Oregon freshman Rep. Janelle Bynum criticized the lack of oversight surrounding Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which reportedly has access to the government’s payment system.
Speaking with KOIN 6 News after participating in a “Nobody Elected Elon!” rally alongside Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, as well as other members of Congress, Bynum remarked that Musk’s involvement “just smells a little musky.”
According to the Associated Press, a Treasury Department official informed federal lawmakers in a letter on Tuesday that a tech executive working with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency will have “read-only access” to the government’s payment system.
“It’s a little bit fishy for one person to have that kind of access, unchecked access. We all take an oath office. I don’t know what he’s taken. There are no checks and balances in that system,” Bynum said. “And you know people get suspicious, like when you knock on your kids’ door and ask them what they’re doing and they’re silent and they don’t say anything, you know they’re up to no good. And that’s how this is. We know he’s up to no good.”
Bynum stated that her office, along with other congressional offices, has received over 400 calls from constituents worried about Musk’s apparent access to detailed personal information of most Americans.
“The more I hear about it the more I get concerned,” she said. “The whole thing smells really, really bad. And we’ve not had a challenge to our democracy quite like this.”
Bynum acknowledged that, as a businessperson, she understands that disrupting the system is often a key strategy for success in business.
“The challenge here,” she said, “is that Trump and his cronies are trying to destroy our country. And that’s where I draw the line. This is not disruption. This is destruction. And there’s a very big difference.”
Lawyers for the Trump administration argued late Sunday that a court order preventing Elon Musk’s aides from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment and data systems infringed on the president’s absolute authority over the executive branch, asserting that the courts had no power to override it.
The administration’s position was outlined in a response to a lawsuit filed Friday night by 19 state attorneys general, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who secured a temporary pause on Saturday. The lawsuit contends that the administration’s policy of granting appointees and “special government employees” access to systems containing sensitive information—such as bank details and Social Security numbers—is unlawful.
Members of Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is not an official government department, have been reviewing these databases under the pretext of identifying potential spending cuts. However, the lawsuit argues that the initiative violates the Constitution’s separation of powers, which grants Congress authority over government spending.
