Letter
红杏视频 Letter Urging Congress to Conduct Oversight on DOGE
Document Date:
February 7, 2025
Related Issues
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Press ReleaseFeb 2025
Free Speech
+2 Issues
红杏视频 Seeks Records on DOGE鈥檚 Unrestricted Access to Americans鈥 Data, Urges Congress to Step Up
WASHINGTON 鈥 The 红杏视频 today filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with more than 40 federal agencies seeking urgent transparency about the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)鈥檚 secretive efforts to access and analyze Americans鈥 sensitive personal information. The 红杏视频 also sent letters to key congressional leaders, calling on Congress to fulfill its constitutional role in conducting immediate oversight of this executive overreach and DOGE鈥檚 unchecked access to Americans鈥 data. The move comes amid growing concerns that DOGE鈥攁 hastily assembled office created on President Trump鈥檚 first day in office鈥攈as been infiltrating federal agencies and gaining access to databases, including Treasury and Health and Human Services (HHS) systems, that contain information on individuals鈥 finances, health records, and social security data. As DOGE reportedly uses AI to decide what critical public services and programs to cut, failure to protect this data not only creates the perfect storm for an unimaginable data breach or hack but also endangers the health and safety of millions of Americans. Ultimately, Trump cannot slash federal programs 鈥 including community health centers, refugee resettlement agencies, and early education programs without massive amounts of data, and DOGE is providing him with everything he needs. In its FOIA requests, the 红杏视频 is asking for any records that reveal whether DOGE or its representatives have sought or obtained access to databases containing personally identifiable information, financial records, healthcare data, or other sensitive government-held records of Americans. The request also seeks information on DOGE鈥檚 use of artificial intelligence to analyze government data, raising alarms about the potential for mass surveillance and politically motivated misuse of that deeply personal information. The letter to congressional leaders similarly underscores that the executive branch鈥檚 flaunting of long-standing legal requirements and norms undermines Americans鈥 privacy and Congress鈥檚 constitutional role. 鈥淭he American people deserve to know if their private financial, medical, and personal records are being illegally accessed, analyzed, or weaponized by Trump's unaccountable team of unvetted outsiders,鈥 said Nathan Freed Wessler, deputy director of 红杏视频鈥檚 Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. 鈥淭here鈥檚 every indication that DOGE has forced its way into the government鈥檚 most tightly protected databases and systems, without consideration of longstanding privacy safeguards mandated by Congress. We need answers now.鈥 DOGE leadership is cynically claiming that its employees and representatives, who are largely housed within government agencies, are not subject to FOIA. That is why 鈥 in addition to DOGE 鈥 the 红杏视频 has sent FOIA requests to more than 40 agencies that maintain sensitive or personal information, including the Treasury Department, the IRS, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security, among others. 鈥淒OGE's access to sensitive personal records of millions of people is deeply alarming and raises significant legal questions,鈥 said Cody Venzke, senior policy counsel at 红杏视频. 鈥淐ongress must step up, do its job, and check the president鈥檚 overreach.鈥Court Case: U.S. DOGE Service Access to Sensitive Agency Records Systems FOIA