Hundreds gather in US capital to protest Elon Musk’s government influence

"We cannot allow Elon Musk and a small group of people to secretly, behind closed doors, take away our privacy, take away our dollars, take away everything we have," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told the crowd.

The protest came amid reports that the Musk-run Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gained access to sensitive databases, including information related to social security payments.

"Whatever DOGE is doing is not democracy," Schumer said.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen said this is "the most corrupt bargain we've ever seen in American history."

"Elon Musk gave millions to fund (President Donald) Trump's campaign, and now Trump has given him the keys to our government...Musk (is) coming in to the Department of Treasury and stealing Social Security numbers, personal data. Are we going to let this stand?" he said.

The crowd chanted "Elon Musk has got to go!” and some protesters held signs saying "No Trump, No Musk, No Fascist USA," "Musk owns Trump" and "Hands Off Private Data.”

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department said in a letter to members of Congress regarding payment systems that a review of the system is underway and staff members will have "read-only" access to the information.

"Currently, Treasury staff members working with Tom Krause, a Treasury employee, will have read-only access to the coded data of the Fiscal Service’s payment systems in order to continue this operational efficiency assessment," the letter said.

Earlier, Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries introduced their "Stop the Steal" bill to prevent what they call Musk’s "unlawful meddling in the Treasury Department’s payment systems."