1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding recent reports that political appointees in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, have attempted to access highly sensitive personal data from multiple federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Department of the Treasury. These attempts pose a serious threat to the privacy and security of millions of Americans’ personal and financial information. According to reports, SSA’s former acting commissioner, Michelle King, was removed from her position after refusing DOGE’s request to grant access to a vast array of sensitive government records, including Social Security numbers, bank details, earnings records, marital status, and even medical information. Furthermore, DOGE operatives have reportedly sought access to IRS databases containing confidential taxpayer data and Treasury systems storing financial records, leading to lawsuits and judicial intervention to prevent unauthorized access. The justification for these actions—rooted in vague allegations of fraud—stands in stark contrast to the SSA Inspector General’s findings that improper payments constituted only 0.84% of total benefits between 2015 and 2022. These data requests, therefore, appear to be an overreach by political appointees rather than a legitimate effort to combat fraud. The potential consequences of granting such access to political operatives are alarming. Sensitive financial and personal data, entrusted to the government for essential services, should not be subject to politically motivated inquiries or misused in ways that could lead to discrimination, financial exploitation, or erosion of public trust. The recent court-ordered restriction on DOGE’s access to Treasury systems underscores the need for stronger legislative protections against executive overreach into private citizen data. I urge you to take immediate action to: 1. Pass legislation prohibiting political appointees and special government employees from accessing sensitive citizen data without independent oversight and strict legal justification. 2. Strengthen federal privacy laws to ensure that agencies handling personal data (SSA, IRS, Treasury, FEMA, etc.) have robust safeguards against unauthorized access by political entities. 3. Conduct Congressional oversight hearings to investigate DOGE’s attempts to access personal data across multiple agencies and ensure compliance with federal privacy protections. 4. Reaffirm the independence of federal agencies responsible for administering benefits and financial records, preventing political interference in their operations. The American people expect and deserve a government that safeguards their personal information, not one that treats it as a political tool. I urge you to stand up for data privacy and prevent these dangerous breaches before irreparable harm is done.