President Trump on Friday lamented how the U.S. does no longer have “very good security” when discussing how Elon Musk and the Division of Govt Potency (DOGE) received get right of entry to to delicate federal knowledge this week.
When requested why DOGE wishes get right of entry to to American’s private knowledge like Social Safety numbers, Trump mentioned, “Well, it doesn’t. But they get it very easily.”
“I mean, we don’t have very good security in our country,” the president endured at a press convention Friday along Japan’s High Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
The observation comes as Musk and his DOGE workforce face scrutiny in courts and by way of some Democrats over how a lot get right of entry to they have got to American citizens’ private knowledge and delicate federal fee programs as they search to slash federal forms.
Reviews surfaced final week that DOGE workers accessed vital fee programs and compelled out a three-decade veteran of the Treasury Division.
The New York Occasions reported Thursday the Treasury Division’s leader of group of workers was once pushing to make use of get right of entry to to the fee device as a way to freeze bills for the U.S. Company for Global Construction.
The White Area and Treasury Division maintained the management is carrying out a overview of the Fiscal Carrier and that DOGE workers will simplest be capable to apply, no longer alternate, bills being made during the company.
Two DOGE staffers got “read-only” get right of entry to to extremely delicate fee programs on the Treasury Division, the company maintained, however a lot of experiences prompt certainly one of them had the power to rewrite the fee device base code.
The Division of Justice agreed Wednesday to restrict the collection of workers affiliated with DOGE who’ve get right of entry to to a delicate federal fee device.
Beneath the order, two staffers had been accepted to have get right of entry to to the Fiscal Carrier however will be unable to edit or make adjustments to the device, which manages 90 % of federal bills.
Musk and his DOGE allies driven ahead this week on an competitive marketing campaign to slash federal forms and spending. On his first day in place of business, Trump issued a federal executive hiring freeze, and hundreds of staff had been introduced deferred resignation programs.