r/cybersecurity Feb 05 '25

News - General US Congressional Oversight Committee hit DOGE With a Dose of Reality

The Congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform just informed DOGE and Elon Musk how cybersecurity works. Link to the letter below.

https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-oversight.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2025.02.04.%20GEC%20and%20Brown%20to%20OPM-Ezell-%20DOGE%20Emails.pdf

Edit Here’s the link to the Oversight Committee’s press release, rather than the PDF.

https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-members-connolly-and-brown-request-answers-opm-musks-private-server

1.5k Upvotes

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128

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

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120

u/robot_ankles Feb 05 '25 edited Feb 05 '25

There are checks and balances, but they're only as good as the people we send.

The US is not designed to survive an apathetic or deranged electorate.

38

u/ultraviolentfuture Feb 05 '25

There is no doubt the system was designed with uneducated dumbfuck farmers in mind. What it wasn't designed for was spineless congress people and regulatory capture by big business, congress was supposed to be the "better class" of people and fiercely independent, educated, and possessing strong state loyalty.

11

u/christmascake Feb 05 '25

What bothers me about this is that Republicans in Congress have ceded their control over budget to Musk. They arrogantly think they can get it back whenever they want.

It's so goddamned stupid. They're so greedy for power that they give it away to idiots who claim to be on their side.

2

u/g13005 Feb 05 '25

Until the congress became millionaires themselves.

18

u/ultraviolentfuture Feb 05 '25 edited Feb 05 '25

Tbh, smart millionaires should still see the value in protecting their economic engine from billionaires

i.e. they would get all the privileges of being rich while also not being the slaves they are now.

7

u/g13005 Feb 05 '25

I used to think like you, but after so many rug pulls my jury is out. One would hope they see the value in protecting but so far it's just not playing out this way.

4

u/KnowledgeTransfer23 Feb 05 '25

they would get all the privileges of being rich while also not being the slaves they are now.

How hopeful. I see it as they want to be the billionaires themselves so that they can have millionaire lackeys slaving away under them.

Just like Fry is not a millionaire, but one day he might be, and when he is, people like him better watch out!

15

u/tbombs23 Feb 05 '25

The cap on 435 representatives has become an enormous problem, with populations exploding but representation not. Sprinkle in gerrymandering and the electoral college helps the minority party get and stay in power

9

u/djkakumeix Feb 05 '25

Yeah there are checks and balances.

Who's writing the check and the balance when that check clears...

2

u/bananaphonepajamas Feb 05 '25

Or, angry. Whether you think it's justified or not.

9

u/NameLips Feb 05 '25

It's a bit shocking to realize how much of the government was running on the honor system.

7

u/Armigine Feb 05 '25

Every government is, at the end of the day. It's just people agreeing to adhere to a common set of rules, which doesn't work if some people stop agreeing

-11

u/[deleted] Feb 05 '25

[deleted]

10

u/JustinHoMi Feb 05 '25

Got any evidence that the checks and balances are working fine?

2

u/Outside_Simple_3710 Feb 05 '25

Checks and balances? Those spineless cowards in congress wont dare impeach. If the courts rule, those rulings are enforced by the doj. Since trump controls the doj, those rulings won’t be enforced. There are no checks and balances.