United States federal government targets of Elon Musk
[5][6][7] As an ex-USAID worker describes that "In a matter of hours DOGE shut down our websites, took over email handles, and summarily removed the system access of hundreds of gainfully employed public servants.
"[10] On February 14, Judge Amir Ali ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze foreign assistance payments to USAID and State Department grantees.
[15] On February 14, 2025, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson commanded Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE stand down on any attempts to reduce staffing, remove funding, delete any data, or otherwise interfere with operations of the CFPB.
[17] DOGE actions at the USDA have impacted the United States national response to the 2020–2025 H5N1 outbreak, after staff working on the crisis were summarily fired.
[25] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's main goal is the protection of public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease, injury, and disability in the US and worldwide The Washington Post reported on February 5 that DOGE had sought access to data at the CDC,[24] and that DOGE had gained access to key payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
DOGE agents fired staff from the FDA involved in ongoing clinical trials of the safety of Elon Musk's Neuralink company, which creates implantable brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) as commercial products.
[30][31] The Treasury Department collects all federal taxes through the Internal Revenue Service; manages U.S. government debt instruments; licenses and supervises banks and thrift institutions; and advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of fiscal policy On January 31, multiple sources reported that David Lebryk, a top Treasury Department career civil servant, was pushed out after he refused to grant DOGE access to a system that disburses over $5 trillion in payments annually, including Social Security, government paychecks and contractor payments.
[32][33][34] The New York Times described it as a possible attempt by Trump to "unilaterally restrict disbursement of money approved for specific purposes by Congress" following his earlier funding freeze.
Elez resigned on February 6 after The Wall Street Journal reported on deleted social media posts where he explicitly identified himself as a racist and advocated for eugenics and against inter-ethnic marriage.
[48] A coalition of nineteen states, mostly Democratic-led, filed suit in a Manhattan federal court on February 7 seeking to stop DOGE from accessing the payments system.
[54] Non-authorized personnel have only been given access to the gold depository three times in history, in 1943 for Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1974 for members of Congress, and in 2017 for then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and another Congressional delegation.
On February 13, Sen. Ron Wyden announced that DOGE was at the IRS; an email was sent to the agency beforehand, asking officers to identify all "non-essential" contracts for termination.
Other VA benefits include disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation, education assistance, home loans, and life insurance.
They oversee air traffic control, certification of personnel and aircraft, setting standards for airports, and protection of U.S. assets during the launch or re-entry of commercial space vehicles.
In the wake of the 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision, United States secretary of transportation Sean Duffy announced on February 5 that DOGE would intervene with the FAA to "upgrade our aviation system".
[66] Elon Musk directly expanded on this, claiming support of President Trump to "make rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system".
[68] The Federal Emergency Management Agency coordinates the response to disasters that occur on American soil, when local and state resources are overwhelmed.
On February 11, Musk incited Republican outrage by posting on X about Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding of migrant shelter hotels in New York City.
The next day, homeland security secretary Kristi Noem said she had "clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to NYC migrant hotels".
[72] Workers at GSA's Technology Transformation Services (TTS) were summoned to meetings with young, inexperienced engineers who recently worked at Musk's companies.
[76] In mid-February, GSA laid off dozens of TTS employees, including technical staff in the Presidential Innovation Fellows and U.S. Digital Corps programs.
[76] On February 18, ProPublica reported that Stephen Ehikian, the new acting administrator of GSA, has appointed Frank Schuler as senior adviser.
[78] Also on February 18, a long-time GSA employee resigned rather than be forced to give Thomas Shedd administrator access to Notify.gov, a government text message service that contains sensitive personal data for members of the public.
[80] On March 1, the entire 18F office was eliminated "under direction from the White House"[81] and weeks after Elon Musk claimed the "group was deleted.
ABC News reported on February 6 that DOGE operatives had gained access to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) computer systems.
[89][88] ABC also reported that operatives were also looking for anything connected to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on bulletin boards and were inspecting bathroom signs to ensure compliance with Trump's executive orders.
Musk's aides locked OPM workers out of computer systems which contain personally identifying information of millions of federal employees.
On the weekend of February 17, acting head of SSA Michelle King resigned after denying DOGE staffers access to private financial records of American citizens and Social Security recipients.
DOGE had misunderstood certain aspects of SSA operations, including how birth dates are handled on the antiquated COBOL-based computer system.
"[107] On February 25, 2025, SSA acting commissioner Leland Dudek announced that the agency was closing its office of civil rights and equal opportunity, to "advance the President’s goal to make all of government more efficient".
