A staff member of DOGE, who previously resigned due to past racist tweets and violations of data-sharing regulations identified in an audit, has been reinstated to handle sensitive information across multiple federal agencies.
The individual in question is Marko Elez, an employee of the Department of Labor assigned to the DOGE unit within the White House, as stated in a court filing from Saturday. The filing indicates that the Labor Department is aware of Elez’s involvement with four additional agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where he is either detailed or employed.
This court document outlines the level of access that Elez and other DOGE personnel have to specific sensitive and secure databases. This comes amid findings from federal judges in other cases suggesting that the initiative led by Elon Musk may have violated legal standards and has struggled to justify its extensive data access requirements.
The filing responds to a lawsuit initiated by labor unions and nonprofit organizations seeking further details regarding Trump administration staff members associated with DOGE.
U.S. District Judge John Bates, appointed by George W. Bush, has so far refrained from prohibiting DOGE’s activities within the Department of Labor, HHS, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but has mandated additional investigation into the operations of this White House entity.