Description: In the latest development of activities within the novel Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk, several employees have gained unrestricted access to sensitive and classified information. The obtained access mostly concerned employees from the US Department of Treasury and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Concerns within the US Senate and intelligence community have been raised as the DOGE employees hadn’t passed even the preliminary security and background checks for them to have such access to databases with sensitive information. DOGE was formed in order to cut costs within Trump’s government and make operations more cost effective. Concerns over security breaches from China, Russia and Iran have been raised as the DOGE agents weren’t properly trained to handle classified information.
Impact: The untattered access that DOGE agents evidently have poses a paramount national security risk for the US government. DOGE was prematurely introduced as a novel department with little to no oversight, and apparent malpractices in background and security checks regarding their employees could cause irreparable damage to US interests, methods and sources across the entire government establishment. The US Senate should immediately react and propose or implement measures which could severely restrict access to sensitive information as the US is globally engaged and potential severe breaches could lead to China, Russia or Iran gaining significant upper hand on the global geopolitical scene.