Doge gains the federal pay system on career staff objections

The members of the Elon Musk government efficiency department had access to a pay system over the weekend that treats wages of around 276,000 federal employees in dozens of agencies, according to two people familiar with the problem.

This decision rejected the objections of the higher IT staff who feared that this would compromise very sensitive information to government staff, including by making it more vulnerable to terrorist cyber attacks, these people said.

By accessing the system, which is hosted in the Interior Department, Doge Workers now have visibility on sensitive information from employees, such as social security numbers, and the ability to hire more easily and firefighter, according to the two people, who spoke under the cover of anonymity because they feared punishment.

The Doge Workers tried for about two weeks to obtain administrative access to the program, known as federal personnel and pay system, said the two people. The dispute reached its head on Saturday, while the Doge Workers obtained access and then placed two of the IT officials who had resisted them on administrative and investigation, people said.

This decision follows other DOGE efforts to access federal systems and databases, some of which have encountered resistance in the courts.

A spokesperson for the Interior Department, Kathryn Martin, said on Sunday in a statement: “We are working to execute the president’s directive to reduce costs and make government more effective for the American people and have taken measures to implement the decrees of President Trump.”