Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
Deputies in San Francisco are looking for three men claiming to be from DOGE who walked into the city’s government center and demanded municipal records.
On Friday, three men claiming to represent Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” — which is not an official federal department — walked into San Francisco City Hall to demand sensitive government records related to “alleged wasteful government spending and fraud,” according to CBS News. The men were wearing DOGE shirts and Donald Trump MAGA hats.
The city employees refused to help them and called law enforcement. The three men fled the scene before the sheriff’s deputies arrived.
open image in gallery
The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office issued a statement saying investigators do not believe the men represented Musk’s group.
“We do not believe the individuals requesting access to City files were representatives from DOGE,” the office said on Friday.
According to the sheriff’s office, investigators are reviewing surveillance footage and using other tools to track down the men.
DOGE was created by President Donald Trump via executive order shortly after his inauguration. Trump handed the reins originally to Musk and failed Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy with the stated goal of finding and eliminating government waste.
Ramaswamy exited the pseudo-agency almost immediately after Trump’s inauguration and announced his plans to run for Ohio governor.
Since DOGE’s creation, Musk and his team of young staffers have been accessing sensitive government institutions and trying to strong-arm federal employees into resigning their positions. To justify his meddling in federal affairs, Trump made Musk and his group “special government employees.”
A group of 14 state attorneys general, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta, have filed a lawsuit against DOGE.
“DOGE’s ransacking of federal agencies has sown tremendous chaos, instilled distrust among the American people, and has caused deep harm to our country,” Bonta said in a statement. “Like a bull in a china shop, Mr. Musk is wielding an enormous amount of illegitimized power over sensitive systems and important government programs that are vital to the American way of life.”
open image in gallery
USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have already been targeted by Musk, with the former organization effectively shuttered.
Musk has insisted that DOGE is transparent in its activities and that he will recuse himself from interacting with any departments where he — as the CEO of three major companies — might face conflicts of interest.
“The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what the people are going to get,” Musk said on Tuesday. “That’s what democracy is all about.”
Trump insisted that Musk was the right person — despite having no government experience — to determine what constitutes wasteful government spending.
“He’s a successful guy, that’s why we want him doing this,” Trump said. “We don’t want an unsuccessful guy doing this.”
