As unique a figure as the Elon Musk is, his status in the Trump administration is far from unprecedented and his government efficiency agency isn’t even new.

Elon Musk’s team of Stasi programmers at DOGE are feeding highly sensitive data from the Department of Education through artificial intelligence tools, according to an extremely predictable, yet still shocking, report from the Washington Post. The plan, according to the Post, is for DOGE to do the same thing at every federal agency.

Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency has moved quickly to set up shop in a critical Treasury Department office that handles the vast majority of payments made by the federal government,

DOGE has gained access to government employees' sensitive information via the Office of Personnel Management, payment systems at the Treasury Department and Centers for Medicaid and Medicare this week.

Elon Musk’s incursion into the federal government is unprecedented. It’s also pretty good news for his companies.

U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson cheered Elon Musk's efforts to dismantle the federal bureaucracy and root out waste, even as some raise alarms.

Trump repeatedly talked about his desire to close the Education Department, which he alleged “indoctrinate(s) America’s youth with all sorts of things," on the campaign trail.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced on X that he talked to Musk's Department of Government Efficiency about getting the organization involved.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he personally vetted the Treasury employees on Elon Musk’s government efficiency team with read-only access to federal payment data, and that there’s been no “tinkering” with the department’s payment systems.