Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said Thursday Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers are now examining the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), warning against access to U.S. taxpayer data.
Democrats have sounded the alarm over DOGE and its leader, Elon Musk, attempting to overhaul the U.S. Agency for International Development, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and gain access into the Treasury Department’s payment system.
“My office is hearing that DOGE is now at the IRS. That means Musk’s henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America,” Wyden wrote in a Thursday post on the social platform X.
“And if your refund is delayed, they could very well be the reason.”
Sources familiar with the matter said a top DOGE employee arrived at the IRS headquarters to review operations and meet with senior executives at the tax-collecting agency, according to Reuters.
Reuters also reported that senior executives at the IRS were instructed in an email on Thursday to identify all “non-essential” contracts for termination.
“Consistent with the goals and directives of the Trump administration to eliminate waste, reduce spending, and increase efficiency, GSA [General Services Administration] has taken the first steps in a government-wide initiative to eliminate non-essential consulting contracts,” the email says.
President Trump responded to reports of DOGE embedding itself at the IRS on Thursday afternoon.
“I think that the Internal Revenue Service will be looked at like everybody else just about everybody is going to be looked at. They’re [DOGE} doing a hell of a job, it’s an amazing job they’re doing,” Trump said of the effort.
