Fighting Back Against Unelected Billionaires’ Abuse of Power

February 04, 2025

Hello,

I know so many of us are concerned about how Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE hackers are ransacking their way through the government, unlawfully gaining unfettered access to Americans’ private information and gutting programs people depend on. As Republicans work to appease billionaires like Musk who financed their campaigns and ignore Trump’s blatant abuses of power – I am doing everything I can to fight back.

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So far, they’ve made their way into multiple agencies and are wreaking havoc – leaving a trail of mass layoffs behind them. They’ve infiltrated:

  • The Treasury Department’s sensitive payment system, giving them access to Americans’ Social Security numbers and Medicare payments, the federal government payroll, tax credits for small businesses, and more.

  • USAID, which supports education, job creation, and good governance initiatives. It’s also the agency that addresses the root cause of extremism, making it harder for terrorist organizations to recruit from vulnerable populations. DOGE’s demolition of this independent agency threatens our national security and undermines American credibility on the global stage.

  • And now they have reached the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or NOAA), which is the home of critical scientific and regulatory systems that protect American families’ safety.

Trump continues to leave Americans across the nation behind by ripping the rug out from under the programs they depend on most. No individual – and especially not an unelected billionaire – should be able to sift through Americans’ sensitive data and fire federal employees who stand in his way.

These efforts are more than a ploy to gain unfettered access to government systems – Musk is showing his willingness to steal from hardworking Americans and undermine our key institutions.

The American people deserve better than these illegal and overreaching government schemes, and I want to assure you that my team and I are working around the clock to investigate these actions, hear from local organizations, and fight back against this corruption.

I will continue to share any relevant information as we learn more. In the meantime, I want to hear from you.

Poll: Do you think unelected billionaires should have access to your sensitive data, including Social Security and Medicare payment systems? Yes/No

Whether you are angry, scared, or just overwhelmed, I want you to know you can count on me to push back in Congress and meet this moment. I’m open to any ideas you may have on how I can make the biggest difference, but here are some things I’ve been doing so far:

  1. Meeting with local and state organizations who are pursuing lawsuits against Trump’s illegal efforts

  1. Working to unite House Democrats on key votes and upcoming negotiations

  1. Calling out Trump’s betrayals on every platform and at every opportunity

  1. Increasing direct engagement with constituents to counteract local impacts of Trump’s Executive Orders

  1. I cosponsored the Taxpayer Data Protection Act, which would stop people with conflicts of interest or without a security clearance from accessing the highly sensitive Treasury Department payment system – which is responsible for Social Security and Medicare benefits.

I’ll continue to show up every day and use every tool at my disposal to stop Trump’s concerning initiatives. To keep up with the work I am doing as your representative, please subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter/ X, Instagram, and Threads.

Thank you, and stay well,

Jared Huffman
Member of Congress