Civil Rights Community to Congress: STOP Trump Nominees, Leverage Budget until Musk-led Data Breach is Halted

Center for Civil Rights and Technology News 02.12.25

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mariah Wildgen, [email protected]

In a letter to Senate Minority Leader Schumer and House Minority Leader Jeffries, advocates highlight privacy threats, harm to individuals’ livelihoods

WASHINGTON — The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, joined by 66 national organizations, urged members of Congress to stop the illegal data breach led by Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency by leveraging all available nominations, budget, and oversight authority until these actions are halted, investigated, and Musk and his fanboys are held accountable.

In a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D. N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D. N.Y., and shared with all congressional Democrats, advocates wrote, “This unchecked breach of our most sensitive data is shocking and illegal. Musk and his employees and agents are not elected officials, do not appear to have been vetted for security clearances, or were not even government employees at the time they accessed government systems and the personal data within them. Moreover, they are threatening individuals who merely seek to identify who is participating in these violations.”

The advocates identified numerous threats and data abuse and misuse concerns, including, but not limited to, the weaponization of data for personal and corporate gain; illegal access of sensitive data by unelected, unvetted, unqualified, and non-government individuals; exposing of health care and worker data, including sensitive personal information about patients, workers, and whistleblowers and information about worker health and safety.

The advocates continued, “Musk’s illegal overreach requires immediate intervention. We call on members of Congress to respond to this lawless and reckless behavior by refusing to support business as usual, because Musk has not been engaged in the usual business of the people.” Specifically, the advocates demanded the following actions:

  • Oppose Nominations: Many of the nominees under consideration in the Senate have been nominated with the expectation that they will enable this abusive and exploitative plan. Oppose these pending nominations with every procedural mechanism available in committees and on the floor.
  • Leverage Budget and Appropriations Legislation: No budget or appropriations legislation should be advanced until there is certainty that taxpayer dollars and data will be protected from Musk and his cronies.
  • Conduct a Thorough Investigation: Members of Congress must launch an investigation into the unlawful access and use of sensitive data by Musk and his subordinates.

The Leadership Conference was joined by Access Now, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues, Coalition on Human Needs, Color Of Change, Common Cause, Demand Progress, DemCast USA, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), Drug Policy Alliance, Economic Policy Institute, EdTrust, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC), Equal Justice Society, Equal Rights Advocates, Essential Information, Feminist Majority Foundation, Free Press Action, GLAAD, Government Information Watch, Groundwork Collaborative, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible, Japanese American Citizens League, Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), Jobs to Move America, Lawyers for Good Government, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Legal Action Center, Matthew Shepard Foundation, Mayday Health, Muslim Advocates, NAACP, Nathaniel R. Jones Foundation, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Association of Social Workers, National Bar Association, National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI), National Black Justice Collective, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), National Employment Law Project, National Fair Housing Alliance, National Health Law Program, National Hispanic Media Coalition, National Housing Law Project, National Immigration Law Center, National Organization for Women, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, NNAAC, Open MIC, People For the American Way, Project On Government Oversight, Public Citizen, Public Knowledge, Reproaction, Reproductive Freedom for All, Sojourners, Solutions for Worker and Environmental Health Justice, The National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD), The Restaurant Opportunities Center United (ROC United), Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry, and Voices for Progress.

The letter is available here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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