Elon Musk and DOGE for MAGA, But There’s a Hurdle
Updated: Feb 11
Key Highlights
A US District Judge has blocked complete access for Elon Musk and DOGE to the US Treasury data.
DOGE only has limited access till next hearing which is on February 20, 2025.
Elon Musk has alleged a $50B treasury fraud.
Elon Musk and DOGE are on the MAGA mission. An acronym for Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE was established to consult the US Government on improving its efficiency. A brief outline was tabled before Donald Trump assumed the Presidential office. One of them was cutting unnecessary expenditures. Elon Musk bravely endorsed this idea and embarked on the said mission.
However, DOGE, in its initial days, has faced a setback. This includes gaining access to treasury department data.
Setback for Elon Musk and DOGE
A US District Judge Paul Englemayer has blocked complete access to US treasury department data. This has been done in response to a lawsuit filed by 19 Democratic state attorney generals. According to a report by Times of India, a lawsuit has been filed to restrict DOGE's access as it violates federal laws pertaining to sensitive data.
The restriction is currently temporary and a hearing is scheduled for February 20, 2025. Elon Musk is refusing to take a backseat and has alleged a major fraud which is worth approximately $50 billion. Tesla CEO has detailed this allegation in his X post.
He has highlighted that three points were jointly agreed upon by DOGE and the US Treasury. First, government payments would have a categorization code for seamless financial audits. Second, the comment field of payments would have a rationale for the payment to explain the reason behind it. Third, the Do-Not-Pay list of entities should be updated at least every week, if not daily.
Elon Musk has further highlighted in his X post that payments of more than $100 billion are being made to individuals who have no Social Security Number (SSN) or a temporary ID number. If accurate, he wrote, then this is extremely suspicious.
When a follower asked why the department hadn’t done anything before, Elon Musk said that nobody cared enough. He has credited the working people who wanted to do something about it but were disabled to take any action by prior management.
Elon Musk-Led DOGE on MAGA Mission
Donald Trump was more than clear about establishing DOGE and giving its charge to Elon Musk. The objective was, or rather is, to help the US Government save money and be more efficient with its operations. The most recent action taken by DOGE was the termination of 199 contracts through the coordination of 35 agencies. This has helped the US save approximately $250 million.
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Previously, the Department of Education terminated three DEI training grants worth almost $15 million. Another saving comes to around $1 million, as the Social Security Administration terminated the contract for the Gender X initiative marker.
What’s Next for Elon Musk and DOGE?
Specifically for the ongoing case about access to treasury department data, DOGE will have limited access to it at least till February 20, 2025. Elon Musk is determined to continue highlighting the agreement with the department, and verbalizing ways to make things work. Come Feb 20, and there will be more developments in this story.
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