ACLU Warns DOGE’s ‘Unchecked’ Access Could Violate Federal Law

The ACLU warned congressional oversight committees that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has assumed control of or access to multiple federal systems, including Treasury platforms handling the majority of federal payments and personnel data, potentially exposing troves of sensitive PII and enabling control over payments in ways that may violate the Privacy Act and FISMA. Citing media reports, the ACLU emphasized risks from untrained operatives’ access, and filed FOIA requests seeking DOGE communications and plans for AI deployment and compliance with privacy laws such as HIPAA.