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LA congresswoman demands answers on Elon Musk, DOGE
LA Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove is demanding answers after Elon Musk requested access to sensitive government records. Trump appointed Musk to run the Department of Government Efficiency. She said Elon and DOGE are starting an economic coup.
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove and House Democrats introduced new legislation Thursday aimed at limiting Elon Musk's access to the Treasury Department's system and data.
This comes on the same day a federal judge temporarily blocked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from obtaining access to certain Treasury Department payment records.
Treasury officials "will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained within the [Treasury] Bureau of Fiscal Service," Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in a temporary restraining order.
RELATED: Judge blocks DOGE access to sensitive Treasury Department payment system records
The program handles an estimated 90% of federal payments, including Social Security and Medicare benefits.
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DOGE blocked from accessing Treasury payment records
A federal judge has blocked the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury payment records. The two sides will meet again in court later this month.
The Taxpayer Data Protection Act introduced by Kamlager-Dove would prevent people who have "conflicts of interest or a lack of security clearance from accessing the Treasury Department’s highly sensitive payment system".
In a statement, the congresswoman said it would curb corruption and protect people's privacy.
"No one thought that Donald Trump would give Elon Musk, the richest man in the world with over $15 billion in government contracts over the past 10 years, unfettered access to every single American's Social Security information, bank information, access to our medical records, access to our payments. This is an economic coup at work. And I don't think anyone thought this was what he meant, nor is this what anyone wanted," Kamlager-Dove said on FOX 11.
On Tuesday, Kamlager-Dove went to the U.S. Treasury Department to demand entry and answers about what Musk is doing. She said she was denied entry, so she held a press conference with other colleagues to demand answers from the department.
She said she had also requested Musk to come before the Oversight Committee to explain himself. However, he and fellow Republicans refused.
"I don't know why Republicans are silent when it comes to giving up Americans' privacy and data," Kamlager-Dove exclaimed. "I don't think anyone wants Elon Musk to have unfettered access to $6 trillion and to make decisions about who gets paid and who doesn't, especially when he has deep conflicts of interest with so many other competitors who are also receiving government contracts from us."
Several other Democrats have also introduced the CLEAR Act, which would make DOGE subject to the same degree of transparency and scrutiny as other agencies.
The act clarifies that temporary organizations created under 5 USC 3161, like DOGE, are subject to FOIA.
"Given the breadth of power these organizations wield, they should be subject to the same standard of scrutiny and public information sharing that other agencies are beholden to because the American public deserves transparency," a statement from the office of Congressman Dave Min read.