On April 14, 2025, a federal IT staffer, Dan Berulis, filed a whistleblower complaint with Congress, alleging that members of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) accessed sensitive information from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Following the complaint, Berulis experienced a suspicious car accident, raising concerns about his safety.
The complaint, which became public through an NPR report, prompted an outcry and calls for an investigation from Congress. In May 2025, it was reported by FedScoop that the NLRB’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) had launched an investigation into the matter, which remains ongoing.
GAO Report Raises Questions About DOGE's Access
In April 2026, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled “National Labor Relations Board Detailees Did Not Access IT Systems Between April 16 and July 25, 2025.” This report notably only covers the time period immediately following Berulis’ complaint, failing to address any DOGE activities prior to that date.
Notably, the report's footnotes reveal that in August 2025, shortly after DOGE members left the NLRB, the agency deleted team member accounts for system access after the agreement to detail DOGE staff had expired. This deletion has left the GAO unable to verify the accounts of NLRB staff regarding DOGE's access to sensitive information.
Concerns Over Deleted Records and Accountability
Dan McGrath, senior oversight counsel at Democracy Forward, expressed deep concern, stating, “It's deeply concerning that [the NLRB] would delete records that would show the level of DOGE data access at the agency and do so so quickly.” The GAO's findings suggest that the deletion of records may violate the Federal Records Act, which mandates agencies to preserve certain records for a specified period.
According to the General Records Schedule (GRS), records that require special accountability, including those with personally identifiable information, must be retained for six years. The systems accessed by DOGE, including the Electronic Official Personnel Folders and the Federal Personnel and Payroll System, contain sensitive data about federal workers.
Political Implications and Ongoing Investigations
Elon Musk, who led DOGE and owns Tesla and SpaceX, has been under scrutiny by the NLRB. Earlier in the year, the NLRB dismissed a case against SpaceX, citing a lack of jurisdiction. Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal expressed concern that political factors may have influenced this decision, given Musk's financial support for President Trump.
Jessica Baxter, a spokesperson for the GAO, defended the agency’s findings, asserting that their work is “nonpartisan, independent, and fact-based.” The ongoing investigations into DOGE's access and the subsequent deletion of records continue to raise questions about transparency and accountability within federal agencies.
🤖 This article was rewritten by Feed and Figures' editorial AI from a report originally published by Wired. Facts and quotes are preserved from the original; the rewrite focuses on clarity and structure. For the unedited original, see the source link below.
