Kelly, Senate Intelligence Committee Members Sound Alarm About ‘DOGE’ Risk to National Security and Americans Privacy
Today, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) alongside Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and Senate Committee on Intelligence colleagues sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles about the risks to our national security of allowing unvetted DOGE staff and representatives to access classified and sensitive government materials.
The Senators demanded that the administration provide details to Congress about how DOGE staff and representatives are being vetted, which systems, records and information are being shared, and what steps the administration is taking to safeguard them from misuse or disclosure.
“According to press reports, DOGE inspectors already have gained access to classified materials, including intelligence reports, at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), sensitive government payment systems, including for Social Security and Medicare, at the Treasury Department, and federal personnel data from the Office of Personnel Management. Further, as of today the scope of DOGE’s access only seems to be expanding, as reports indicate DOGE has now entered the Department of Labor and other agencies,” the senators wrote. “No information has been provided to Congress or the public as to who has been formally hired under DOGE, under what authority or regulations DOGE is operating, or how DOGE is vetting and monitoring its staff and representatives before providing them seemingly unfettered access to classified materials and Americans’ personal information.”
The senators added, “As you know, information is classified to protect the national security interests of the United States. Government employees and contractors only receive access to such information after they have undergone a rigorous background investigation and demonstrated a ‘need to know.’ Circumventing these requirements creates enormous counterintelligence and security risks. For example, improper access to facilities and systems containing security clearance files of Intelligence Community personnel puts at risk the safety of the men and women who serve this country. In addition, unauthorized access to classified information risks exposure of our operations and potentially compromises not only our own sources and methods, but also those of our allies and partners. If our sources, allies, and partners stop sharing intelligence because they cannot trust us to protect it, we will all be less safe.”
The senators also raised alarms about the privacy implications of allowing an unknown number of DOGE staff to access unclassified systems containing information about individual American taxpayers and organizations.
Wrote the senators, “Unclassified government systems also contain sensitive data, the unintended disclosure of which could result in significant harm to individuals or organizations, including financial loss, identity theft, and exposure of medical and other private personal information. The U.S. Treasury payment systems, in particular, are used to disburse trillions of dollars each year, and contain everyday Americans’ personal information, such as Social Security numbers, home addresses, and bank accounts. Allowing DOGE access to this information raises unprecedented risks to Americans’ private personal and financial information.”
Finally, the senators also noted that there are strict cybersecurity controls in place for federal networks which DOGE does not seem to be following, including by reportedly connecting personal devices to sensitive government systems.
“Such unregulated practices with our government’s most sensitive networks render Americans’ personal and financial information, and our classified national secrets, vulnerable to ransomware and cyber-attacks by criminals and foreign adversaries. The recent unprecedented Salt Typhoon and Change Healthcare attacks that affected tens of millions of Americans further underscore the importance of rigorously fortifying our government systems,” the letter says.
In addition to Kelly and Warner, the letter was signed by Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Angus King (I-ME), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA).
The full text of the letter is available here.
