Homeland Security Secretary Noem says DOGE team has access to agency data

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivers remarks to staff at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters on January 28, in Washington, DC. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/Pool/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Sunday acknowledged that Elon Musk’s government efficiency team, which has been tasked with slashing federal spending, has access to her agency’s data, including that of federal disaster aid recipients’ personal information, as part of an “audit” she welcomes.

Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Noem said that President Donald Trump had “authorized” Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team to gain access to DHS’ network, adding that she was “absolutely” comfortable with that.

The Washington Post first reported that members of DOGE, who do not have security clearance, gained access to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s network, which has the private information of Americans who received disaster relief grants. The Musk-led DOGE team has attempted accessing government data from other federal agencies as it tries to root out what it deems wasteful spending — efforts that have raised privacy concerns and prompted a flurry of lawsuits.

“Well, we can’t trust our government anymore,” Noem told CNN’s Dana Bash in defending DOGE’s access to the data system.

Reminded by Bash that she and her agency are part of the government, Noem replied, “Yes, that’s what I’m saying, is that the American people now are saying that we have had our personal information shared, and out there in the public.”

“Elon Musk is part of the administration that is helping us identify where we can find savings and what we can do,” she said, insisting that DOGE is zeroed in on DHS grant programs and isn’t focused on Americans’ personal information.

Noem, other Trump administration leaders and the president’s allies in Congress expressed support for Trump’s moves to downsize the federal government — even if that means cuts to the agencies some oversee.

Another Trump Cabinet member, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that he welcomed Musk and DOGE “coming into our department to help us identify additional ways in which we can streamline processes, fast-track acquisitions, cut waste, cut tail,” as he vowed that the Pentagon will undergo a full audit.

Trump recently floated shutting down FEMA, which he’s criticized as bureaucratic and slow in its rescue responses. Musk suggested on X early Sunday that FEMA may be another target of his DOGE efforts, writing “FEMA is broken.”

Noem, who as DHS secretary has oversight of FEMA, told CNN that she would support ending “FEMA the way it exists today” should the president ask her.

“I would say, ‘Yes, get rid of FEMA the way it exists today.’ We still need the resources and the funds and the finances to go to people that have these types of disasters,” she said on CNN.

Noem does not rule out housing nonviolent migrants at Guantanamo

Noem also on Sunday suggested that migrants illegally in the United States who are detained for nonviolent offenses could be held at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The DHS secretary had previously said that Guantanamo would be reserved to detain “the worst of the worst” as they await deportation and flights have already started carrying migrants with criminal records to the base.

“We have different camps at Guantanamo Bay, different levels of incarceration. We will have some facilities that will be up to the same standards as other detention facilities in the United States. And I don’t think the president is going to tie his hands on what he needs to do to make sure that America is safe,” she told Bash.

Late last month, Trump directed the federal government to prepare the US Naval base to house up to 30,000 migrants.

Noem, who recently returned from a trip to the base, said her goal is that migrants do not stay in the facilities at Guantanamo for “weeks and months” before deportation, but said she would not rule out the possibility.

“I’m not going to rule that out, because we are going to continue to make sure that we’re talking with every single country. But it’s not an option for us to leave people here illegally anymore,” she added.