Elon Musk aides have reportedly locked out some government workers out of their computers

Top aides to Elon Musk, who have been tasked with overseeing the U.S. government's human resources agency, have restricted career civil servants from accessing key computer systems containing personal data on millions of federal employees, according to two agency officials.

Since taking office 11 days ago, President Donald Trump has initiated sweeping changes across the federal government, removing or sidelining hundreds of career officials in an effort to reduce the size of the bureaucracy and install loyalists.

Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and owner of X, was appointed by Trump to spearhead efforts to cut the 2.2 million-strong civilian workforce. Since then, he has rapidly placed his allies in leadership roles at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

Restricted Access Raises Alarm

The two officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to fears of retaliation, said that some senior career employees at OPM have been locked out of critical data systems.

Among them is the Enterprise Human Resources Integration database, which stores sensitive information, including birth dates, Social Security numbers, performance evaluations, home addresses, pay grades, and length of service of federal employees.

"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."

While affected officials still have access to email and basic functions, they can no longer retrieve or analyze workforce data.

Musk, OPM representatives, members of the new leadership team, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In internal memos, OPM has encouraged civil servants to accept buyout offers and use the funds to take a "dream vacation" — a departure from the traditionally formal language of government communications.

Don Moynihan, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, said these actions raise concerns about congressional oversight and how Trump and Musk are reshaping the federal bureaucracy.

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

Musk’s Influence at OPM

A team composed of current and former Musk employees took control of OPM on Jan. 20, the day Trump was inaugurated. According to one agency employee, members of the team have brought in sofa beds to the fifth floor—where the director’s office is located—which is only accessible with a security badge or escort.

The sofa beds are reportedly intended to allow Musk’s appointees to work around the clock, mirroring Musk’s management approach at X, where he famously installed beds for employees following his 2022 takeover of the social media platform.

"It feels like a hostile takeover," the OPM employee said.

Additionally, the new leadership team has relocated OPM’s chief management officer, Katie Malague, to a different floor, the officials said. Malague did not respond to a request for comment.

Musk's Expanding Government Reach

The developments at OPM, combined with reported disruptions at the Treasury Department caused by Musk’s associates, highlight the billionaire’s growing influence over government operations.

According to The Washington Post, David Lebryk, the highest-ranking career official at the Treasury Department, is expected to step down after a dispute with Musk allies who sought access to federal payment systems.