Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Slamming DOGE Anti-Democratic Takeover Of Key Government Agencies In Dead Of Night

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor condemning Elon Musk and DOGE for recent undemocratic actions, acting as a shadow government without transparency or authority. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Yesterday, Elon Musk took issues to my warnings that DOGE is operating, in many ways, like a shadow government.

Here’s what I said, I said:

“DOGE is not a real government agency. DOGE has no authority to make spending decisions. DOGE has no authority to shut programs down or to ignore federal law.”

“DOGE’s conduct,” I said, “cannot be allowed to stand. Congress must take action to restore the rule of law.”

His response? Here’s what Mr. Musk said: “Hysterical reactions like this is how you know that DOGE is doing work that really matters” and that “this is the one shot the American people have to defeat bureaucracy…and restore democracy.”

Give me a break. Nothing screams democracy like having a secret squad of company men pull off a hostile takeover of Americans’ Social Security and tax information in the dead of night.

That’s democracy? No openness? No hearings? No discussion? No hearing the other side out? From a small group of limited people, who have limited backgrounds, who probably don't even know about the programs they're cutting and how they actually work?

Whatever DOGE is doing, it is certainly not – not – what democracy looks like or has ever looked like in the grand history of this country.

Because democracy does not work in the shadows. Democracy does not skirt the rule of law. Democracy does not shun accountability and restraint. It does not run away from transparency, but welcomes it. And it does not give privilege to the needs – and even the ideas – of a small group of ultra-wealthy people at the expense of working people.

They're the only people who seem to be in the room to make the decisions. Working class Americans are excluded.

Now, reform is a worthy cause to seek. No question about it.

Everyone agrees, and everyone should agree, that we should always find ways to improve the efficiency of government.

But you know what history shows? When it’s done in the dark of night, by a very limited group of people of limited experience, it never works.

When ideas are not brought into conflict, when people have different views, when there's not debate, when there's not openness, when there's not transparency, things always get messed up. It leads to very bad results, and yet that's just what DOGE is doing. They think they know better than everybody else.

Certainly, they're entitled to have their viewpoint. But to just do things in the dark of night, to just fire people without even talking to them – talking about what they do, what their needs are –  makes no sense and again, is going to lead to bad results.

We should talk about reform, but we should talk about it the way it's always been done in America, in the halls of Congress, in the public forums of the people’s government.

That's what the Founding Fathers wanted. If the Founding Fathers were to be like DOGE, a small group of them would get together and dictate what should’ve been done in America. They didn't. They set up a Congress. They set up debate.

Mark my words, the American people will not stand for an unelected secret group to run rampant through the executive branch.

Being innovative is good, but Mr. Musk, this isn’t a tech startup, these are public institutions that deal with things like Social Security, and Medicare, and national defense, and provide for the wellbeing of the American people.

And the American people have a right to be part of that debate. The elections occurred. And one viewpoint got a few more votes than the other, but that doesn't mean we throw out democracy. That doesn't mean what's been done for centuries in this country should just go out the window and be substituted by a small group of people who think they know a lot more than the wisdom of the American people.

So, that is why this week Leader Jeffries and I will join together to push legislation to prevent unlawful meddling in the Treasury department’s payment systems, to prevent everyone's records from being made available to a small group of people who can look at them at will.

This has always been kept secret and always been protected, your tax returns and your payment systems and things like that. It affects average Americans. And who knows, maybe next they'll say let's slash all of this stuff. That's what they seem to want to do in their $2.5 trillion desire to cut government.

We must protect peoples Social Security payments, their Medicare payments, their tax refunds from any possible tampering by DOGE or other unauthorized entity, and that's why Leader Jeffries and I will join together to push this legislation.

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