Constitutional emergency': senior US Democrat demands inquiry into Musk's government blitz
Source: The Guardian
Fri 7 Feb 2025 07.00 EST
Last modified on Fri 7 Feb 2025 10.31 EST
Elon Musk’s blitz through the US federal government has triggered a “constitutional emergency”, a senior Democrat has warned, demanding the launch of an impartial investigation into billionaire tycoon’s access to sensitive data.
Robert C “Bobby” Scott, ranking member of the House committee on education and workforce and the Democratic leader on the committee, sounded the alarm over a “void of oversight” as the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge), led by the world’s richest man, accesses information within a string of agencies including the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services.
In a letter seen by the Guardian, Scott demanded that the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan federal watchdog agency, launch an immediate investigation into “interventions” by Musk and his team into the departments’ IT systems, the legality of such moves and what it means “for children and vulnerable workers”. “This is a constitutional emergency,” he wrote.
“Insofar as the Inspectors General of the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services have been fired by President Trump, there is now a void of oversight for a very young and inexperienced team and their leader, the world’s richest man … as they gain dangerously broad powers.” Scott calls for the agency to provide answers into the legality and impacts of Doge infiltrating private and sensitive data at these federal departments. It comes after senior Democrats on the House oversight committee demanded an investigation into potential national security breaches by the unit.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/07/bobby-scott-musk-doge-investigation
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