Rep. Cisneros Condemns Elon Musk’s Illegal Access to Government Agency Data
February 4, 2025
Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. spoke on the House floor to condemn Elon Musk’s criminal efforts to embed himself within numerous government agencies. Rep. Cisneros expressed his grave concerns with Musk obtaining the private data of American citizens and called on him to answer to Congress.
Click here to view the video.
Text of Rep. Cisneros’ floor speech can be found below:
“Mr. Speaker, I originally came to the floor today because I was dismayed by the President’s continued assault on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The Department of Defense, the State Department, and countless other agencies have been instructed to no longer recognize Black History Month as part of a broad order to pause all activities and events related to quote ‘special observances’ unquote. And it’s because the President is trying to scrub our government and our country of its history and of its diversity.
“Our diversity is our power, and the President is threatened by that power. That’s why he wants our country and our government to fit his narrow-minded view of what it should look like.
“But we’ve known who President Trump is. Barely coded racist rhetoric is his standard practice. The disgusting comments the President made blaming the tragic crash at Reagan National Airport on DEI were just the latest example. It’s sickening. It’s inflammatory. And it’s pathetic.
“But we should all be clear-eyed about what the President is doing. While the President has picked up right where he left off with his racist and xenophobic attacks, it's part of a broader mission by him and Shadow President and Fascist Elon Musk to dismantle and destroy our government.
“Since last Friday, Elon’s acolytes – none of whom are government employees and by all appearances have no understanding of how our government even works – have been installed at and taken over: the United States Treasury; the Office of Personnel Management; the General Services Administration; and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
“And what have they done?
“They’ve downloaded the most sensitive personal information of millions of Americans to private servers. They’ve taken possession of all the financial and personal information of everyone who does business with the federal government. And they’re taking control of security systems, personnel files, and intelligence reports that pertain to thousands upon thousands of U.S. government workers operating overseas, many of whom are in classified roles. This is all to say, we are witnessing a coup of our government.
“Without any legal authority, robber baron Elon Musk has embedded himself within our government, unlawfully obtained information that affects millions of Americans, and tasked himself with carrying out President Trump’s grievances against his political enemies. Not to mention, the President has already fired more than a dozen January 6th federal prosecutors, begun to scrutinize the perceived loyalty of thousands of rank-and-file FBI agents, and invalidated the contracts of thousands of government employees.
“Again, we are witnessing the power grab of two men who idolize dictators, and are now playing at being one. This is a coup. The American people will not stand for this. They will not.
“I’ve heard from countless constituents who have called my office, expressing their outrage at this criminality and corruption. And I plan to do everything I can – at every opportunity – to call out the President and Elon for what they’re doing.
“I ask my Republican colleagues to actually examine what is going on. To sincerely ask themselves if this is acceptable.
“Because throughout our country’s history, our government has served to assist people in their times of need. To act in service of the common good. To work for the people.
“The President and Elon are trying to make a mockery of that purpose. They’re actively perverting that purpose. To make the government act as a tool of retribution. To work against the people – specifically against their political enemies.
“That’s not why I serve.
“Service and leadership is not about bending government to your own personal will. It is about civic duty and public service – good people doing the right thing.
“I ask my Republican colleagues if they really think the President and Elon Musk are doing the right thing.”
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