President Donald Trump signed an executive order (EO) late Thursday to expand access to unclassified data at Federal agencies and promote inter-agency data sharing.
The order – titled “Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos” – gives agency leaders 30 days to rescind or modify all agency guidance that prevents sharing unclassified data in and between Federal agencies.
Agency heads must also submit recommendations to change current unclassified data access laws to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within 30 days.
In the order, Trump explains the broadening of data access is “for purposes of pursuing administration priorities related to the identification and elimination of waste, fraud, and abuse.”
Trump’s order appears to be in response to judicial orders across the country blocking the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to data at Federal agencies.
On Thursday, a Federal judge in Maryland blocked DOGE employees from accessing sensitive information on millions of Americans at the Social Security Administration. There have been similar rulings that blocked DOGE’s access to U.S. Treasury Department payment systems.
Trump’s order does not explicitly mention granting DOGE access to data at Federal agencies and it is unclear if the increased access will be afforded to the presidentially established oversight agency.
According to a fact sheet on the EO, the action “enhances accountability and streamlines government operations by ensuring Federal agencies share critical data, consistent with applicable privacy protections.”
The fact sheet lists Trump’s establishment of DOGE as an effort that shares a goal with the executive order to create a “leaner, more effective government.”
The order mandates agency heads to provide “unfettered access” to data at all state programs that receive Federal funding, including data maintained by third-party providers.
Trump’s order also grants the Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, “unfettered access” to all unemployment data and related payment records, including those held with the Department of Labor’s inspector general.
According to the EO’s fact sheet, the Biden administration reported approximately $236 billion in improper payments because of overpayments, improper record keeping, and fraud in fiscal year 2023. However, it’s worth noting that not all improper payments are fraudulent – improper payments also include “underpayments” in which recipients did not receive the funds they were due.
“Decades of restricted data access within and between agencies have led to duplicated efforts, undetected overpayments, and unchecked fraud, costing taxpayers billions,” the fact sheet reads.
Within 45 days of the order, agency heads are required to submit a report to OMB determining if the classification of materials goes “beyond what is necessary to protect national security interests.”
Elizabeth Laird, director of equity in civic technology at the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology, expressed her concern over the executive order.
“The Trump Administration is escalating its effort to consolidate Federal data across agencies, opening the floodgates for unplanned uses of information that go far beyond what people expected when they entrusted their data to the government,” Laird said.
