Elon Musk says Department of Education no longer ‘exists'

Members of Elon Musk’s government efficiency team have obtained administrator-level email accounts at the Department of Education, just as President Donald Trump announced that the billionaire would soon be closely examining the agency.

The rapid deployment of Musk’s aides across multiple agencies has sparked concern among federal officials, lawmakers, and watchdog groups, who worry his team now has access to sensitive information and may be leading a purge of government employees.

When asked about the issue at a White House press conference on Friday, Trump defended the approach. NBC News questioned him about allegations that Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) were unlawfully cutting staff. Trump responded that the Education Department was high on Musk’s list. “He will be looking at education pretty quickly,” Trump said.

NBC News confirmed that Akash Bobba and Ethan Shaotran, both 22 and identified as members of DOGE, have administrator access to the department’s email system, which could give them the ability to view sensitive information. Two department employees also reported seeing Shaotran access the back end of the ed.gov website on Friday.

Three other department employees said it is highly unusual for someone from another agency to have an official ed.gov email account. The Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.

Tensions are running high at the department after leadership announced that staff who accept the deferred resignation package offered to many federal employees must waive their right to sue if the government does not honor the terms. The employee union has advised workers not to take the offer, calling it “eerily similar to the situation at Twitter” during Musk’s takeover, where employees did not receive the severance they were promised.

One long-serving department employee, speaking anonymously, said there is widespread anxiety among career staff as DOGE turns its focus to them. The employee expressed concern that Musk’s team could use information from the national student loan database to target Americans, push staff out, and compromise the federal government’s ability to collect on student loans.

The New York Times reported that 16 DOGE team members are now listed in the Education Department directory. Meanwhile, The Washington Post noted that some of these individuals have fed sensitive financial and personal data from the department into artificial intelligence software.

On Friday morning, a group of House Democrats attempted to enter the Education Department headquarters to meet with acting Education Secretary Denise Carter after 95 members signed a letter raising concerns about the administration’s plan to potentially shut down the department. Security blocked the lawmakers from entering, causing a chaotic scene as they demanded access.

“They are blocking members of Congress from entering the Department of Education! Elon is allowed in and not the people? ILLEGAL,” Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Later that day, the watchdog group Public Citizen sued the department on behalf of the University of California Student Association, seeking an injunction to prevent DOGE staff from accessing sensitive personal and financial information. The lawsuit cites reports that DOGE-affiliated individuals had accessed internal systems containing federal student aid data.

“The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is enormous and unprecedented,” the lawsuit reads. “The personal data of over 42 million people is stored in these systems.”

In a separate development, a memo sent across the department this week called for a comprehensive review of all grants associated with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The memo, obtained by NBC News, says the review aims to root out “discriminatory practices — including in the form of DEI — that are contrary to law or the Department’s policy objectives.”