What DOGE Could Target This Week

Elon Musk could next target the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the use of paper checks under the mandate of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Newsweek has contacted DOGE, the Treasury Department and the Social Security Administration for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Musk has suggested he could cut "at least $2 trillion" from U.S. government spending by eradicating "waste." That would amount to cutting around 30 percent of total federal government spending.

He and President Donald Trump have faced criticism and legal challenges over their moves to significantly reduce federal spending. These challenges look set to continue, with Musk facing further scrutiny over the amount of access he is being granted to sensitive federal government information.

Internal Revenue Service

Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team has requested access to an IRS system that retains the personal tax information of millions of Americans, according to several reports.

This includes access to the Integrated Data Retrieval System, which grants access to taxpayer accounts and is typically extremely limited, The Washington Post reported.

In a statement, White House spokesman Harrison Fields told The Post that the move was necessary as direct access is needed to tackle "waste, fraud and abuse [that] have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long. It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it."

DOGE's mandate to modernize government technology would include targeting the tax agency's IT, which is in large part considered outdated.

But the unusual decision to grant Musk's team access to millions of Americans' private taxpayer data has been described as potentially dangerous.

"People who share their most sensitive information with the federal government do so under the understanding that not only will it be used legally, but also handled securely and in ways that minimize risks like identity theft and personal invasion, which this reporting brings into serious question," Elizabeth Laird, a former state privacy officer now with the Center for Democracy and Technology, told ABC News.

DOGE software engineer Gavin Kliger is set to be allowed broad access to IRS agency systems and databases, according to a draft memorandum of understanding seen by The Post.

Kliger had not yet gained access to sensitive IRS data as of Sunday evening, according to reports from The New York Timesand ABC News.

DOGE's recent attempt to gain access to the Treasury Department's federal payment system was temporarily blocked by a federal judge after multiple lawsuits were filed against the move.

Paper Checks

In a post late Sunday evening on X, formerly Twitter, the DOGE account said that eliminating paper checks issued by federal agencies would save around $750 million a year.

DOGE stated that the Treasury processed 116 million paper checks in fiscal year 2024. The department also said that in the 2023 fiscal year, $25 billion in tax refunds were delayed or lost due to returned or expired checks.

"Treasury maintains a physical lockbox network to collect checks for tax (IRS), passport (State Department), etc.," the DOGE account posted. "It costs approximately $2.40 per check to maintain this lockbox network."

It is unclear where DOGE obtained these figures, which have not been verified by Newsweek.

A recent report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said the IRS processed over 1.5 million dishonored checks from January 1, 2023, to March 28, 2024, totaling nearly $4.7 billion.

"Since the IRS does not have a computer program that delays refund issuance for a sufficient time to allow it to receive dishonored check information from financial institutions, the IRS is at risk of generating millions of dollars in erroneous refunds," said the report.

Social Security Payments

In another post on X, Musk shared what he said was a Social Security database showing age demographics.

The table included millions of people aged 110 and over, including at least one person in the 360-369 age category. The provenance of the table is unclear.

"According to the Social Security database, these are the numbers of people in each age bucket with the death field set to FALSE! Maybe Twilight is real and there are a lot of vampires collecting Social Security," Musk posted, referencing the popular vampire book and film franchise.

In response, the DOGE X account wrote, "Looking into this."

During a recent press conference at the Oval Office alongside Trump, Musk cited examples of government waste, including stating that someone who was 150 years old was still receiving Social Security checks.

Fort Knox

Musk has been urged to carry out an audit of the United States Bullion Depository, commonly known as Fort Knox, in Kentucky to ensure it still holds the gold reported to be on site.

The storage facility, which is not open to the public, contains around 147.3 million ounces (4,851 metric tons) of gold, according to the U.S. Mint bureau. This amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars in gold reserves at the secured facility owned by the Treasury Department.

On Sunday, the ZeroHedge X account, which has more than 2 million followers, asked Musk to "take a look inside Fort Knox just to make sure the 4,580 tons of U.S. gold is there. Last time anyone looked was 50 years ago in 1974."

In response to ZeroHedge, Musk asked, "Surely it's reviewed at least every year?"

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul supported the suggestion for Musk to examine Fort Knox. In reply to Musk's question about whether the gold reserves are checked annually, Paul posted: "Nope. Let's do it."

The Fort Knox vault was last opened to journalists and members of Congress in September 1974 to dispel a rumor that the gold had been removed.

In 2017, then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, then Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, and Senator Mitch McConnell were allowed inside the Fort Knox vault for a visit.

Other Spending Cuts

Other federal departments and services, including Medicare and Medicaid, are reportedly in line for drastic cuts by Musk and his DOGE team.

The Pentagon is also said to be preparing for DOGE-driven budget reductions to help trim its annual $850 billion spending. This includes drafting a list of weapons and equipment it wants to cease producing—proposals that have previously faced opposition from members of Congress.

Musk has been outspoken in his criticism of F-35 stealth fighter jets, accusing them of being "obsolete" and too expensive.