Musk employees at DOGE have gained unprecedented access to the Treasury Department, but in a new move, they are now limited to ‘read-only’ permissions.
Attorneys from the DOJ have limited access to payment systems for Elon Musk and his employees.
DODGE, a non-government department, was faced with pushback after it was discovered that two DODGE engineers could read and write code on payment systems that process trillions of dollars each year, including federal tax returns and Social Security benefits.
Even a number of Republican senators began sounding the alarm over Musk’s gathering power.
For their part, Democrats say Musk’s infiltration of the federal government ‘amounts to a coup.’ Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, told the chamber on Tuesday that an unelected “shadow government” was ‘conducting a hostile takeover’ and ‘usurping Trump’s authority.
Some of the Musk hires are aged between 19 and 25, have no government experience and yet hold key government positions.
There was concern that DOGE’s control of Federal money could lead them to stop money going to specific federal agencies or individuals, depending on how Musk or Trump felt.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that DOGE is not allowed to write new code.