Musk Team's Access To Student Loan Systems Raises Alarms Over Personal Information For Millions

Democrats are pushing back against Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency as it turns its attention to the Education Department, with lawmakers raising concerns about DOGE's access to internal systems containing personal information on tens of millions of Americans.

In a letter to the acting education secretary, a group of Democrats is seeking to intervene as DOGE gains increasing access to student loan databases and other systems. Democrats fear it could lay the groundwork for a takeover akin to Musk's attempt to close the U.S. Agency for International Development . The letter demanded details about DOGE's work and vowed to fight any attempt to close the Education Department.

Democrats including California Rep. Mark Takano planned to show up at the department's Washington headquarters on Friday and demand a meeting with leaders appointed by President Donald Trump.

The department has been in turmoil as Trump, a Republican, sets out to abolish it. The White House is considering an executive order that would tell the education secretary to slash the department as far as possible and urge Congress to fully terminate it. Dozens of employees have been placed on paid leave with little explanation, and workers from DOGE have begun scouring the department's records as they look to slash spending.

Musk's DOGE team already has gained access to a database housing personal information on millions of students and parents with federal student loans, according to two people with knowledge of the issue. One of them, a department employee, said a DOGE representative requested the access more than a week ago. A third person said DOGE would be given administrator access to the department's website on Friday, allowing Musk's workers to change the text on any page or take the site offline.