US DOGE seeks access to IRS system housing sensitive taxpayer data: report

NEW YORK -- Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is seeking access to data system within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that house personal taxpayer information, reported The Wall Street Journal on Monday.

"An agreement with the IRS could give the team access to the Integrated Data Retrieval System," noted the report. "That system, according to the IRS, allows anyone with access the ability to have instantaneous visual access to certain taxpayer accounts."

DOGE is operating as a unit within the new administration that US President Donald Trump has tasked with cutting spending and regulations. Those with knowledge of DOGE's attempt to access IRS records said that, as of Monday morning, access had yet to be given, but one of the people noted that it was being considered by some in the agency as an urgent goal by the DOGE team.

Trump's nominee to lead the IRS, former Republican congressman Billy Long, hasn't been confirmed by the Senate. The agency is currently being led by Douglas O'Donnell, who has spent roughly 40 years at the IRS.