Trump ally, whose team has reportedly gained access to sensitive data, accused of ‘desecrating our constitution’

Summary

Hundreds of protesters, joined by Democratic lawmakers, rallied outside the Treasury Department, condemning Elon Musk’s “hostile takeover” of federal financial systems.

Lawmakers, including Maxine Waters and Ayanna Pressley, attempted to enter the building but were turned away.

Treasury officials later claimed that Musk’s team had “read-only” access to coded payment data, but concerns persist over security risks and misuse of taxpayer information.

Protesters fear Musk’s influence is part of a broader effort to dismantle government institutions and exploit federal systems for financial gain.

  • ShepherdPie
    113·
    7 hours ago

    Hundreds of protesters, joined by Democratic lawmakers, rallied outside the Treasury Department"

    Standing around outside being concerned and condemning actions that are actively occurring on the other side of the wall is really going to make an impact. Their literal job title is “representative” so maybe they should start acting like it.

    • usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml
      141·
      7 hours ago

      Notably they have no majorities in either the house or senate. They can slow things down - and they have pledged to use some of the tools to do so until Musk stops his insanity - but they cannot do a ton directly more without Republican support

      • ShepherdPie
        51·
        6 hours ago

        These actions aren’t being conducted in the house or senate, though. If the rules don’t apply anymore, then what’s stopping them from barging in there and kicking his ass out? How would Trump having a sitting representative or senator arrested play out in the media? Democrats need to take some pages out of the Republican playbook. Committees, harsh letters, and bureaucracy aren’t the path out of this.

        • usernamesAreTricky@lemmy.ml
          8·
          6 hours ago

          They actually did try to barge in. From the article

          Minutes earlier, a handful of lawmakers, including Crockett, Pressley, Frost and Jamie Raskin, had attempted to get inside the treasury department before being rebuffed.

          They also tried to get into USAID yesterday