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Two Democratic leaders in Congress are warning the Federal Reserve and other financial regulatory agencies not to cooperate with staff members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) while the Trump administration is requesting employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to justify hundreds of its contracts.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services, sent a letter to Fed Chairman Jerome Power and the heads of three regulatory agencies – the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency – urging them not to share internal data with DOGE employees.

“Early evidence suggests the Trump Administration and DOGE are violating the US Constitution and a variety of laws,” the lawmakers wrote, claiming without evidence that the DOGE workers were being reckless with confidential data at the agencies they were auditing.

“Given the sensitive data each of your agencies maintain as well as the critical payment infrastructure that the Federal Reserve operates, we urge that you and your staff do not aid and abet this kind of  unconstitutional and unlawful conduct should you receive any request to do so by DOGE or other officials,” the lawmakers continued, adding that the regulators were to contact them “immediately if you or your staff receive any contact from DOGE officials or any other official making these types of requests.”

Over at HUD, NPR reports the Trump administration asked department employees to fill out a spreadsheet that will whether third-party contracts would be considered as “critical.” The administration stressed that it wanted to determine if the contracts include a DEI component and if the contractors were considered to be competent.

The HUD staff was also asked to name a “contract champion within the bureau who will personally vouch for the answers.”

Photo of Sen. Elizabeth Warren by Gage Skidmore / Flickr Creative Commons

 

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