February 15, 2025
The Honorable Mark Warner
The Honorable Tim Kaine
The Honorable Eugene Vindman
Dear Senators Warner and Kaine and Representative Vindman,
As your constituent, I am writing to ask you to ensure the government is protecting our privacy by demanding a stop to DOGE’s unauthorized access to our most personal information.
DOGE’s access to databases at Treasury, Health and Human Services, and other agencies raises serious concerns about their compliance with legal requirements that ensure executive agencies are responsible stewards of our data. I am also concerned about the Trump administration’s flouting of long-standing legal requirements and how this could break down the checks and balances that protect our rights.
DOGE must not illegally access, analyze, or misuse our private financial, medical, and personal records for political purposes. I am deeply concerned that this agency might have forced its way into the government’s most tightly protected databases and systems, without consideration of the longstanding privacy safeguards mandated by the Privacy Act of 1974, the Internal Revenue Code, and other laws.
Abuse of data and governmental procedures opens the door for wider abuses, including unconstitutional impoundment of funds, dismantling programs that help everyday Americans, corrupt use of sensitive confidential information for personal gain, and mass government surveillance.
As your constituent, I urge you to conduct immediate oversight into DOGE’s actions and fight back against these intrusive privacy invasions.
Sincerely,
James Landrith
Woodbridge, VA
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Sent via ACLU.
February 20, 2025
Rep. Eugene Vindman
Washington DC Office
1005 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2815
Woodbridge District Office
2241D Tacketts Mill Dr.
Woodbridge, VA 22192
Phone: (703) 987-2180
Dear Mr. Landrith,
Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts and concerns about the rapid executive actions that President Trump and Elon Musk are taking. I appreciate the opportunity to hear your thoughts on these critical issues.
President Trump has deployed an unelected billionaire, Elon Musk, into federal agencies to attack the infrastructure that ensures Social Security and Medicare payments go out on time, farmers receive their crop insurance, consumers are protected from fraudsters, scientists have the resources to research and cure diseases like cancer, and American soft-power is deployed around the globe. In short, we are witnessing an unprecedented and likely illegal seizure of power. This is exactly what President Trump promised to do in Project 2025. As former Trump advisor, Steve Bannon, explained, they plan on moving so quickly that it’s at “muzzle velocity.”
Make no mistake, moving at lightning speed is deliberate. Trump is well aware that many of his proposals – for example ending birthright citizenship despite the 14th Amendment – are downright unconstitutional. However, his calculation is likely that by flooding the zone he can ensure that as many changes as possible happen before courts try to stop him. Already, we have seen Musk illegally dismantle USAID. This will create a power vacuum across the globe that China will readily fill. Musk has also offered federal employees a false choice – quit now and receive a buyout or stay on at risk of a future layoff and receive nothing. This buyout offer is likely illegal. Actions like these will further weaken our ability to deliver services to the American people and keep our country safe.
Let’s be clear about what Trump is not doing. He is not doing anything to lower costs for hard working families across the country. Prices at grocery stores remain too high. Inflation is on the rise. Housing inventory remains too low. Instead, his policies prioritize the interests of the wealthy and large corporations, leaving the middle-class Americans to face real economic challenges without relief or support.
As your Representative, I will continue working to fight for policies that will serve the American people – policies that lower costs, support veterans, and combat the fentanyl epidemic ravaging our communities. Recently, I joined my colleagues at USAID to demand accountability from this administration, calling for transparency and answers regarding the dismantling of essential programs. Additionally, my team and I hosted a virtual town hall for federal employees in the district, where they had the opportunity to voice their concerns and ask questions about the future of federal work. I’ve also cosponsored legislation that would stop people with conflicts of interest or without a security clearance from accessing sensitive data, the Taxpayer Data Protection Act (H.R. 1101).
If you’d like to stay informed on important updates about my policies, town halls, and ongoing efforts to combat this administration’s actions, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter and follow me on social media. By doing so, you’ll receive timely updates on issues that matter most to you and your community.
Thank you again for contacting me. I want you to know that I will continue working to uphold the rule of law, protect federal investments in our communities, and lower prices for families across Virginia. As we continue to monitor this administrations’ latest actions and plans, I ask that you continue your advocacy and reach out to my office if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Congressman Eugene Vindman
Member of Congress
February 22, 2025
Dear Mr. Landrith,
Thank you for contacting me regarding Elon Musk and the so-called U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”). I appreciate your interest in this important matter.
I am alarmed by reports that Elon Musk and his associates gained access to U.S. Department of Treasury systems that control payments to millions of American citizens, including Social Security payments, Medicare payments, and tax refunds.
The Department of Treasury houses the U.S. Government’s central payment systems and is responsible for overseeing $6 trillion in payments annually, covering 87 percent of all federal payments. These payments include critical government functions like the distribution of Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for federal workers and tax refunds. Treasury is also responsible for paying interest on the national debt, and ensuring the U.S. Government does not breach the debt ceiling.
Along with processing the actual payments, Treasury also maintains highly sensitive personal data on millions of Americans, including Social Security numbers, bank account information, and tax information. On account of the sensitive nature of the data held, Treasury has historically limited access to a small group of civil servants who require access to maintain the system’s integrity.
I have called on the Committees on Finance and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to immediately hold hearings requiring Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to explain to the Senate, under oath, exactly what is taking place.
I have long supported efforts, legislative and otherwise, to improve government efficiency, but allowing unknown individuals access to the incredibly sensitive payment system of the Department of Treasury goes way outside of the scope of government efficiency. No private company would let unscreened individuals into their payment book or provide access to private banking information about their customers, because their reputation would be ruined and no one would want to do business with them. Allowing Mr. Musk’s team to access this system raises enormous reputational risk to the full faith and credit of the United States.
The access to the payment system by Musk’s team also raises enormous risks to our national security. It is unclear as of yet whether any of these individuals hold the proper security clearances to safely and legally access this data. Along with holding sensitive information about Americans, someone with access to Treasury’s payment system could view funding streams for covert actions carried out by the United States overseas. If uncleared individuals were to publish this information, the lives of Americans and our allies would be directly at risk.
At a Banking Committee hearing held on February 5, 2025, I urged my colleagues not to sit silently by while unscreened individuals gain access to sensitive information through the Department of Treasury’s payment systems. To view my comments at the hearing you may visit: https://www.banking.senate.gov/hearings/investigating-the-real-impacts-of-debanking-in-america.
These issues go beyond who happens to be president or what political party is in control of Congress, and I am committed to standing up against any government official in a principled way if they try to go beyond the boundaries of the law.
You may be assured that I will continue to press the Trump Administration for answers to exactly who has access to Department of Treasury systems and exactly what they are doing with that access.
Sincerely,
MARK R. WARNER
United States Senator