Musk’s DOGE Uses AI To Detect Anti-Trump Sentiment In Federal Workers

Federal staff are reportedly under surveillance by Elon Musk’s DOGE in an effort to detect anti-Trump sentiment.

Reuters, citing two people with knowledge of the matter, reported that Trump administration officials have told some US government employees that Musk’s personnel at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are using artificial intelligence (AI) to spy at least one federal agency’s communications for hostility to US President Donald Trump and his agenda.

It is an extraordinary allegation, and it comes after Elon Musk last week dismissed reports that he was soon to leave as DOGE head, after US President Donald Trump had told Cabinet members that Musk would soon be leaving the Trump administration in the coming months.

Signal use

Now Reuters has reported that the communications of at least one federal agency is being spied upon for anti-Trump sentiment.

The use of AI for spying purposes on government employees comes on top of widespread firings and severe cost cutting, Reuters noted.

It also reported that the DOGE team is using the Signal app to communicate, according to one other person with direct knowledge of the matter.

The use of Signal potentially violates federal record-keeping rules because messages can be set to disappear after a period of time.

It should be remembered that last week, the Inspector General at the Pentagon confirmed an investigation into the use of Signal app by US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegset.

That was in connection to a controversy late last month when the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to a group chat on Signal, where plans for a strike against the Houthi group in Yemen were discussed.

AI spying

So what AI system is DOGE using to allegedly spy on the communications of federal workers?

Perhaps it is no surprise that Musk’s Grok AI chatbot has reportedly been “heavily” deployed – as part of DOGE’s work slashing the federal government, the person told Reuters.

Reuters reported it could not establish exactly how Grok was being used.

The White House, DOGE and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

Reuters noted that at the Environmental Protection Agency, some EPA managers were told by Trump appointees that Musk’s team is rolling out AI to monitor workers, including looking for language in communications considered hostile to Trump or Musk, the two people reportedly said.

The EPA deals with environmental protection matters in the US, and since January has placed nearly 600 employees on leave and said it will eliminate 65 percent of its budget, which could require further staffing reductions.

Trump-appointed officials who had taken up EPA posts reportedly told managers that DOGE was using AI to monitor communication apps and software, including Microsoft Teams.

“We have been told they are looking for anti-Trump or anti-Musk language,” a third source familiar with the EPA told Reuters.

Reuters could not independently confirm if the AI was being implemented.

The Trump officials said DOGE would be looking for people whose work did not align with the administration’s mission, the first two sources reportedly said. “Be careful what you say, what you type and what you do,” a manager reportedly said.

Growing tensions?

All this comes amid reports of growing tensions between Elon Musk and members of the Trump administration.

Elon Musk is an unelected official, yet despite this he has attended multiple cabinet meetings, despite tensions with Trump officials at Musk’s chainsaw approach to cutting federal jobs, instead of the scalpel approach Trump has called for.

Last month the Daily Telegraph had reported on a confrontation at one of those cabinet meetings, where two two members of Trump’s administration allegedly clashed with Musk over DOGE’s lay-offs.

Sean Duffy, the department of transport secretary, was reportedly enraged by Musk’s attempts to cull air traffic controllers despite a national shortage.

Musk denied firing personnel that should not have been laid off, but according to the Telegraph Sean Duffy then slid a spreadsheet across a desk in front of the president, to allege Musk was not telling the truth about the scale of his cutbacks.

Meanwhile Doug Collins, the secretary of veterans affairs, also in front of Trump and Musk, reportedly claimed operations were being cancelled in Veteran Affairs hospitals because of Musk’s DOGE cuts.

Shortly that meeting, Trump imposed limitations of the power of DOGE, after he told his Cabinet secretaries that staffing decisions will be left up to them, not Elon Musk and DOGE.

But if the departments don’t cut enough staff, then Musk and DOGE will takeover the culling.