Elon Musk’s Aides Take Over U.S. Government HR Agency, Lock Out Career Officials

Aides to Elon Musk, who are now running the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), have locked career civil servants out of critical computer systems containing personal data on millions of federal employees, according to two agency officials.

Trump’s Government Overhaul in Motion

Since taking office 11 days ago, President Donald Trump has initiated a sweeping government shake-up, firing and sidelining hundreds of civil servants as part of his push to downsize the federal workforce. Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and owner of X, has been tasked by Trump with slashing the 2.2 million-strong civilian government workforce. His team has moved quickly to install loyalists at OPM, the federal agency responsible for human resources.

Career Officials Locked Out of Data Systems

Two officials, who spoke to Reuters anonymously for fear of retaliation, revealed that senior career employees at OPM have lost access to key department data systems. These include the Enterprise Human Resources Integration database, which contains sensitive information such as birth dates, Social Security numbers, home addresses, pay grades, and employment history of federal workers.

“We have no visibility into what they are doing with the computer and data systems,” one official said. “That is creating great concern. There is no oversight. It creates real cybersecurity and hacking implications.”

Officials impacted by the restrictions can still access email but are blocked from viewing the extensive datasets that cover the entire federal workforce.

White House, OPM, and Musk’s Team Remain Silent

Neither Musk, OPM, nor representatives of the new leadership team have responded to requests for comment. The White House has also remained silent on the matter.

Meanwhile, OPM has issued memos that break from traditional government communications, urging civil servants to accept buyout offers and take vacations to “dream destinations.”

Don Moynihan, a professor at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, expressed concerns about the agency’s lack of congressional oversight.

“This makes it much harder for anyone outside Musk’s inner circle at OPM to know what’s going on,” Moynihan said.

Musk’s Team Moves Into OPM Headquarters

A team of current and former Musk employees took over OPM on January 20, the day Trump was inaugurated. Some team members have even installed sofa beds on the agency’s fifth floor, which houses the director’s office and is accessible only with a security badge or escort.

“It feels like a hostile takeover,” one OPM employee said.

Among the changes, OPM’s chief management officer, Katie Malague, has been relocated to another floor, according to officials. Malague has not responded to requests for comment.

Treasury Official Clashes With Musk’s Allies

David Lebryk, the top-ranking career official at the U.S. Treasury Department, is expected to leave his post following a confrontation with Musk’s allies. According to The Washington Post, Musk’s team requested access to government payment systems, a request that led to internal tensions.

Musk Allies Take Senior Roles at OPM

The new OPM leadership includes software engineers and senior figures from Musk’s companies. Brian Bjelde, who joined SpaceX in 2003 and became vice president of human resources, now serves as a senior adviser at OPM.

Charles Ezell, the acting head of OPM, has been sending memos to the entire government workforce, including a recent message offering employees the option to resign with eight months of severance pay.

“No one here knew that the memos were coming out. We are finding out about these memos at the same time as the rest of the world,” one official said.

Amanda Scales, another former Musk employee, is now OPM’s chief of staff. Some of Ezell’s memos directed agency heads to identify federal employees still in their probationary periods and to email Scales at her new OPM address.

Another senior adviser, Riccardo Biasini, is a former Tesla engineer and previously served as a director at The Boring Company, Musk’s tunnel-building venture in Las Vegas.

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