DOGE targets child support database full of income data

Associates of Elon Musk’s group provoked yet another clash with career civil servants over sensitive #government records
https://archive.is/HBz70#selection-517.0-521.119

"Elon Musk’s #DOGE team has clashed with civil servants over... #information or systems kept by the #Treasury Dept, #IRS and #SocialSecurity Admn, among other agencies.

Earlier this week, however, DOGE... targeted... perhaps the most sensitive of all"

#DOGE has sought access to a powerful database of nearly all US workers’ earnings kept by the #health dept’s #ChildSupport office, setting off another disagreement w/career staff over demands for legally #protected records, acc/to 4 people familiar w/the matter.

Over the last several weeks, #billionaire #ElonMusk’s team has clashed w/ #CivilServants over attempts to #access privileged #information or systems kept by the #Treasury Dept, #IRS & #SocialSecurity, among other agencies.

…2 NY federal judges -- US District Judges Paul Engelmayer & Jeannette Vargas -- are receiving extra security after their rulings blocked staff from the #Musk-driven #DOGE from accessing sensitive #Treasury Dept data…

Another person familiar w/the judicial security environment said several federal judges in the DC area had received pizzas sent anonymously to their homes, which is being interpreted by #law enforcement as a form of #intimidation meant to convey that a target’s address is known.

#Trump’s #US #Treasury Secretary #ScottBessent says the rare #minerals *deal* [#extortion] with #Ukraine is in limbo for now. “I think we have to see if President #Zelensky wants to proceed,” he said on “Face the Nation” on CBS. “What’s the use in having an economic agreement that’s going to be rendered moot if he wants the fighting to continue?”

Just take everything Trump people say & flip it.

Read: “…if Trump wants to proceed…” & “…if #Putin wants the fighting to continue…”

Musk In Your Computers: An Interview With Nathan Tankus

On risks to #democracy nobody even thought about
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/musk-in-your-computers-an-interview

"One person who did realize it, however, was #NathanTankus — an independent expert on the financial “plumbing” at the Federal Reserve & #Treasury Dept... His blog Notes on the Crises [ https://www.crisesnotes.com/ ] has become crucial reading — & he may have helped steer us, temporarily at least, away from the edge of the abyss"

"The #AppointmentsClause of the #Constitution requires that principal officers be nominated by the president & confirmed by the #Senate...

When #DOGE officials provide high-level policy direction to a high-ranking employee at #Treasury, are they exercising significant authority & discretion? If so, does that make them “officers” under the Appointments Clause? Were they nominated by the president & confirmed by the Senate?"
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/who-is-running-the-u.s.-doge-service

US District Judge Christopher R. Cooper, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, ruled against the National #Treasury Employees #Union & 4 other #labor organizations that requested a temporary halt to the #Trump / #ElonMusk #MassFirings while a lawsuit challenging them is pending. More than half a million federal workers could lose their #jobs through the Trump admin’s firings & a separate program of deferred resignations, or buyouts, the unions said in legal filings.

Krause also said he performs the duties of the fiscal assistant secretary, managing the government’s accounting, central payment systems & public debts [so, everything?]. He is the #Treasury’s only #DOGE affiliate, after his colleague resigned when #racist social media posts resurfaced, acc/to his declaration.

The judge zeroed in on 3 #DOGE staffers in leadership positions — #TomKrause, #AdamRamada & #GregHogan — who described their work in court filings.

Krause, a tech executive & team lead of DOGE’s #Treasury outpost, wrote in a declaration that his unpaid role is to use technology to make the agency “more effective, more efficient, & more responsive” to #Trump’s policy goals. [not vague at all /s]

6 Americans & a handful of #union orgs sued the Dept of #Treasury, Dept of #Education & #OPM over personally identifiable info in the systems to which #DOGE has gained access.

The challengers claim DOGE’s actions violate the #Privacy Act of 1974, which was passed in response to the #Watergate scandal & provides safeguards against privacy violations. In court filings, they accused the agencies of “abandoning their duties as guardians & gatekeepers” of millions of Americans’ sensitive info.

“What I know is that #DOGE wanted access to #SSA’s sensitive files — the same way they’re trying to do at #Labor & #Treasury — & the acting commissioner wouldn’t give it, & she was replaced,” said Nancy Altman, president of #SocialSecurity Works….

#ElonMusk has increasingly turned his attention to Social Security in recent days, arguing that the program is rife with fraud & erroneous payments without offering evidence for his claim.

#ElonMusk’s associates already sought access to records that are typically closely held across the federal #government, prompting disputes w/senior officials across numerous #FederalAgencies. The highest-ranking civil servant at the #Treasury Dept recently resigned after refusing to grant #DOGE access to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, which manages >$5R in annual payments.

We confronted Speaker Johnson over #DOGE. His response is cause for concern.

This is not a time where business as usual can be our strategy.
https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/doge-elon-musk-treasury-speaker-johnson-payment-rcna191945

By Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) and Rep. Gwen Moore (WI-4)

"As members of the #House Ways & Means Committee, which is responsible for oversight of the #Treasury Dept, we are calling on our #Republican colleagues to work with us to investigate [Doge actions]...

So far, none have."