Latest Videos
One of the top aides of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reportedly visited the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters in Washington on Thursday, February 13, according to people familiar with the matter.
Knewz.com has learned that the DOGE's IRS visit was also reported by Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who claimed that if someone's tax refunds are delayed, "they could very well be the reason."
Federal government wings are seemingly on edge regarding visits from the DOGE, which has been tasked with scanning the government for areas where it can identify and remove what it deems as unnecessary government expenditures.
Led by Musk and a group of engineers, DOGE just shuttered the civilian foreign aid and development assistance agency USAID as one of its first projects, slashing its workforce from 10,000 to less than 300.
Furthermore, the department attempted to stop money from going into USAID by accessing the Department of Treasury payment system, although they had originally assured federal lawmakers in a letter that they only intended "to review the integrity of the payments and had “read-only access” to the system as part of an audit process."
At the same time, DOGE reportedly gained access to highly restricted government records on millions of federal employees, as part of what reports mention is "a broader effort to take control" over the Office of Personnel Management.
Protests have already erupted against the Musk-led DOGE and their downsizing of government employees at a concerning rate.
As a result, concerns were on the rise as the department paid a visit to the Washington headquarters of the IRS.
In addition, it was reported that the senior executives at the IRS were instructed via email on Thursday to identify all "non-essential" contracts for termination.
"In the email, senior executives at the IRS were told that the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages most government contracts, is demanding they review consulting contracts under their purview and determine whether they can be justified," reports have mentioned.
The email clarified that the General Services Administration would deem a contract non-essential if it "merely generates a report, research, coaching, or an artifact."
"Consistent with the goals and directives of the Trump administration to eliminate waste, reduce spending, and increase efficiency, GSA has taken the first steps in a government-wide initiative to eliminate non-essential consulting contracts," the email further read.
Senator Wyden took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to report the Musk-led department's IRS visit, saying:
"My office is hearing that DOGE is now at the IRS. That means Musk's henchmen are in a position to dig through a trove of data about every taxpayer in America. And if your refund is delayed, they could very well be the reason."
It is worth noting that, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll, only 38% of the surveyed individuals said they approve of the job the Tesla and SpaceX CEO is doing with DOGE, placing the department's job approval ratings nearly 10 points behind the "historically low" ratings of President Donald Trump.
Reports mentioned that 24% of those in approval said they strongly approve of DOGE and how it is functioning and 14% said they “somewhat approve.”
On the other hand, the Economist/YouGov poll found that 47% of surveyed individuals said they disapprove of Musk and DOGE’s job performance, of which 41% said they “strongly disapprove” while 6% said they “somewhat disapprove.”
Nearly a month into his second Presidential term, Trump did relatively better in the poll, with 46% approving of his job performance.
Despite the ruckus around the DOGE, President Trump said on Tuesday, February 11, that he was signing an executive order giving Musk more power over the federal workforce.
According to reports, the new executive order states that federal agencies must "coordinate and consult" with DOGE to cut jobs and limit hiring, and will be ordered to "undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force" and limit their hiring process to "essential positions" only.
Notably, five former Treasury Secretaries have published an open letter in The New York Times, harshly criticizing the actions of the Musk-led department and pointing out that the handling of sensitive information by "political actors from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency" risks the said information to "exposure, potentially to our adversaries."
"These political actors have not been subject to the same rigorous ethics rules as civil servants, and one has explicitly retained his role in a private company, creating at best the appearance of financial conflicts of interest. They lack training and experience to handle private, personal data — like Social Security numbers and bank account information," the letter stated.