Musk's DOGE 'at the gates' of the SEC

Since its inception in January, the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency has wasted no time searching through various corners of the federal system in a stated effort to root out government waste.

And not even one month into its existence, it seems DOGE is ready to sink its teeth into the SEC, the federal watchdog set up to safeguard the integrity of the capital markets and protect investors from bad actors.

Citing two unnamed sources, a Politico article published Monday reported that DOGE is expected to begin a review of the SEC in the coming days, extending the Trump administration's broader push to scrutinize federal agencies for inefficiencies and potential regulatory overreach.

“They are at the gates,” one of the sources told Politico, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Musk's conflicts with the SEC

It is worth noting that Elon Musk himself has had a history of legal disputes with the agency. In the latest episode of that timeline, the SEC sued Musk last month for allegedly failing to properly disclose his acquisition of Twitter stock in 2022, claiming his actions resulted in investors being underpaid by more than $150 million.

In response to the mid-January lawsuit advanced by the SEC, which was still led by former chair Gary Gensler at the time, Musk blasted the SEC as a “Totally broken organization” in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

When asked by Politico, a spokesperson for the SEC declined to comment on the reported upcoming DOGE review. However, a Trump administration official assured Politico that Musk’s role is limited.

“Elon Musk is a special government employee and plays no direct role in the work of those working across the administration to identify, expose, and uproot waste, fraud, and abuse,” the spokesperson said, according to Politico.

Despite these assurances, some lawmakers have raised concerns over the potential implications of Musk’s involvement. Last week, Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, warned acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda that granting Musk’s team access to the agency’s systems could compromise critical financial data. Waters and Rep. Brad Sherman specifically pointed to the SEC’s Consolidated Audit Trail, a surveillance system tracking trading activity across US markets.

“Surrendering these data and information systems to the world’s richest man, who has already demonstrated his disregard for the rule of law, would have devastating consequences on the integrity and safety of American markets,” the lawmakers wrote.

Uyeda is currently leading the SEC in an interim capacity, with former commissioner Paul Atkins expected to take over pending confirmation. On the same day he ascended as interim chair, Uyeda announced the formation of a new crypto task force at the SEC, led by Commissioner Hester Peirce, which is in the early stages of creating a formal framework of regulation for the cryptocurrency industry in the US.

DOGE's IRS focus also raises concerns

DOGE, which has already turned its searchlights onto the IRS, has set up separate accounts on X dedicated to the IRS and the SEC, where it's issued a public call for "insights on finding and fixing waste, fraud and abuse" at the two agencies. Musk reposted messages from both accounts on Monday. 

As reported by The Hill, the DOGE team is seeking entry into the IRS Integrated Data Retrieval System, a platform used to access taxpayer accounts. As DOGE officials have moved from agency to agency, their interest in government technology infrastructure has raised concerns about data security and privacy protections.

Sen. Ron Wyden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote to acting IRS Commissioner Douglas O’Donnell on Monday, seeking details on any access DOGE personnel may have to IRS systems. They warned that tax code protections remain in effect regardless of executive actions.

“No executive order requiring agency heads to provide DOGE personnel access to IRS records or information technology systems supersedes the federal tax code,” the two Democrats wrote.

The senators also raised legal concerns, stating, “Software engineers working for Musk seeking to gain access to tax return information have no right to hoover up taxpayer data and send that data back to any other part of the federal government and may be breaking the law if they are doing so.”