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“Get DOGE’d” is a pun, not a legal finding. On April 9, 2025, Gizmodo reported that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) had opened an investigation into how the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) handled data at federal agencies. The reporting described an inquiry—not a GAO conclusion that DOGE broke the law or misused anyone’s information.
What was the reported GAO investigation about?
Gizmodo, citing Wired’s reporting based on government records and sources, said GAO opened the investigation in March 2025. The inquiry concerned DOGE’s handling of data at multiple agencies. The agencies named in Gizmodo’s account were:
- Social Security Administration
- Department of Education
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of Labor
- Department of the Treasury
This was a report about an investigation underway at the time, not a published GAO finding. Gizmodo’s April 9, 2025 report does not establish what GAO ultimately concluded.
What information could have been involved?
A separate Gizmodo report summarized a New York Times analysis that identified approximately 80 data systems DOGE had targeted which contained personal information about the public. That figure describes systems reportedly targeted—not systems DOGE was confirmed to have accessed, and not evidence that information in them was misused. The count excluded systems concerning businesses and federal workers.
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The categories associated with those systems included financial, tax, health, education, employment, and identity information. They describe the kinds of information that could be present in the systems; they do not establish that DOGE collected or viewed every category.
Gizmodo’s account of the analysis is therefore not a basis for saying DOGE had any particular person’s records.
Did DOGE have access to personal information?
The reports distinguish between systems DOGE reportedly sought to access and information it is confirmed to have accessed. The approximately 80-system count is evidence of reported targeting, not proof of access to every system. The sources cited here do not establish whether a specific reader’s personal information was viewed, copied, or used.
How did court orders affect access?
In a separate, contemporaneous account, Gizmodo reported that a federal judge temporarily restricted access at Treasury, Education, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), but an appeals court reinstated access two days later. This describes the legal developments reported in April 2025; it should not be read as a statement of the agencies’ current access rules or status. The Associated Press also covered the court dispute in its report, “Judge blocks DOGE from accessing sensitive information at US agencies.”
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Does a later GAO entry resolve the earlier inquiry?
No. A DOGE Track entry dated April 28, 2026, describes a separate GAO investigation concerning DOGE activities at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It says two General Services Administration detailees did not access NLRB IT systems from April 16 to July 25, 2025, and notes a whistleblower report alleging illegal access that was under investigation by the NLRB Inspector General. That separate NLRB matter does not establish the outcome of the earlier, cross-agency data-handling investigation. DOGE Track’s “What’s Changed” entry identifies the later matter and its date.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about the investigation’s outcome?
The available reporting cited here does not establish a final GAO finding, a published report, or the current disposition of the March 2025 cross-agency investigation. It does not prove unlawful access, data misuse, or wrongdoing. The defensible takeaway is narrower: in April 2025, Gizmodo reported—relaying Wired—that GAO was investigating DOGE’s data handling at several agencies.
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