Warren, Blumenthal, Garcia Launch Investigation into DOGE Employees Embedding Into Top Government Roles
Trump Administration may have violated civil service laws by converting DOGE employees to permanent federal workers
"Although Elon Musk has departed, his influence remains, as DOGE and its employees attempt to become a permanent part of the federal government"
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), wrote to the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor and Office of Management and Budget Director Rusell Vought, demanding answers about the extent to which Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) employees have been appointed to key positions across government agencies and to help determine whether the conversion of these DOGE employees could be in violation of civil service laws.
In recent months, reports have emerged of DOGE employees converting into full-time federal workers at the Social Security Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and other agencies.
“Although Elon Musk has departed, his influence remains, as DOGE and its employees attempt to become a permanent part of the federal government, scattered across agencies where they can continue to sabotage key functions from within,” the lawmakers warned.
The conversion of DOGE appointees to career roles–even as most agencies remain under a hiring freeze–could violate laws that explicitly ban political considerations and loyalty tests in hiring. Additionally, it is unclear who newly embedded DOGE staff report to and if they truly serve within the chain of command of the agencies they work for.
“(T)he Trump Administration’s hiring of DOGE affiliates to career positions appears to be influenced by overtly political and loyalty-based considerations, putting the effectiveness of the federal government in jeopardy and raising questions about compliance with civil service laws,” wrote the lawmakers.
DOGE failed to lower costs for Americans–instead, it degraded public services and created more waste and inefficiency. The lawmakers reminded OPM and OMB of these failures, and sounded the alarm about the significant conflicts of interests that DOGE employees have with Musk’s companies, raising doubts about their ability to serve the American public’s interests.
“The embedding of DOGE employees is part of a larger, disturbing trend of corruption in the Trump Administration, with individuals and corporations that appear to have done political or financial favors for the President given special treatment, and the President and other executive branch officials—including Elon Musk and other DOGE appointees—serving in important policy positions despite having significant financial conflicts of interest.” wrote the lawmakers.
The lawmakers urged the agencies to implement accountability structures and halted the conversion of DOGE employees to permanent federal positions. They also requested answers about how these personnel decisions were made by August 20, 2025.
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