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Hijacking the Treasury Department and USAID apparently isn’t enough for Elon Musk, with reports swirling that he’s now set his sights on the Department of Labor. Those reports first emerged on social media, with one insider claiming yesterday that DOGE, the government efficiency program co-led by Musk, had begun targeting DOL workers and ordering them “to give DOGE access to whatever they ask for — or risk termination.”
At the time, a DOL worker was quoted saying that they had “to stop everything we’re doing and do whatever the DOGE” asks, a move which they said felt “dirty and illegal.”
Musk’s access to the DOL — the body responsible for promoting the well-being of workers was — the subject of a meeting held today between DOGE and DOL management, and has seen major labor unions file lawsuits to block Musk’s access to the department’s information systems. The billionaire’s proximity to the department is particularly concerning given that certain labor agencies within the DOL are currently investigating the practices of his companies, SpaceX and Tesla.
Gaining control within the DOL would also mean Musk has access to information regarding the competitors of his companies. In actioning these plans, one DOL worker claimed that low-level IT supervisors were asked to stay late in the offices to “assist with getting DOGE folks set up on our systems.” Thankfully, the maneuver — which follows Musk’s previous infringements on the Treasury Department and USAID — is being met with resistance, including a protest held outside of the DOL offices at the Frances Perkins Building in Washington DC.
Resistance has also arisen in lawsuits filed by major labor unions. This week, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations warned a federal judge that Musk’s encroachment on the DOL puts sensitive information at risk, conflicts with the department’s investigations into his companies. One such probe, led by the DOL branch of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, is investigating Tesla over a workplace death that occurred at one of its factories in Texas. Another sees Tesla in the midst of a civil investigation regarding workplace retaliation and racial discrimination at a California factory.
Along the way, Musk has responded to pushback against his schemes with signature trolling on X. In one post, he laughed at the so-called “DOGE Derangement Syndrome,” while another saw him agree with a post comparing himself and Trump to “a football team and chess club alliance.” It is simply the latest development as Musk increasingly oversteps his governmental reach, as Trump elevated the billionaire’s status to that of a ‘special government employee.’
The title allows Musk to circumvent the traditional conflict of interest clauses required of a regular government employee, and he has exerted that power in recent days. Musk — with the help of a group of young techies — was granted access to the systems of the Treasury Department responsible for disbursing trillions in federal payments.
Elsewhere, he enacted plans to shut down USAID — the government agency involved in foreign aid — a move which The Guardian reports will likely lead to the childbirth deaths of several thousand women in foreign countries. In the aftermath, many have taken to social media to call out the hypocrisy of Trump supporters in championing Musk while condemning the similarly shady data-related activities of Hillary Clinton.