On Thursday, House Democrats unveiled a new bill aimed at protecting taxpayers’ sensitive financial information from Elon Musk and his government efficiency team.
The legislation, sponsored by Reps. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), directly responds to the Trump administration’s controversial decision to grant Musk’s team access to the Treasury Department’s payment system.
Critics, including Democrats, have strongly opposed the move, accusing President Trump of allowing an unelected billionaire with multiple business interests to access troves of confidential financial records. Musk’s new role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
While the full scope of Musk’s intentions with the data remains unclear, many are alarmed that privacy protections previously taken for granted are being compromised.
“Why do Elon Musk and his minions need access to the names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birthdates, and bank account information of millions of Americans?” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) asked reporters. “Why does he need that information? What are they doing with it? And why aren’t House Republicans stopping them?”
Musk, focused on cost-cutting measures, has targeted the government’s payment system, claiming it fails to adequately screen for erroneous or fraudulent payments. Following his request, the Treasury Department granted his team access last weekend to review the system.
The new Democratic bill would restrict access to individuals with appropriate expertise, security clearances, and other qualifications that critics argue Musk and his team lack.
“The actions that Musk and his IT goons have taken … very clearly illegal but so far unprosecuted actions — have already compromised millions of Americans’ privacy and data security,” Casten said. “And if you want to understand how nervous we should all be, think about how hard Donald Trump worked to protect his tax returns from becoming public — even under a legitimate subpoena from the House of Representatives.”
While the bill stands little chance of passing in a Republican-controlled House, where GOP leaders support Musk’s actions, Democratic leaders hope it will gain backing from some Republicans and highlight divisions within the party over Trump’s agenda.
“We know that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are just as outraged as we are, but they have to keep quiet out of fear of retribution from the MAGA extremists,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters. “We only need three Republicans with the courage of their convictions to join our efforts to protect the American people from this extreme and illegal overreach.”
This bill is just one aspect of the Democrats’ multifaceted push to counter Trump’s recent executive actions. They also plan to launch an aggressive public communications campaign and collaborate with outside groups, including Democratic-led states, to coordinate lawsuits.
“It’s an all-hands-on-deck approach on behalf of hardworking American taxpayers,” Jeffries said. “Legislation, litigation, mobilization, communication with the American people — and that’s what we’re engaging in.”
Democratic leaders, along with rank-and-file members, appear united in their stance. The Ways and Means Committee has already condemned Trump and Musk for their attempt to access the federal payment system.
Earlier, members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) held an event calling on the party to take action to remove Musk from his role. They warned that without intervention, Musk would undermine federal programs that support the working class, diverting savings into tax cuts for corporations and billionaires like himself.
“We’re going to use every legislative, judicial and public pressure tool at our disposal as members of Congress, until we fire Elon Musk,” said Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the CPC.
Casar emphasized that CPC members are prepared to withhold support for crucial legislation, such as bills to prevent a government shutdown, if Republicans continue to allow Musk to operate without oversight. This threat is significant, as GOP leaders will need Democratic votes to pass federal spending bills this year.
“My entire time in Congress, I’ve never seen Republicans be able to pass a budget [by themselves], and they always come crawling to Democrats for help,” Casar said. “Well, we are not going to help Republicans keep Elon Musk stealing our taxpayer dollars. We are not going to help those Republicans that want to keep Elon Musk in charge of the entire federal government. We are not going to help Republicans allow Elon Musk to break the law, shred our Constitution, while he makes billions of dollars in wealth for himself.”
