Are cutbacks by President Trump and Elon Musk constitutional?

Protesters and Democratic lawmakers rallied outside the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday night, voicing alarm over what they said was Elon Musk's takeover of several federal agencies and his reported access to data that could include Americans' personal information.

"We're here today because an un-elected billionaire and his team have been given full and unfettered access to our taxpayer money and our government," U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Florida) said. "We need to provide oversight to Elon Musk and his team. "

At a news conference, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced plans to introduce legislation that would stop Musk from meddling in Treasury Department payment systems. He was joined by Democratic senators Patty Murray, Elizabeth Warren, and Ron Wyden.

"Donald Trump gave DOGE access to America's personal tax refund data. He gave DOGE access to people's Medicare and Medicaid benefits, disability payment data, veteran benefit data. Worst of all, we don't know what DOGE intends to do with this information," Schumer said.

The Trump administration said Tuesday that no classified material has been accessed. 

Republicans control both houses of Congress, and it is unclear to what extent President Trump's own party will use traditional avenues of committee oversight to put checks and balances on the actions of Musk, who is an un-elected, but increasingly powerful figure within the Trump administration.

"We've got oversight. If he goes too far, I'll be the first person to step up if he went too far," Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) said.

Democratic lawmakers say lawsuits are being prepared to challenge Musk's and President Trump's actions that seek to cut off funding to departments in the name of improving government efficiency.

"What they are doing is not permitted under our constitutional system of government," U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, (D-San Jose) said. "Two, three more lawsuits were filed this afternoon. I think we're going to have a very large number of cases."

"He clearly has a conflict of interest. I'll just give you a quick example. He has SpaceX, and they launched a rocket in Texas without getting a permit. And the rocket exploded, and it polluted a wildlife refuge," Lofgren said. "He has very large contracts with the Department of Defense for communications, so the ethical conflicts are pretty apparent."

President Trump's executive order on Jan. 20, declared the United States Digital Service, which was created by President Obama in 2014 to improve and update government technology for efficiency, would be renamed the United States Department Of Government Efficiency.

The White House says Musk is the head, as a special government employee or SGE.

"What it means is you have a short-term contract, of I think, the maximum is supposed to be four months," said constitutional law professor Daniel Farber at UC Berkeley School of Law. "There's controversy around experts in the field about whether there are limits on what people in that position can do."

Farber said Musk's and the president's actions are moving into unchartered legal territory.

"A congressional statute called the Impoundment Act limits what the president can do," Farber said. "The Supreme Court has not ruled on whether it was constitutional, but they have ruled on its application without indicating any doubts about whether it's constitutional. I think the large majority of experts believe the statue is constitutional and Trump has to follow it."

The official government website doge.gov is blank.

Instead, Musk has created a Department of Government Efficiency account on his own social media company X.  It has a long list of posts detailing the federal government spending cuts Musk says he has enacted.

"It's for his personal benefit. He's stealing information as well as business opportunities from competitors. And the president has to stop it," said Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut).

Lofgren saied her office has been hearing of funding freezes on scientific research and other areas. She urges people to contact her or their local representative to alert them of any concerns. 
 

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