Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has fed sensitive federal data from the Education Department into artificial intelligence software to analyze programs and spending, sources say.
According to two people familiar with the matter, the AI probe includes personally identifiable information from grant managers and internal financial records. The DOGE team is using AI tools through Microsoft’s cloud computing service, Azure, to scrutinize every dollar spent by the department—including contracts, grants, and travel expenses.
AI-driven government overhaul
DOGE’s use of AI reflects Musk’s push to drastically cut government spending and shrink federal agencies, aligning with the Trump administration’s goal of eliminating the Education Department altogether.
The AI-driven review process, which Musk’s operatives plan to expand to other agencies, involves accessing back-end government systems and extracting data on employee and program costs, particularly targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
While private companies and government agencies have typically restricted AI use on secure data due to cybersecurity risks and accuracy concerns, DOGE is forging ahead without clear guidelines.
Personnel placed on leave
The AI analysis has already had major consequences. DOGE operatives used information on past DEI trainings to place roughly 100 Education Department employees on paid administrative leave, following Trump’s executive order banning federal DEI programs.
“The vast majority of those placed on leave had signed up for a single diversity training,” said Sheria Smith, president of the department’s employee union. Many of them are women and people of color, she added.
DOGE’s efforts are expanding rapidly. On Wednesday alone, the team accessed sensitive payment data at the Department of Health and Human Services and sought information from the Labor Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“They have a playbook, which is to get access to the data,” an Education Department staffer said. “And once they’re in, it’s already over.”
