The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly moving into the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to a March 28 Reuters report, Musk’s DOGE team contacted the SEC and was told it would be given access to the commission’s systems and data. The agency reportedly planned to establish a liaison team to work with the “efficiency” team, whose intentions were not immediately clear.
“Our intent will be to partner with the DOGE representatives and cooperate with their request following normal processes for ethics requirements, IT security or system training, and establishing their need to know before granting access to restricted systems and data,” said an email to SEC staff, according to Reuters.
US President Donald Trump in January signed an executive order allowing DOGE to implement cost-cutting measures, claiming efforts “to save taxpayers money.” However, many of Musk’s efforts — including attempting to fire staff at the US Agency for International Development, or USAID, and shutting down the watchdog Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — face lawsuits in federal court from parties alleging DOGE’s actions were illegal or unconstitutional.
Related: Can the law keep up with Musk and DOGE?
Many federal officials and lawmakers have expressed concern with Musk’s team’s seemingly “move fast and break things” approach to government. In his purge of the US government, he has allegedly fired thousands of federal workers, most of whom were ordered to be reinstated after a judge’s order on March 13. It’s unclear whether the DOGE team has the same plans for the SEC.
Cointelegraph spoke to SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who declined to comment on the report or confirm if she had received a similar email. Cointelegraph contacted Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda and Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Is new leadership coming to the SEC?
The US Senate Banking Committee will likely soon take a vote on whether to advance the nomination of Paul Atkins, Trump’s pick to chair the SEC. At a March 27 confirmation hearing, Atkins said he would “definitely” be willing to work with DOGE if confirmed as an SEC commissioner. Lawmakers also questioned his potential conflicts of interest with the crypto industry.
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