Democrats Are Gearing Up to Investigate the Trump Administration. It Won’t Be Easy

Democrats are preparing to investigate the Trump administration's alleged mishandling of sensitive systems and information, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The report, titled "DOGE: Congress and the Public Lack Assurance That Systems and Data Were Protected at Multiple Agencies," found that several federal agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Department of Education, NOAA, SEC, and SBA, refused to fully cooperate with investigators about the extent of access the "DOGE" team members had to their systems and data.

The GAO, which serves as Congress' primary investigative body, noted that the agencies' lack of cooperation limited their ability to provide assurance that federal programs, systems, and information are appropriately managed and protected. The agencies' refusal to cooperate raises questions about what avenues Congress has to enforce accountability or access basic information about government activities.

Emily Berman, a law professor at the University of Houston, stated that without shame, Congress may need to resort to coercion, such as withholding money or taking legal action, to enforce accountability. The GAO and a Democratic congressional aide, who spoke anonymously to WIRED, emphasized that the agencies investigated by GAO, when they did not provide requested information, made it difficult for GAO to deliver Congress and the public with assurance about the proper management and protection of federal programs, systems, and information.

The CFPB, VA, and SBA are among the agencies that refused to name the specific DOGE operatives they had hosted, even when the information had already been publicly reported. Furthermore, the SBA and VA did not respond to requests for information needed to determine the access the DOGE team members had to their systems.

As an example, the DOGE affiliate at the VA, Sahil Lavingia, allegedly sought to use AI to write code for the agency's systems, while at the SBA, DOGE affiliates Edward "Big Balls" Coristine and Donald Park were granted broad access to loan systems. The VA and SBA did not provide comment on the matter.

The report also mentioned that Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, had been notified by the GAO that the Commerce Department is refusing to cooperate with a request from Senator Welch to investigate the effectiveness of U.S. export controls to address AI-fueled national security risks.