A group of Democrats is seeking more information on DOGE employees' presence within the federal government.
"Although Elon Musk has departed, his influence remains, as DOGE and its employees attempt to become a permanent part of the federal government, scattered across agencies where they can continue to sabotage key functions from within," the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management.
"The conversion of DOGE appointees to career federal service roles — even as most agencies are under a hiring freeze — could potentially run afoul of laws that explicitly ban political considerations and loyalty tests in hiring practices. Additionally, it is unclear who newly embedded DOGE staff are accountable to and if they truly serve within the chain of command of the agencies they work for."
Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor, in a statement to CBS News, said the agency "reviews all requests to appoint current or recent political appointees to career roles for compliance with merit systems principles and civil service laws," while noting that "all federal hires undergo required background checks, ethics reviews, and suitability screenings."
"No DOGE-affiliated individuals have 'unlawfully burrowed' into career roles," Kupor said. "We welcome oversight grounded in facts."
The report comes a week after a trio of Senate Democrats introduced legislation that would require the DOGE administrator to provide a full accounting to the U.S. comptroller general of all the agencies and IT systems that DOGE accessed.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.