🏛️GAO warns DOGE access to Treasury systems violates Federal Financial Management Act

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy receive administrative privileges to Treasury databases containing trillions in spending data, operating outside traditional security clearance and accountability requirements. The Department of Government Efficiency functions as a shadow budget office with access to sensitive financial information but no congressional oversight or public transparency.

DOGE identifies programs for elimination that presidents then defund through administrative action, bypassing legislative appropriation authority. Musk's suggestions transform into policy without congressional votes when executive agencies implement spending reductions based on outside recommendations from unelected private citizens with massive conflicts of interest.

Musk's companies benefit from billions in federal contracts while he simultaneously controls the efficiency process that determines which programs face cuts. Tesla subsidies, SpaceX contracts, and Starlink funding remain protected while competitors lose government support through recommendations from their primary business rival.

DOGE frames social services, environmental protection, and regulatory enforcement cuts as waste reduction rather than policy choices. Americans lose essential government programs through efficiency metrics rather than honest democratic debates about the proper role and scope of federal government responsibilities.