The watchdog arm of Congress says it cannot find assurances that DOGE properly handled Americans’ data.
Six of the federal agencies that once harbored DOGE are not being transparent with the Government Accountability Office about the ways President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s cost-cutting operation handled sensitive information, the watchdog said Tuesday.
“Without the ability to examine the requested information, Congress and the public lack assurance that these agencies implemented controls needed to ensure DOGE team members appropriately secured information,” GAO officials wrote in the report.
The investigation into DOGE’s security practices, titled “Congress and the Public Lack Assurance That Systems and Data Were Protected,” found just that: It’s still not clear that DOGE was careful with its immense access to government systems.
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“GAO has ample statutory authority to both conduct this work and obtain the information in support of Congress. Despite this clear authority, the agencies did not respond to GAO’s requests for the information needed to fully answer the questions posed by members of Congress,” the agency wrote in a summary of its investigation. “Agencies cited various reasons for not fully responding to GAO’s requests, but their stated reasons do not alter or diminish GAO’s statutory right of access to this information.”
Last year, Musk’s government efficiency project installed its employees across federal agencies, including six investigated by GAO: the Department of Education, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Small Business Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Various DOGE employees gained access to sensitive systems, including federal student loan information, health care and insurance data, and social security information.
Both the SBA and the VA did not answer any of GAO’s questions about who within the DOGE team had access to what systems or whether anyone on those teams was following security rules. NOAA also declined to answer the question about security rules.
The remaining agencies provided “partial” information. For example, at times the CFPB answered some of GAO’s questions about access for some DOGE employees, but not for all, according to the report.
“In January 2026 and April 2026, CFPB declined to provide information that we had requested, asserting, among other things, that the information was redundant of information provided to us, was unnecessary, or that providing it would unnecessarily disrupt bureau Operations,” GAO officials wrote.
Some of the other federal agencies gave different justifications for refusing to answer all of GAO’s questions. The Department of Education cited ongoing litigation, while the Securities and Exchange Commission claimed that GAO doesn’t have the statutory authority to ask for the information.
The SBA, the VA and NOAA did not give any reason for refusing to comply with GAO’s requests.
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