John,

Last November, Donald Trump announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and put billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of leading it.

In a statement about the new department, Trump said that Musk and Ramaswamy would “pave the way for [Trump’s] Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies."

But John, since that announcement, there has been no transparency from DOGE about what it is or will be organized. Nothing about how it will be funded, whether it will be an official governmental body or not, or in which branch of government it may sit.

Yet Musk and Ramaswamy have continued to talk about DOGE and its priorities. DOGE even has a Twitter account, posting about the group’s plans, giving the impression that they and others have already begun work on its behalf.

Here’s the thing John: only Congress has the authority to create a new federal agency. On top of that, it is unclear what ethics and transparency standards, if any, Musk, Ramaswamy and the other billionaires and staff affiliated with DOGE are being held to.

The public deserves to know more about what DOGE is and how those involved with DOGE are communicating with federal agencies and employees.

That’s why CREW requested records from 62 government agencies, agency components and agency inspectors general pertaining to any communications that Musk, Ramaswamy or other individuals reportedly involved in DOGE, had with any government employees, as well as any communications between the agencies and any individuals acting on on their behalves.

We’re demanding transparency, but we need your help to continue our work. Please, donate to CREW and support our fight for a transparent and ethical government →

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Federal agencies are supposed to adhere to ethical standards outlined in the "Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch,” helping ensure that employees avoid conflicts of interest, proper use of government property, disclosure of financial interests, and more.

Giving Musk, Ramaswamy, and Donald Trump’s other billionaire friends unchecked influence over government operations, restructuring the federal government, and removing regulations without strict ethical standards would invite even more corruption into the incoming Trump administration.

We cannot stand by and allow these billionaires to communicate with federal agencies and employees in secret and alter our government without any oversight of their own.

We need to know who within the federal government was in contact with Musk, Ramaswamy, or anyone else acting on behalf of DOGE.

CREW won’t sit on the sidelines and allow these unfettered influences to corrupt our government. Today, I’m asking for your support in our continued work to make our government more transparent and accountable. If you can donate to CREW today to help us drive this fight, then please, pitch in any amount you can →