The American People Did Not Vote For This

Diana DeGette

Posted Feb. 6, 2025

Editor’s Note: On Feb. 3, 2025, Congresswoman Diana DeGette (CO-01) released the following statement after Elon Musk and his DOGE cronies furthered their blatantly political assault on vital governmental institutions while accessing the sensitive personal data of millions of Americans.

The American people did not elect Elon Musk, but every day we are seeing how the Trump administration is truly a government for billionaires, by billionaires. Instead of lowering costs, he is letting Elon Musk run rampant.

It is deeply alarming that Elon Musk’s DOGE cronies have access to the Treasury Department payment system which is responsible for Social Security payments. It is deeply alarming that his DOGE cronies have locked civil servants out of the Office of Personnel Management computer systems that contain the data of millions of current and retired federal employees. It is deeply alarming that career civil servants are being forced out of their jobs by an unelected billionaire because they dare stand up against his power grab. It is deeply alarming that the richest man in the world spent over $288 million on the 2024 election and is now serving as a shadow president.

The situation at USAID alone is shocking. They are attacking programs that save millions of lives around the world, including monitoring and stopping deadly disease outbreaks. Elon Musk’s actions are illegal because there is no congressional authority to gut this agency, and my Republican colleagues must stop ceding their responsibilities to an unelected billionaire. The Musk-Trump administration is abdicating leadership on the global stage, allowing our adversaries to fill the void and weaken our country.

My constituents are terrified and feel that this is an immense breach of privacy. We cannot allow an unelected billionaire to access the most sensitive information, and I will not stand idly by while Trump does nothing to lower everyday costs for Denverites or the American people. He is, in fact, doing the opposite by imposing blanket tariffs on our closest allies while handing over our government to the wealthiest individuals in our country.

The American people did not vote for this.

Congresswoman Diana DeGette serves Colorado’s 1st District of Colorado.