Lawmaker calls for investigation into DOGE access to IRS systems

Lawmaker calls for investigation into DOGE access to IRS systems

Connolly also highlighted potential issues with the IRS’s data-sharing agreements with the Department of Homeland Security.

• A top House Democrat wants an investigation into the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to IRS systems. Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) requested the investigation in a May 15th letter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. He raised concerns about DOGE plans to centralize IRS data. Connolly also highlighted potential issues with the IRS’s data-sharing agreements with the Department of Homeland Security.
• The Coast Guard is on pace to exceed its recruiting target this year. DHS said the Coast Guard has brought on 4,250 new recruits so far in fiscal 2025, 1,200 more compared to the same time last year. The service is on pace to exceed its recruiting target for the second year in a row. Two years ago, the Coast Guard said it was short 10% of its enlisted workforce requirements, forcing the service to decrease the number of operational cutters and reduce its shoreside presence as well. DHS said applications are also way up at the Border Patrol and the Secret Service under the Trump administration.
• Military families were affected in various ways during Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) 10-month blockade of military promotions over the Pentagon policy to access reproductive care. The Government Accountability Office found that officers sold their homes, lived in temporary housing, and paid for storage out of their own pocket during Tuberville’s hold. The blockade also affected officers caring for elderly parents and family members with medical conditions. Still, the watchdog found that the hold did not hurt unit readiness: Data from the Defense Readiness Reporting System showed no impact during 2023.
• Senate Democrats are hoping to revive the Presidential Management Fellows program for good. The TALENTS Act from Sens. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) would not only reestablish the PMF program, but codify it in federal regulations. That would effectively prevent an executive order or presidential directive from changing or removing the program in the future. The new legislation comes after President Trump eliminated the PMF program by executive order, calling it “unnecessary.” Sens. Kim and Merkley, however, said the program is invaluable for recruiting and retaining federal talent in critical job sectors.
• Two employee organizations are urging congressional leaders to revise one proposal on federal benefits cuts. A provision of the GOP reconciliation bill would eliminate the annuity supplement for many federal retirees. But the legislation, as written, would let law enforcement officers and other frontline feds keep the supplement if they retire at age 57. Those who qualify for retirement at an earlier age by reaching 20 years of service, however, would still see their benefits cut. The FBI Agents Association, as well as the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, are calling on Congress to amend the provision and exempt all federal officers from the supplement elimination.
• The Defense Department has a new plan of action to modernize its software. The DoD’s CIO outlined 20 new initiatives to continue to modernize its applications over the next two years. In its updated software modernization implementation plan, DoD said it will establish a departmentwide factory ecosystem for software development that will include infrastructure-as-code for secret and unclassified cloud services. As part of that ecosystem, DoD will enable software interoperability through APIs by creating a standardized catalog and test platform. Another set of initiatives will focus on creating access to small or niche cloud services and creating a financial operations data standard and capability to measure and better control the cost of these services.
• The Department of the Air Force is laying the groundwork for a new Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence aimed at fast-tracking the adoption of AI-enabled capabilities across the service. Officials expect the center to reach its initial operating capability by the end of 2025 and achieve full operational capability by mid-2026. The department’s chief data and artificial intelligence office, led by Susan Davenport, and members of the Data & AI Board will oversee the new hub. A formal plan for the center has already been drafted and is currently being reviewed by key stakeholders across the department.
• Senate Democrats are sounding the alarm bells over the Small Business Administration’s proposed fiscal 2026 budget request. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, and other Democrats on the committee told Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler that eliminating funding for the vast majority of SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs, including programs specifically targeted toward women and veteran entrepreneurs, would have a devastating impact. The Trump administration is proposing to cut $277 million from the agency’s budget, which the senators said would lead to the elimination of 15 entrepreneurial development programs, which would mean the closure of more than 150 women’s business centers, 250 SCORE chapters, and 31 veteran business outreach centers. The senators want answers to five questions by May 30 on both the current state of funding these programs and the future request.

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