Democrats Start Platform for Government Whistleblowers in Response to Trump Admin, DOGE

Senate Democrats have set up an online website for government workers to serve as whistleblowers for the Trump administration, particularly the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was formed to slash unnecessary U.S. government spending and is being led by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) released a statement about the whistleblower portal on Sunday, saying that “whistleblowers are essential in helping uncover fraud and abuse in the federal government.”

“If you have information you want to share about wrongdoing, abuse of power, and threats to public safety, we stand ready to support you in your pursuit of truth and justice,” their letter said.

During the Biden administration, some Republican lawmakers set up channels to receive testimony from whistleblowers inside multiple federal agencies, including the FBI, IRS, and CIA.

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Since taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump has initiated changes that his Democratic critics say exceed his executive authority, such as seeking to restrict birthright citizenship, withholding funding appropriated by Congress, and removing heads of federal agencies and boards. They also accused Musk and DOGE of acting in an unauthorized manner in how they have accessed data in multiple federal agencies, including the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Musk, Trump, and Republicans have said that DOGE is necessary to root out waste, fraud, and other abusive actions carried out by federal agencies.

“We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse and, you know, the people elected me on that,” Trump said in a Fox News interview on Feb. 9 that aired before Super Bowl LIX. He described Musk as “terrific” and added that DOGE would soon focus on the country’s largest government agency—the Department of Defense.

The moves have prompted dozens of lawsuits challenging actions including his efforts to tackle illegal immigration, federal workforce protections, and the legal status of DOGE.

The whistleblower portal is part of escalating efforts by Democrats to resist the Trump administration’s moves. Last week, Democrats held the Senate floor in a bid to protest the nomination of Russel Vought, who was later confirmed to be the head of the Office of Management and Budget.

“For us to be able to support government funding in that way, only for them to turn it around, to dismantle the government,“ he told NBC News’ ”Meet the Press,“ ”that is not something that should be allowed.”

Members of Congress have until mid-March to pass a bill to fund the government, including a spending package for the Department of Defense and one for non-defense programs.

Democrats have minorities in both chambers of Congress, and Trump has had experience dealing with government shutdowns during his first administration, meaning Democrats currently have limited options available to challenge the president.

Reuters contributed to this report.