DOGE having access to government agencies is illegal

As of early February 2025, Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) task force were granted access to sensitive U.S. Treasury payment systems to scrutinize federal spending and identify potential cuts. This access, approved by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, allowed Musk’s team to view data on Treasury payments, including those related to Social Security and Medicare.

The "budget cuts" were all bulls***, anyway. That was a red herring. With Musk rummaging around the Treasury, who was going to stop him from funneling that tariff money to Trump, himself, Nutlick, Bessent, Navarro? These guys know who pays the higher prices that tariffs cost; but you can't stop the lie (nor the gravy train). And they don't give a f***. Our money is better off in their pockets.

Too bad the Supreme Court threw a monkey wrench into their scheme (I guess Leonard Leo has to give Trump the occasional loss to cover the Federalist Society's tracks elsewhere). But they act as if they can't be stopped.

 

Soldiers don't get Half Massed Flags . . . .only Podcasters

Rocket River

 

DOGE Bro illegally stole 500 million SSNs from the SSA on a thumb drive and tried to take it to his next job

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/10/social-security-data-breach-doge-2/

That's like effectively a life in prison level offense I think

 

Life in a cabinet position*

 

Sadly, not at all surprised. Honestly, it would have been surprising if our data had not been stolen after they granted DOGE "god mode" access to sensitive systems.

This is exactly why I was angry at the time. Anyone with even a basic understanding of technology and security could see the risk immediately. Yet the SCOTUS seemed completely blind to it and allowed our data, which is supposed to be protected by law, to be handed over to a bunch of DOGE kids. Once you grant that level of access, the exposure risk was obvious and irreversible.

 

It's impossible to overstate that the only thing that rivals the malevolent hubris, open corruption and hypocrisy of John Roberts supreme court pseudolegislative slop shop - is their utter ineptitude and inability to understand or grasp technology related issues - you're talking about people who stopped paying attention around the time of Windows 95.

 

Let them eat lobster...

US military spent $9 million on crab legs and lobster in the months before Iran war

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon apparently isn’t feeling the same affordability struggles as many average Americans, as he approved spending more than $93 billion in September, including on luxury food items and iPads.

A new analysis published by government watchdog Open the Books found that in September — the end of the 2025 fiscal year — Hegseth reportedly burned through cash, including spending $9 million on crab and lobster dinners.

According to Military.com, an increase in military officials eating pricey meals has traditionally been viewed as a sign that something may be brewing — such as President Donald Trump’s war in Iran — though it appears Hegseth has been dining well at the Pentagon since at least last spring.

The spending review found that in the month of September alone, the Defense Department spent $6.9 million in total on lobster tail and $2 million on Alaskan king crab, according to the government watchdog. In 2025, the department also spent more than $7.4 million on lobster tail across the months of March, May, June and October.

The decadent seafood wasn't the only expensive sustenance purchased at the Pentagon. Hegseth also spent approximately $15.1 million on ribeye steak in September, $124,000 for new ice cream machines, and $139,224 on doughnut orders.

Due to the way federal funding works, there is pressure on department heads to end their fiscal years without a surplus of funds. If they do, it raises questions in Congress as to whether or not the agency or department needs a reduction in its annual budget.

That said, some of the purchases are lavish. In September, Hegseth spent nearly $100,000 on a Steinway & Sons grand piano to outfit the home of the Air Force chief of staff. He also spent $5.3 million on Apple devices, including brand-new iPads, according to the report.

The Pentagon paid $225.6 million for furniture, including $12,540 for fruit basket stands and more than $60,000 for recliners from high-end furniture maker Herman Miller.
The agency spent more money on furniture in 2025 than it has since 2014.

To be fair to Hegseth, the military has been spending enormous amounts of money on furniture for decades. According to the analysis, the Defense Department has spent an average of $257.6 million on furniture every September since 2008, marking a 564 percent increase above its typical furniture spending throughout the year.

And Hegseth isn’t actually the worst offender; former President Barack Obama routinely spent between $300-$400 million on furniture in September during his years in office, according to the report. Spending on furniture decreased under President Joe Biden, though it's worth noting his first two years saw many federal employees working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Pentagon's most expensive spending spree during September was on grants and contracts. In that month alone, the Defense Department spent more than $90 billion on grants and contracts.

In the last five working days of September alone, the report says the department spent $50.1 billion on grants and contracts, more than the annual defence budgets of countries such as Israel and Italy.

“Under Secretary Hegseth, the Pentagon has consistently said its mission is to refocus on warfighting and lethality,” Open the Books CEO John Hart said in the analysis. “Last year, we highlighted the problem of wasteful use-it-or-lose-it year-end spending. We noted that this reform is fully within the secretary’s control and is a historic opportunity to make good on that promise.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom drew attention to the Pentagon's spending in a social media post featuring an AI-generated image of Hegseth kicking back in a posh recliner surrounded by a grand piano, numerous iPads, and plates filled with lobster tail and steak.

“HEGSETH BLOWING $93 BILLION OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS IN 1 MONTH !!” the post said.

Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, a New Mexico Democrat, said she planned to launch an investigation into Hegseth’s spending.

“In addition to billions of taxpayer dollars being burned in this war in Iran, reports are showing that Sec. Pete Hegseth blew $93 billion in federal DOD funding at the end of last year,” she wrote on social media before listing his various expenditures. “You better believe we’ll be investigating.”

Democratic Congressman Chuck Schumer called Hegseth a “grifter” on social media.

“Hegseth spent $93 billion in one month – roughly the cost of extending the ACA tax credits for THREE YEARS. But instead of lowering Americans’ healthcare costs, Hegseth used millions of taxpayer dollars on fruit baskets, Herman Miller recliners, ice cream machines, Alaskan King Crabs, and a Steinway & Sons grand piano,” he wrote. “A true grifter in every sense of the word.”

The Independent has requested comment from the Department of Defense.

In February 2025, Hegseth said he welcomed a “Department of Government Efficiency” review of defense spending to help him find ways to reduce waste.

“We need to know when we spend dollars, we need to know where they’re going and why that simple accounting, and that has not existed at the Defense Department,” Hegseth told Fox News at the time. “We’re going to fix that.”

The Pentagon's spending spree came just weeks before millions of Americans lost access to their SNAP food benefits, leaving the states to fill in the gaps.

Now, six months later, Americans are learning the astronomical cost of Trump and Hegseth's war in Iran.

The U.S. military has used an estimated $5.6 billion worth of munitions during the opening two days of the war with Iran, according to government officials who spoke to The Washington Post.

Trump has insisted that the war in Iran — which has already killed seven U.S. service members and injured around 140 others — will be over quickly, but has provided no timeline or plan of action indicating that the U.S. is preparing to withdraw from the conflict.

 

This idiot calls you a fascist while supporting total state control of every facet of society and Himalayan government corruption. Yes, this poster is a colossal FOOL.

 

I agree with you that such expenditures are bad and that officials should be reprimanded and/or punished.

Why does this wasteful or fraudulent spending bother you but not BILLIONS in fraud committed in jurisdictions managed by Democrats?

 

So you think Musk, the richest man in the world, was working with Doge to criminally "funnel" tariff monies to the Trump team?

 

Do you have a reliable source for this claim?

 

@Rashmon

I think people see the 5.6 billion and we have been desensitized to what a huge sum of money that actually is .