Senate Democrats Want Total Audit of DOGE Access to Agency Systems

The Pick Up After Your DOGE Act from Sens. Whitehouse, Wyden and Warren calls on the GAO to conduct comprehensive performance and security audits of agency computer systems touched by DOGE.

Comptroller General Gene Dodaro told senators in April that the watchdog had begun several audits, including looks at what DOGE had done with data in Treasury Department, Social Security Administration and Office of Personnel Management networks.

Dodaro didn’t share a timeline for when the GAO might start publishing its assessments, but he said the reports would be released as soon as they were ready, as opposed to waiting for all work to be finished.

“So we’ll have a better idea about what impact DOGE’s access has had on the data systems, and whether there’s been any information input into the system or taken out of the system,” he said at the time.

After the GAO has completed its audits, it would be required to deliver a report detailing all security vulnerabilities or bugs in software that was installed, created or altered by DOGE teams. The bill calls on the watchdog to begin its assessments at SSA, HHS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Treasury and the IRS. Any bugs or vulns that are flagged should be fixed by the agencies within 90 days.

Wednesday’s introduction of the Pick Up After Your DOGE Act follows a separate effort from the same three Senate Democrats last month centered specifically on SSA networks. The Protecting Seniors’ Data Act of 2025 also calls for a GAO audit of the agency’s systems, in addition to seeking answers on whether DOGE’s work in SSA IT violated the Privacy Act and the Federal Information Security Management Act.

In a speech on the Senate floor last month, Whitehouse sought unanimous consent on passing the bill, making the case that DOGE’s forays into SSA networks presented “lingering danger” if data was exfiltrated or if bugs were introduced.

“Or worst of all,” Whitehouse said, “perhaps they left backdoors so that Elon Musk or other folks who are interested in getting access to massive amounts of Americans’ data can find their way into Social Security’s data systems secretly.”