'DOGE' operates unchecked at multiple agencies, Senate report finds. Here's what it recommends to protect Americans' data.

By Jessica Hall

Report from Sen. Gary Peters calls for audit of 'DOGE' operations, seeks to curtail its activities

"DOGE" has adopted a maximalist approach to numerous departments and agencies after nominally having been tasked with finding waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.

Staff with the "Department of Government Efficiency" are operating with "unchecked" access to American's personal data across multiple government agencies, according to a Senate report released Thursday that makes several recommendations to rein in and audit their activities.

The report by Sen. Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat and ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, described how personnel with the months-old entity are operating without oversight or accountability at the Social Security Administration, the General Services Administration and the Office of Personnel Management.

"DOGE," formerly overseen by tech billionaire and Tesla (TSLA) Chief Executive Elon Musk, was charged with tackling waste, fraud and abuse in the government. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Peters report.

"DOGE isn't making government more efficient - it's putting Americans' sensitive information in the hands of completely unqualified and untrustworthy individuals," Peters said in a statement Thursday. "They are bypassing cybersecurity protections, evading oversight and putting Americans' personal data at risk. We cannot allow this shadow operation to continue operating unchecked while millions of people face the threat of identity theft, economic disruption and permanent harm."

Peters called for inspectors general to conduct an audit of DOGE's access to sensitive data systems at these agencies.

Peters said investigations by his staff, as well as whistleblower accounts, found that DOGE personnel are working without any accountability to agency leadership, congressional oversight or the public. His staff conducted visits to the agencies after numerous formal requests for information went unanswered.

For example, at the Office of Personnel Management, agency leaders denied the presence of DOGE - contradicting their own statements in court - and were unaware or unwilling to share basic details about the agency's organization and staffing.

At the Social Security Administration, DOGE staff failed to meet required cybersecurity and privacy standards before copying sensitive personal information to a new cloud-computing location, Peters' report said, citing a whistleblower's account.

The Social Security Administration reiterated its previous denial of the whistleblower's account and said the sensitive personal information of all Americans with a Social Security number remains secure, and added that "there are no DOGE employees at SSA, only SSA employees."

OPM spokesperson McLaurine Pinover said the agency takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard federal personnel records.

"This report recycles unfounded claims about so-called 'DOGE teams' that simply have never existed at OPM. Federal employees at OPM conduct their work in line with longstanding law, security, and compliance requirements," Pinover said.

Representatives from the General Services Administration did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The report suggests that countries that seek to launch cyberattacks on the U.S., including Russia, China and Iran, are aware of these weaknesses. The likelihood of a data breach with "catastrophic adverse effect" is between 35% and 65%, according to the Peters report, which cited the whistleblower's disclosure.

Peters made several recommendations, such as shutting down the new cloud environment at SSA and auditing the use of the cloud environment to determine whether any data breaches or data manipulation occurred.

Other recommendations included revoking all DOGE access to any personally identifiable information across the federal government until agencies certify that all agency personnel were in compliance with federal laws.

Additionally, agency leadership must ensure that DOGE employees are taking direction from senior agency officials and are not receiving orders from people outside their assigned agency or outside the government, the report said.

"Given the unacceptable risk posed by DOGE activities already known to have occurred at SSA and other agencies, the administration should immediately terminate DOGE personnel access to any personally identifiable information and any other sensitive data across the federal government," Peters said in the report.

Read next:Social Security is on track to be insolvent in less than 10 years - but its commissioner says there's 'plenty of time' to find a solution

Opinion: These Trump policies put your retirement at risk. Here's how to plan for the worst.

Social Security checks could increase 2.8% in 2026 as more seniors face poverty

-Jessica Hall

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-26-25 1126ET