Elon Musk’s Doge pushes to access taxpayer data from IRS
Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) is making an unprecedented push for access to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that houses detailed financial information about every taxpayer, business and nonprofit in the US, raising alarms over privacy, security, and government overreach, The Washington Post reports.
According to the publication, Doge is requesting access to a classified IRS system that contains the sensitive personal financial records of millions of Americans.
The request, which is reportedly under review, would give Dodge officials “broad access to tax-agency systems, property and datasets. Among them is the Integrated Data Retrieval System, or IDRS, which enables tax agency employees to access IRS accounts — including personal identification numbers — and bank information,” the Washington Post reports.
A Trump administration official defended the move, stating that Doge staff are working to mission is to “eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, and improve government performance to better serve the people”.
Key events
The Kremlin said a US citizen briefly detained at a Moscow airport for allegedly travelling into Russia with cannabis-laced gummy sweets had been released ahead of Tuesday’s talks in Saudi Arabia aimed at improving ties, Agence France-Presse reports.
Asked about reports that a US citizen – identified as Kalob Wayne Byers – was released after being arrested on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “As on Tuesday the restoration of relations will be discussed, these events can be seen in that context.”
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Donald Trump wants the Supreme Court to allow him to fire the etchics chief who is head of the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers, AP reports.
The emergency appeal is the start of what probably will be a steady stream seeking to undo lower court rulings that have slowed his second term agenda.
The Justice Department’s filing obtained by AP asks the conservative-majority court to lift a judge’s order temporarily reinstating Hampton Dellinger as the leader of the Office of Special Counsel.
Dellinger was nominated by President Joe Biden and sued the Trump administration after he was fired by email this month.
Meanwhile in other developments:
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The Trump administration has halted the firings of hundreds of federal employees who were tasked with working on the nation’s nuclear weapons programmes, the Associated Press (AP) reports. Three US officials who spoke to AP said up to 350 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) were abruptly laid off late on Thursday. But by late Friday night, the agency’s acting director, Teresa Robbins, issued a memo rescinding the firings for all but 28. The hundreds let go at NNSA were part of a the “department of government efficiency” (Doge) purge across the Department of Energy that targeted about 2,000 employees.
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Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday he believes he could meet “very soon” with Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.Trump said he was working hard to achieve peace, and said he believes both Putin and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy want to stop fighting.
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Trump has been criticised for likening himself to Napoleon amid attacks on judges. The president posted on social media “he who saves his country does not violate any laws’ quote attributed to the French emperor. The post came at the end of another tumultuous week during which Trump acolytes questioned the legitimacy of judges making a succession of rulings to stall his administration’s aggressive seizure or dismantling of federal institutions and budgets.
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French president Emmanuel Macron has called leaders from key European Union nations and the United Kingdom to the Elysee Palace for an emergency meeting Monday to discuss how to deal with the Trump administration and step up plans to increase defence spending.
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US Secretary of State Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with Russian delegation in Riyadh on Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.
Elon Musk’s Doge pushes to access taxpayer data from IRS
Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) is making an unprecedented push for access to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that houses detailed financial information about every taxpayer, business and nonprofit in the US, raising alarms over privacy, security, and government overreach, The Washington Post reports.
According to the publication, Doge is requesting access to a classified IRS system that contains the sensitive personal financial records of millions of Americans.
The request, which is reportedly under review, would give Dodge officials “broad access to tax-agency systems, property and datasets. Among them is the Integrated Data Retrieval System, or IDRS, which enables tax agency employees to access IRS accounts — including personal identification numbers — and bank information,” the Washington Post reports.
A Trump administration official defended the move, stating that Doge staff are working to mission is to “eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, and improve government performance to better serve the people”.
