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